Two Labor Unions Protest Reihaneh Ansarinezhad's Prison Sentence: It Is Fabrication

The union of Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers and the union of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company workers condemned the four-year prison sentence issued for Reihaneh Ansarinezhad, a retired worker and labor activist, on Thursday, August 5, calling it "fabrication and clichéd." The Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers' union, in its statement, condemned any fabrication of cases against workers and labor activists, including Ms. Ansarinezhad and teachers, and called for an end to these "clichéd fabrications." The Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company workers' union also issued a statement, stating that the sentence against Reihaneh Ansarinezhad was based on "the procedures of the Ministry of Intelligence, which did not even follow their usual protocols in a demonstrative manner." Parts of this statement read: "This matter is further confirmation that the judge in this unjust system only acts as a signing machine and has no independence. It does not matter what name they have or in which branch they sit; they are dictated what ruling to give in these kangaroo courts." The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran has sentenced Reihaneh Ansarinezhad, a labor activist, to four years in prison. Razieh Zaidi, Ms. Ansarinezhad's lawyer, announced on Thursday in an interview with the 'Emtedad' news agency that her client has also been sentenced to two years of prohibition from membership in political parties, two years of prohibition from activities in cyberspace and media, and two years of travel ban. This labor activist was arrested in May of this year along with several other civil and labor activists while visiting the family of Mohammad Habibi, a jailed teacher. The Fars News Agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, accused the detainees of "membership in an organizational meeting" and having "ties to anti-revolutionary Marxist groups, the Mojahedin, and French spies" without providing any evidence. Reihaneh Ansarinezhad had previously been arrested by security agents last year and was temporarily released on bail. Security and judicial actions against labor activists, retirees, teachers, and other wage earners have drawn severe criticism from human rights organizations and labor unions worldwide.