Author: admin-hr

20 Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Argo Industry Were Laid Off

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Labor and Guilds, Prisoners
Adel Abdolkhani, Ashkan Goudarzi, Fazel Chabizadeh, Haft Tappeh Sugarcane, Hamzeh Al-Kasir, Iman Khezri, Karim Miahi, Mahmoud Sadi, Masoud Loveymi and seven others., Mohammad Khanifar, Reza Poorjenani, Saheb Zahiri, Samir Ahmadi

According to Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), the contracts of 20 workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcan Argo Industry have not been renewed. According to workers of this company, a notice signed by the administration supervisor, Ebrahim Ouraki, was sent to the several workers regarding the termination of their contract. This notice was sent to these workers on the final day of their contract which contrasts with the promises made by the Khuzestan government officials. Four or five laid off workers gave speeches during the meeting with Ahvaz’s Friday Prayer Imam, Mousavi Jazayeri, and the representative of Wali-Faqih (the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) in which they asked for his assistance to resolve the company’s problems.

The name of some of the works who were laid off are as the following:

Mohammad Khanifar, Reza Poorjenani, Saheb Zahiri, Mahmoud Sadi, Adel Abdolkhani, Samir Ahmadi, Hamzeh Al-Kasir, Iman Khezri, Karim Miahi, Fazel Chabizadeh, Ashkan Goudarzi, Masoud Loveymi and seven others.

 

Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Argo Industry

The protests of the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Argo Industry started on March 28, 2018 in front of the Shush governor compound. Subsequently, the prosecutor’s office of Shush summoned several workers. The workers went to the prosecutor’s office three days later but were informed that their session was rescheduled.  On the same day, 10 protester workers were arrested. The Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane industrial complex union reported the strike of more than five hundred workers of this company from July 29, 2018. The protesters demanded an end to the privatization of the company and alleged houses to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, firing the executive board members of the company, and sustain the current director of the company. These protests periodical continued till August 2018. In November 2018 these protests were accompanied by protests of the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) and continued till late December.  Esmail Bakhshi and Ali Nejati are two prominent labor activists of Haft Tappeh Complex who have been arrested during the protests. Bakhshi was arrested in November and was released on bail in December 2018. He was charged with “disruption of public order”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, and “participation in forming a group”, “intended to disrupt public security”. On December 2, 2018 he reported his return to his workplace.

Ali Nejati, who is a labor activist and a member of the managing board of the labor union representing employees of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, was arrested by security forces on November 29, 2018 on the charges of “disrupting public order”, “collusion and assembly against national security” and “cooperation in establishing a group intended to disrupt peace and security”. He was transferred to the Shush prison on December 24, 2018. He was taken to the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Baghaei Hospital due to the deteriorating health for his heart. He is suffering from heart disease and a prolonged detention can have dire health consequences and might even endanger his life. In January, his family reported about his inappropriate detention condition. Nevertheless, his verdict was changed to release on bail, but he is still in detention.

On January 4, 2019, Esmail Bakhshi wrote an open letter and spoke out about abuse and torture he suffered in detention from Intelligence Department authorities during his detention. After that, Sepideh Gholian, a civil rights activist who was arrested during workers protests supported him. Bakhshi and Gholian have been rearrested after the broadcast of their under-torture confessions on the national television. They have been transferred from Sheiban and Sepidar prison in Ahvaz to Evin prison in Tehran on April 28, 2018 for their court hearing. In June 2019, a group of Haft Tappeh workers submitted an official complaint to the International Labour Organization regarding the ongoing suppression of protests and the detention of peaceful demonstrators and journalists. They published a list of Haft Tappeh workers or their families who have been summoned, arrested, threatened, or interrogated.

On August 13, 2019, seven workers of this company were sentenced to eight months imprisonment and 30 suspended lashes by the Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Shush. Moreover, on August 26, 2019, nine workers of this company were sentenced to eight months imprisonment and 30 suspended lashes. On the same day of their demonstration on May 9, 2019, several workers were summoned and arrested. On September 7, 2019, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Esmail Bakhshi to a 14-year prison term and 74 lashes and Mohammad Khanifar to six years imprisonment. In addition, Sepideh Gholian, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Allahyari, and Asal Mohammadi were sentenced to 18 years in prison, each. Their trial was held in the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, in August. Ali Nejati’s case is still open.

Haft Tappeh was founded in the 1960s in the city of Shush, in Khuzestan Province. It is the oldest sugar factory in Iran. Since 2015 due to the privatization deal based on article 44 of the constitution was transferred to the present owners. It has four thousand workers and employees and is located 15 kilometers south of the Shush city.

 

22 Iranian Baha’is Were Denied Higher Education in September

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Religious Minorities
Aria Ehsani, Armaghan Enayati, Aylar Roshan Nahad, Baha'i, Behzad Yazdani, Dorsa Mostafavi, Ghazal Allahverdi Gorji, Mahsa Forouhari, Mahtab Khadem, Negar Ighani, Negin Foroughi, Noorieh Ferdosian, Rojan Ehsani, Rojin Kasiri, Sahand Shirazi, Seraj Safaryan, Shailin Aghili, Shamim Idelkhani, Sholeh Movafaghi Eyvali, Siavash Baloch Gherai, Students, Tara Ehsan, Taranom Kamali, Vafa Nobakht

At least 22 Baha’i students have reportedly been denied entry to universities in Iran despite successfully passing the national admissions test. These Baha’i applicants received a short message with the content: “Dear applicant, there is a flaw in your dossier. Please contact the Response Unit of the Appraisal Agency” when checking their test results online. Last year, at least 58 Baha’i students received the same message. Since 2006, this message has been used to inform several Baha’i students about rejection of their applications.

The 22 Baha’i students who have successfully passed the university entrance exam in 2019 but have been banned from higher education are identified by the Human Rights Activists News Agency as the following (name, city):

Seraj Safaryan (Sari), Tara Ehsan (Karaj), Rojin Kasiri (Karaj), Shamim Idelkhani (Ardabil), Sahand Shirazi (Tehran), Mahtab Khadem (Tehran), Armaghan Enayati (Semnan), Siavash Baloch Gherai (Mashhad), Shailin Aghili (Karaj), Negar Ighani (Shiraz), Rojan Ehsani (Kashan), Ghazal Allahverdi Gorji (Sari), Taranom Kamali (Shiraz), Negin Foroughi (Tehran), Dorsa Mostafavi (Tehran), Aria Ehsani (Karaj), Behzad Yazdani (Sari), Sholeh Movafaghi Eyvali (Sari), Mahsa Forouhari (Karaj), Vafa Nobakht (Sari), Aylar Roshan Nahad (Isfahan), and Noorieh Ferdosian (Isfahan)

Denying Baha’i students’ entry to universities in Iran is not an unprecedented matter. They have been systematically denied access to higher education by the Iranian government. Even dozens of Baha’is who have successfully passed the national examinations and other hurdles to continue their education at the university level have been forced to drop out, even several years into their programs.

Although unofficial sources estimate the Baha’i population of Iran at more than 300,000, Iran’s Constitution officially recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The Baha’i faith is not acknowledged as an official religion by the Iranian government. As a result, the rights of Baha’is in Iran are systematically violated. Over the years, the government used various tactics at different stages of university admission process including application, entrance examination and enrollment, to exclude Baha’is from education at colleges and universities. From a small number of Baha’i students who have been able to register and start their studies at universities, the majority have been expelled at some point before graduation

Mohsen Asadi University Professor Was Arrested

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Other
Majid Asadi, Mohsen Asadi

Mohsen Asadi, a Yazd University professor, who was released on July 31, 2019 after finishing his sentence of a one-month prison term, was rearrested on September 14, 2019. Reportedly, the arrest is for a new case but the reason of the arrest is still unknown. He was transferred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) detention center in Yazd on September 15, 2019. Earlier this year, he was arrested by security forces on May 26, 2019. He was transferred to Yazd Prison and was sentenced to one month imprisonment.

His brother, Majid Asadi, is a political prisoner in Rajai Shahr Prison. He is serving his sentence of six years  imprisonment since February 18, 2017 . He was charged with “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state”.

Maryam Mohammadi and Asreen Darkaleh Were Released on Bail

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Prisoners, Women
Asreen Darkaleh, Maryam Mohammadi, Nedaye Zanane Iran

On September 18, 2019 Maryam Mohammadi and Asreen Darkaleh, women’s rights activists, were temporarily released on bail.

Maryam Mohammadi was arrested on July 8, 2019 in Garmsar, Semnan Province by security forces and was transferred to a solitary confinement cell at the intelligence department’s detention center in Evin Prison known as the ward 209. She was transferred to women’s ward of Evin Prison after a month in solitary confinement on August 8, 2019. She is 52 years old and a mother to a 16- and a 22-year-old girl. She had been a political prisoner from 1981 to 1989 when she was 14 to 22 years old.

Asreen Darkaleh was born in 1983 and has an 18-year-old child. She was arrested on July 28, 2019 in Garmsar, Semnan Province by security forces and was transferred to a solitary confinement cell at the intelligence department’s detention center in Evin Prison known as the ward 209. She was transferred to women’s ward of Evin Prison a day after Maryam Mohammadi’s transfer. The two are cousins.

Earlier, they were summoned to the Evin Prison’s prosecutor’s office in June after security forces searched her residences and confiscated some of their belongings. They were transferred to Evin Prison in August. Among their charges are “promoting corruption and prostitution”, “establishing and membership in Nedaye Zanane Iran (Iranian women’s call) Group”, “assembly and collusion against the national security”, and “propaganda against the state” for which they are under prosecution at the Branch 2 of the Evin Prison’s prosecutor’s office.

These activists are members of association of Nedaye Zanane Iran (Iranian women’s call) which is a women’s NGO working to empower women and improve the lives of them in Iran. Mohammadi and Darkaleh were also arrested during the International Women’s Day ceremonies in Tehran on March 7, 2019. They gave speeches on subjects such as “women as the core opposition force” and “the 40th anniversary of women movement”.

Pedram Pazireh Sentenced to Seven Years Imprisonment and 74 Lashes

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Students
Pedram Pazireh, student

Tehran’s Appeals Court upheld Pedram Pazireh’s sentence. He was sentenced earlier to seven years imprisonment and 74 lashes, was banned from leaving the country and membership in political groups for two years by the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran led by judge Moghiseh. According to the article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, he should serve the sentence for the charge with the highest penalty which is five years. His Appeals Court was scheduled for July 2, 2019 but after he attended at the Branch 36 of the Appeals Court of Tehran, he was informed that the trial was canceled.

Pedram Pazireh is a student of Anthropology at the University of Tehran and the Vice Chairman of the university’s Student Union. He was arrested in January 2018.

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Mitra Badrnejad Sentenced to Imprisonment

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Religious Minorities
Baha'i, Mitra Badrnejad

Mitra Badrnejad, a Baha’i resident of Ahvaz, was sentenced to a one-year prison term by the Khuzestan Appeals Court. In October 2018, she was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Branch 2 of Ahvaz Revolutionary Court. She was arrested on March 3, 2018 and was temporary released on bail on May 14, 2018.

Baha’i citizens of Iran are systematically deprived of religious freedoms, while according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people are entitled to freedom of religion, belief, and changes thereof, as well as the right to express and practice those beliefs as individuals or collectives, in public or in private.

Although unofficial sources estimate the Baha’i population of Iran at more than 300,000, Iran’s Constitution officially recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The Baha’i faith is not acknowledged as an official religion by the Iranian government. As a result, the rights of Baha’is in Iran are systematically violated.

Workers of HEPCO Were Battered and Arrested after a Severe Police Attack

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Labor and Guilds
HEPCO, workers

On September 16, 2019, the workers of Heavy Equipment Production Company (HEPCO) in Arak were protesting on the railway track of the North-South railway. The demonstration turned violent after the police attack that led to arrest and injury of many protesters. According to the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Mill Labor Syndicate, police attacked protesters to stop the protest. Some of the injured protesters were transferred to hospital and at least 28 of them were arrested but their identification is still unknown. The protesters demanded their unpaid wages, clarification of their share-holding status, and ownership of the Company.

HEPCO Company was founded in 1974 to manufacture and assemble industrial machinery and to create jobs for eight thousand workers. It currently has only 900 workers and employees who have unpaid wages from 2016. HEPCO was privatized during the first term of president Ahmadinejad and has had two main shareholders who are both unable to perform their duties. HEPCO workers organized a demonstration in May 2018 to protest their unpaid wages. On May 28, 2019, 10 workers were summoned to the Arak’s prosecutor’s  office and a group case was opened for them. Their case was transferred to the Branch two of the prosecutor’s office with charges of “disrupting public order” and “attending unauthorized demonstration”. These workers were arrested the same day and eventually five of them were released on bail. Although the management of HEPCO was transferred to the Ministry of Industry but the issue of unpaid wages of HEPCO workers has not yet been solved. In February, the attorney of several of the workers of Arak HEPCO reported that the cases of seven workers of this company were transferred to the Revolutionary Court.

First six months of Ebrahim Raisi as Justiciary Chief of Iran; 1000 years of prison sentences and 1500 lashes for activists

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Other
Abbas Lesani, Abbas Nouri Shadkam, Abdollah Ghasimpour, Abdul Azim Arouji, Abolfazl Ghadyani, Adel Samaei, Ali Amin Amlashi, Ali Babai, Ali Bagheri, Ali Bani Sadeh, Ali Johari, Ali Mozafari, Alireza Habibi, Alireza Kafai, Alireza Saghafi, Aliyeh Eghdam Doost, Amanollah Balochi, Amin Seybar, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadi Fard, Amir Mahdi Jalayeri, Amir Mahdi Sedighara, Amir Salar Davoodi, Anoushah Ashouri, aras amiri, Aref Mohammadi, Arsham Rezai, Arshia Rahmati, Asadollah Jaberi, Asal Mohammadi, Asghar Amirzadegani, Ata’ollah Ahsani, Atefeh Rangriz, Athena Daemi, Azam Najafi, Bahman Kord, Bahman Salehi, Baktash Abtin, Bani Naami, Bapir Barzeh, Barzan Mohammadi, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, Behnam Mousavand, Behrooz Zare, Behzad Ali Bakhshi, Behzad Shahsavar, Bijan Ahmadi, Dariush Abdar, Davood Mahmoodi, Davood Razavi, Ebrahim Reisi, Edris Kasravi, Eghbal Shabani, Ehsan Kheybar, Ehteram Sheykhi, Emad Jaberi, Esmael Bakhshi, Esmail Gerami, Esmail Jaadeleh, Farhad Sheykhi, Farideh Jaberi, Farideh Toosi, Farokhlegha aramarzi, Farough Izadi Nia, Farzad Bahadori, Fatemeh Bakhtari, Fatemeh Mohammadi, Feisal Saalebi, Firouz Ahmadi, Ghafour Barham, Golraki Ebrahimi Irai, Haleh Safarzadeh, Hamed Ayenehvand, Hamid Balkhkanloo, Hamid Reza Rahmati, Hasan Saeedi, Hashem Zeinali, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Hossein Ansari Zadeh, Hossein Ghadyani, Hossein Gholami, Hossein Habibi, Hossein Janati, Ishaq Rouhi, Ismail Hosseini Koohkamarai, Jafar Azimzadeh, Jafar Pekand, Jafar Rostami, Javad Lari, Javad Zolnouri, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Kambiz Misaghi, Kazem Safabakhsh, Keyvan Bajan, Keyvan Nejadrasoul, Khadijeh (Leila) Mirghafari, Khaled Hosseini, Khalil Karimi, Khalil Malaki, Kheirollah Bakhshi, Kianoush Aslani, Kianoush Ghahramani, Kiumars Marzban, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Mahmood Masoumi, Mardas Taheri, Maryam Amiri, Maryam Mokhtari, Marzieh Amiri, Masoud Ajloo, Masoud Hamidi, Masoud Kazemi, Matin Amiri, Mehdi Moghadari, Michael White, Milad Mohammad Hosseini, Mino Riazati, Mir Mousa Ziagari, Mobinollah Veysi, Moein Mohammadi, Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, Mohammad Asri, Mohammad Dorosti, Mohammad Hossein Ghasempour, Mohammad Khanifar, Mohammad Mirzai, Mohammad Najafi, Mohammad Potaiesh, Mohammad Rasoulof, Mohammad Reza Aghajari, Mohammad Reza Khatami, Mohammad Saber Malek Raeissi, Mohsen Haghshenas, Mohsen Haseli, Mohsen Shojai, Mojgan Keshavarz, Mojgan Lali, Mojtaba Dadashi, Mojtaba Parvin, Monika Alizadeh, Monireh Arabshahi, Nader Afshari, Nader Fotourehchi, Nahid Khodakarami, Najaf Mehdipour, Nariman Noroozi, Nasrin Javadi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Negin Tadrisi, Nejat Bahrami, Nima Saffar, Oldoz Ghasemi, Omid Asadi, Omid Azadi, Parvin Soleimani, Peyman Mirzazadeh, Pooneh Nasheri, Raheleh Rahimipour, Rahim Gholami, Rahim Mohammadpour, Rahman Abed, Rasoul Bodaghi, Rasoul Taleb Moghadam, Reza Khand Mahabadi, Reza Makian (Malek), Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, Roozbeh Meshkinkhat, Rostam Abdollah Zadeh, Saab Zahiri, Saba Kord-Afshari, Sadegh Larijani, Sadegh Zibaklam, Saeed Eghbali, Saeed Seyfi Jahan, Saghar Mohammadi, Sahand Moali, Sahar Kazemi, Sahar Khodayari, Sajad Shahiri, Salar Taher Afshar, Salman Afra, Samko Jafari, Sanaz Allahyari, Sara Saei, Sepideh Gholian, Shabnam Issa Khani, Shaghayegh Makai, Shahryar Khodapanah, Shaker Maravi, Sharmin Yomni, Sheida Abedi, Shima Babai Zeydi, Shir Ahmad Shirani, Shirko Ali Mohammadi, Siamand Shahsavar, Siavash Rezaian, Simin Eyvazzadeh, Simin Mohammadi, Sina Darvish Omran, Sofia Mombini, Sohrab Malaki, Taher Sufi, Tofigh Mahmoudi, Tohid Amir Amini, Vali Nasiri, Vida Movahed, Yasaman Aryani, Yousef Jalil, Yousef Salahshour, Zahra Modarreszadeh, Zaman Fadai

Ebrahim Raisi is a former Custodian and Chairman of Astan Quds Razavi from 2016 to 2019 and a member of so-called “death commission” during the 1988 executions which were series of state-sponsored execution of political prisoners across the country. He succeeded Sadegh Larijani as the Judiciary Chief (the head of judicial system of Iran) in 2019. Being appointed as the Judiciary Chief by the Supreme leader, Ebrahim Raisi claimed that he wants the Iranian people to taste “the sweet flavor of justice” by reforming the judicial system to bring more justice and fairness. Six months after being appointed to the new position, the verdicts of political prisoners indicate that the pressure is increased on the civil rights activists and opposition groups in Iran. During six months of Ebrahim Raisi in office, political activists were sentenced to 1,027 years in prison and 1428 lashes.  Therefore, the verdicts targeting civil rights activists and opposition groups were increased by 119% compared to a similar time period during his predecessor, Sadegh Larijani, who was in office for nine and half years. Although Larijani faced massive demonstrations such as uprisings across the country in January 2017 and August 2018, protests in the Khuzestan province, and Dervishes protests which Raisi has not faced any yet.

Statistics Comparison of Verdicts with the Former Judiciary Chief

The following is a summary of verdicts between March 8, 2019 to September 8, 2019 which was gathered and analyzed by the Department of Statistics and Publication of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI): According to statistics, during this period, both sentences against political and civil activists or years of sentences were increased. 211 political or civil activists including advocates of freedom of expression, women rights activists, syndicates activists, students, ethnicity rights activists, labor rights activists, minority rights advocates, and religion activists were sentenced by the Revolutionary Court across the country to 1027 and six months of imprisonment, 418 million and 350 thousand Tomans of fines, and 428 lashes. Out of these numbers, 966 years and 8 months in prison sentences and 30 years and 10 months are suspended prison sentences. In comparison to the same period when Larijani was the Judiciary Chief, March 8 to September 8, 2018, 278 political and civil activists were sentenced to 468 years and one month in prison, 254 million Tomans fines, and 891 lashes. This comparison is based on the numbers of individual cases but mass sentences for the arrestees of uprisings such as 232 verdicts of Gonabadi dervishes in the case of so-called “Golestan Haftom” have been excluded. Overall, these statistics indicated that although the number of arrestees has been decreased in Raisi’s term but the average number of verdicts in comparison to the same period in the Larijani’s term has been increased.

The Names of 211 Activists Who Were Sentenced to Prison Term or Lashes During Ebrahim Raeissi’s term

Kiumars Marzban, Shima Babai Zeydi, Dariush Abdar, Mahmood Masoumi, Behnam Mousavand, Saeed Eghbali, Mojgan Lali, Saeed Seyfi Jahan, Shaghayegh Makai, Nader Afshari, Anoushah Ashouri, Ali Johari, Marzieh Amiri, Ishaq Rouhi, Mohammad Saber Malek Raeissi, Shir Ahmad Shirani, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Aras Amiri, Nejat Bahrami, Sadegh Zibaklam, Hamed Ayenehvand, Roozbeh Meshkinkhat, Mohammad Reza Aghajari, Nima Saffar, Khalil Karimi, Mehdi Moghadari, Golraki Ebrahimi Irai, Athena Daemi, Mohammad Reza Khatami, Mohammad Potaiesh, Khadijeh (Leila) Mirghafari, Reza Makian (Malek), Hashem Zeinali, Simin Eyvazzadeh, Ehsan Kheybar, Abdul Azim Arouji, Mohsen Haseli, Mohsen Shojai, Azam Najafi, Parvin Soleimani, Sharmin Yomni, Sara Saei, Arshia Rahmati, Masoud Hamidi, Ali Babai, Ismail Hosseini Koohkamarai, Farideh Toosi, Zahra Modarreszadeh, Amir Mahdi Jalayeri, Mohammad Najafi, Javad Lari, Rahim Mohammadpour, Masoud Kazemi, Sahar Kazemi, Amir Salar Davoodi, Milad Mohammad Hosseini, Abdollah Ghasimpour, Mohammad Hossein Ghasempour, Alireza Habibi, Baktash Abtin, Reza Khand Mahabadi, Keyvan Bajan, Yousef Salahshour, Davood Mahmoodi, Mohammad Asri, Siavash Rezaian, Najaf Mehdipour, Behrooz Zare, Ata’ollah Ahsani, Abbas Nouri Shadkam, Ali Bagheri, Masoud Ajloo, Behzad Ali Bakhshi, Kianoush Ghahramani, Nariman Noroozi, Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, Amir Mahdi Sedighara, Ali Amin Amlashi, Barzan Mohammadi, Arsham Rezai, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Michael White, Abolfazl Ghadyani, Nader Fotourehchi, Farhad Sheykhi, Mardas Taheri, Aliyeh Eghdam Doost, Rasoul Bodaghi, Esmail Gerami, Javad Zolnouri, Hossein Gholami, Rahman Abed, Asghar Amirzadegani, Hamid Reza Rahmati, Eghbal Shabani, Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, Fatemeh Mohammadi, Bahman Kord, Sina Darvish Omran, Ali Mozafari, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Mojtaba Dadashi, Mohammad Rasoulof, Hossein Janati, Omid Asadi, Sahand Moali, Mohammad Mirzai, Bapir Barzeh, Shirko Ali Mohammadi, Keyvan Nejadrasoul, Tohid Amir Amini, Kianoush Aslani, Abbas Lesani, Mobinollah Veysi, Mojtaba Parvin, Kazem Safabakhsh, Rahim Gholami, Jafar Rostami, Aref Mohammadi, Peyman Mirzazadeh, Samko Jafari, Behzad Shahsavar, Siamand Shahsavar, Salman Afra, Shaker Maravi, Khaled Hosseini, Rasoul Taleb Moghadam, Hasan Saeedi, Hossein Ansari Zadeh, Feisal Saalebi, Saab Zahiri, Adel Samaei, Esmail Jaadeleh, Bani Naami, Omid Azadi, Rostam Abdollah Zadeh, Ali Bani Sadeh, Nasrin Javadi, Tofigh Mahmoudi, Davood Razavi, Amanollah Balochi, Farough Izadi Nia, Moein Mohammadi, Sheida Abedi, Firouz Ahmadi, Khalil Malaki, Simin Mohammadi, Bijan Ahmadi, Maryam Mokhtari, Saghar Mohammadi, Sohrab Malaki, Bahman Salehi, Sofia Mombini, Negin Tadrisi, Kheirollah Bakhshi, Shabnam Issa Khani, Shahryar Khodapanah, Farzad Bahadori, Kambiz Misaghi, Monika Alizadeh, Mino Riazati, Asadollah Jaberi, Ehteram Sheykhi, Emad Jaberi, Farideh Jaberi, Farokhlegha Faramarzi, Pooneh Nasheri, Saba Kord Afshari, Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, Mojgan Keshavarz, Vida Movahed, Matin Amiri, Maryam Amiri, Atefeh Rangriz, Edris Kasravi, Taher Sufi, Haleh Safarzadeh, Alireza Saghafi, Yousef Jalil, Fatemeh Bakhtari, Zaman Fadai, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, Mohsen Haghshenas, Nahid Khodakarami, Raheleh Rahimipour, Alireza Kafai, Mohammad Dorosti, Salar Taher Afshar, Oldoz Ghasemi, Jafar Azimzadeh, Hossein Habibi, Hossein Ghadyani, Mir Mousa Ziagari, Sajad Shahiri, Jafar Pekand , Hamid Balkhkanloo, Ghafour Barham, Vali Nasiri, Sahar Khodayari, Amin Seybar, Esmael Bakhshi, Sepideh Gholian, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadi Fard, Sanaz Allahyari, Asal Mohammadi, Mohammad Khanifar.

It should be noted that in addition to aforementioned names, several other activists such as detained environmentalists, arrestees of the International Labor Day’s protest, Baha’i citizens, and supporters of opposition groups are waiting for their verdicts. Based on the outcome of the first six months of Raisi as the Chief Justice of Iran, the continuous increase of the verdicts in the following six months is predictable. On the other hand, according to several lawyers, Raisi is trying to implement a rule in which the appeal’s courts will be in session only after obtaining permissions from the Supreme Leader. Thus, appeals courts will acknowledge the primary verdict without reserving a chance for lawyers and convict to defend.

Ebrahim Raisi’s Background

In 1981, 20-year old Ebrahim Raisi was appointed as the prosecutor of Karaj. Later in 1985, he was appointed as the Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran. He was a member of so-called “death commission” during the 1988 political prisoners’ executions across the country. Raisi was appointed as Tehran’s prosecutor from 1989 to 1994. In 1994-1995, he was appointed as the head of the General Inspection Office. From 2004 until 2014, Raisi served as the First Deputy Chief Justice of Iran. He was later appointed as the Attorney-General of Iran in 2014-2016. He has also served as the Special Clerical Court prosecutor since 2012. He became the Chairman of Astan Quds Razavi on 7 March 2016 after the death of his predecessor Abbas Vaez-Tabasi. He is the second person to serve this office from 1979.  Raisi ran a presidential campaign in February 2017 but after losing the presidential election, he was appointed by Ali Khamenei as a member of Expediency Discernment Council.

The 1988 executions of the Iranian political prisoners were a series of state-sponsored execution of political prisoners, starting on 19 July 1988 and lasting for approximately five months. The majority of those who were killed were supporters of the Mujahedin Khalgh but supporters of other leftist factions such as Communist party were executed as well. The killings have been described as a political purge without precedent in the modern Iranian history, both in terms of scope and coverup. Different sources put the number of victims between 2500 and 30000. Most of the people who were executed had already served their sentences in prison. Hussein-Ali Montazeri, deputy of Supreme Leader of Iran between 1985-1989, named Ebrahim Raisi as one of the people who was in administration of the executions which according to Montazeri, was implemented by a four-men commission, later known as the “death committee”. According to Montazeri, the commission consisted of Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Ali Nayyeri, Morteza Eshraghi, and Mostafa Pour Mohammadi.

Seven Labor Activists of Haft Tappeh’s Case Sentenced to 110 Years in Prison and 74 Lashes, Combined

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Labor and Guilds, Prisoners
Ali Nejati, Ali Nnejati, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadifar, Asal Mohammadi, Esmail Bakhshi, Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry, Mohammad Khanifar, Sanaz Allahyari, Sepideh Gholian

On September 7, 2019, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Esmail Bakhshi to a 14-year prison term and 74 lashes and Mohammad Khanifar to six years imprisonment. In addition, Sepideh Gholian, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Allahyari, and Asal Mohammadi were sentenced to 18 years in prison, each. Their trial was held in the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, in August. Ali Nejati’s case is still open.

The collective court session for the detained labor activists of Haft Tappeh’s case was initially scheduled for August 3, 2019 at the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran led by judge Moghiseh. However, the session was postponed to a later date and was held one-by-one.

According to the verdict issued by the Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court led by judge Moghiseh, Esmail Bakhshi was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”, two years imprisonment for “insulting the Supreme Leader”, two years imprisonment for the charge of “spreading falsehood”, one years and half in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the state”, and 1.5 years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of “disrupting the public order”.

Sepideh Gholian, Amir (Ali) Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadfard, Sanaz Allahyari, and Asal Mohammadi, each were sentenced to seven years in prison for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”,  another seven years in prison for the charge of “membership in Gam group”, one year and a half in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the state”, and two years and a half for “spreading falsehood”. According to the article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, each should serve the sentence for the charge with the highest penalty which is seven years imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”.

Mohammad Khanifar was sentenced to five years in prison for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security” and a one-year prison term for the charge of “propaganda against the state”. According to the article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, Mohammad Khanifar should serve the sentence for the charge with the highest penalty which is five years imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”.

The protests of the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane industrial complex started on March 28, 2018 in front of the Shush governor compound. Subsequently, the prosecutor’s office of Shush summoned several workers. The workers went to the prosecutor’s office three days later but were informed that their session was rescheduled.  On the same day, 10 protester workers were arrested. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane industrial complex union reported the strike of more than five hundred workers of this company from July 29, 2018 and these protests periodical continued till August 2018. The protesters demanded an end to the privatization of the company and alleged houses to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, firing the executive board members of the company, and sustain the current director of the company. In November 2018 these protests were accompanied by protests of the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) and continued till late December.  Esmail Bakhshi and Ali Nejati are two prominent labor activists of Haft Tappeh Complex who have been arrested during the protests.

Esmail Bakhshi was arrested in November and was released on bail in December 2018. He was charged with “disruption of public order”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, and “participation in forming a group”, “intended to disrupt public security”. On December 2, 2018 he reported his return to his workplace. On January 4, 2019, Esmail Bakhshi wrote an open letter and spoke out about abuse and torture he suffered in detention from the Intelligence Department authorities during his detention. After that, Sepideh Gholian, a civil rights activist who was arrested during workers protests supported him. Bakhshi and Gholian have been rearrested after the broadcast of their under-torture confessions on the national television. They have been transferred from Sheiban and Sepidar prison in Ahvaz to Evin prison in Tehran on April 28, 2018 for their court hearing.

On August 10, 2019, the trial of Sepideh Gholian was held at the Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. In this session Sepideh Gholian claimed that she was subjected to abuse during her interrogation and was forced to confess therefore she does not approve her accusation. Sepideh Gholians attorney, Jamal Heydari Manesh, stated that his client was under pressure during her arrest and interrogation and she was falsely accused. He emphasized that defending the workers’ right is not a crime but one the rights of his client.

Ali Nejati, who is a labor activist and a member of the managing board of the labor union representing employees of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, was arrested by the security forces on November 29, 2018 on the charges of “disrupting public order”, “collusion and assembly against national security” and “cooperation in establishing a group intended to disrupt peace and security”. He was transferred to the Shush prison on December 24, 2018. He was taken to the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Baghaei Hospital due to the deteriorating health for his heart. He is suffering from heart disease and a prolonged detention had a dire health consequence and even endangered his life. In January, his family reported about his inappropriate detention condition. Nevertheless, his verdict was changed to release on bail, and he was temporary released on January 28, 2019.

The members of “Gam”, a labor right defendant magazine was arrested by the security forces. On January 16, 2019, Amir Amirgholi was arrested in city of Babolsar and was transferred to the ward 209 of Evin Prison. He was transferred to Ahvaz’s Intelligence department on February 18, 2019 and then transferred to quarantine ward of Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz. Currently, he is in ward four of Evin Prison. Sanaz Allahyari and her husband Amir Hossein Mohammadifar, were arrested on January 9, 2019. Mohammadifar was transferred from the ward 209 in Evin Prison to the ward 4 and Allahyari was transferred to the woman ward of Evin Prison.

Asal Mohammadi, labor activist, was arrested at her home by security forces on the charge of supporting workers’ protests on November 22. On January 5, 2019, she was released on 400 million Tomans [4000 dollars] bail. She was rearrested on August 4, 2019 by judge Moghiseh order. Reportedly, she could not afford the updated set bail of two billion Tomans [200 thousand dollars].

Mohammad Khanifar was arrested during the mass arrest on November 19, 2019 during the protest of workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane and he was released on January 26, 2019. On January 29, he was summoned to Shush’s Intelligence department and was rearrested there. He was released on bail on January 29, 2019. His trial session for another part of this case was held on February 12, 2019 in the Shush Court. In this session his incitement was about the charge of” unauthorized demonstration demanding the change of management of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcan Agro-Industry and the release of Esmail Bakhshi”.

Haft Tappeh was founded in the 1960s in the city of Shush, in Khuzestan Province. It is the oldest sugar factory in Iran. Since 2015 due to the privatization deal based on article 44 of the constitution was transferred to the present owners. It has four thousand workers and employees and is located 15 kilometers south of the Shush city.

The Updated Identities of 38 Prisoners with National-Security Charges in Ward 7 of Evin Prison

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Prisoners
Afshin Salehi, Ahmad Reza Jalali, Ali Asgari, Ali Azarifar, Ali Johari, Ali Kashefi, Ali Kebritsaz Tavakoli, Amir Hossein Seyrafi, Amir Rahimpour, Amir Salimi Aghdam, Anoush Ashouri, Babak Al-Ebrahim, Farid Faridnia, Hamidnia, Jalil Baroghi, Javid Javidnia, Kamran Ghaderi, Kiumars Marzban, Majid Nikafraz, Manouchehr Mohammad-Ali, Masoud Kiani, Masoud Mosaheb, Mehdi Ahmadi, Mehdi Zarei, Mohammad Ali Babapour, Mohammad Amin Nasab, Mohammad Amini, Mohammad Asnaashari, Mohammad Javad Zarei, Mohammad Omidi, Mokhtar Salehi, Najaf Hesari, national-security prison, Reza Jokari, Sattar Sheykh, Seyed Javad Noorjamali, Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi, Shahab Damiri, Shahab Manzouri, Ward 7 of Evin Prison, Xiyue Wang

The following list contains the name of the prisoners with national-security charges who are currently imprisoned in ward 7 of Evin Prison and have charges such as “relationship with enemy states” and “espionage”. Most of these prisoners are in the ward 7 but some of them are locted in wards 4 and 8 of Evin Prison. Many of these prisoners have denied their charges and believe their charges are based on political intentions. In this list, there are many dual-citizens or prisoners with permanent residence permit of a foreign country.

Most of the prisoners with national-security charges are tried based on the Article 501 (espionage) or the Article 508 (collaboration with an enemy state) of the Islamic Penal Law. Due to lack of transparency in the trial process by the judicial system and uncertainty in having a fair trial, this list is created according to charges pressed by the judicial system against these prisoners. Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA) is unable to confirm or reject such charges. HRANA updates the list of the prisoners based on different categories, charges, and geographical location periodically in order to inform its audience and support victims of human rights violations.

The following is the updated identities of 38 prisoners with national-security charges in the ward 7 of Evin Prison:

 

  1. Amir Hossein (Iman) Seyrafi, was sentenced to a seven-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with a hostile government”. He is a computer engineer and his expertise are in cyber security.
  2. Amir Salimi Aghdam was sentenced to a five-year prison term on the charge of “espionage”. He is a professor with a jurisdiction doctorate degree.
  3. Babak Al-Ebrahim was sentenced to a three-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a master’s degree in economy from Germany.
  4. Javid Javidnia was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a doctoral degree in geophysics from the Netherlands.
  5. Ahmad Reza Jalali (Djalali) was sentenced to death on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He is a Swedish-Iranian dual citizen and a university professor.
  6. Anoush Ashouri is sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with a hostile government of the United Kingdom”.
  7. Hamidinia was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with a hostile government”. He is a foreign affairs specialist and a former employee of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  8. Reza Jokari was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He is a physics engineer and an employee of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
  9. Shahab Manzouri was sentenced to six years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United Kingdom”.
  10. Xiyue Wang was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of espionage for the United States. He is a Chinese American dual citizen.
  11. Mokhtar Salehi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He is an Iranian Kurd and has a high school diploma.
  12. Sattar Sheykh was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a doctoral degree in art from Tehran University of Art.
  13. Ali Kebritsaz Tavakoli was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”.
  14. Mohammad Ali Babapour was charged with “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”. His does not have a sentence yet.
  15. Seyed Javad Noorjamali was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He is a computer engineer and a network administrator.
  16. Shahab Damiri was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He was a wrestling captain.
  17. Ali Asgari was sentenced to a seven-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with a hostile government”.
  18. Ali Kashefi was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He is a professor of Sharif University.
  19. Kamran Ghaderi was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Vienna in Austria.
  20. Mohammad Asnaashari was sentenced to a three-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a master’s degree in computer programming.
  21. Mohammad Javad Zarei was sentenced to a 7-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”.
  22. Mehdi Zarei was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”.
  23. Ali Johari was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”.
  24. Kiumars Marzbain was sentenced to 25-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”.
  25. Farid Faridnia, a Kurdish citizen, was sentenced to a seven-year prison term on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”.
  26. Manouchehr Mohammad Ali was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with a hostile government”. He has a doctoral degree in French literature.
  27. Masoud Kiani was sentenced to five years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has doctorate in dentistry from Ukraine.
  28. Mehdi Ahmadi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”. He has a master’s degree in cyber security from the University of Virginia.
  29. Najaf Hesari, a Kurdish citizen, was sentenced to three years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”.
  30. Ali Azarifar was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a doctoral degree in programming from Australia.
  31. Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi was charged with “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He does not have a sentence yet.
  32. Amir Rahimpour was charged with “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America” and his sentence is still unknown. He has a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
  33. Afshin Salehi was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer.
  34. Mohammad Amini was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States of America”. He has a master’s degree in computer.
  35. Jalil Baroghi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
  36. Mohammad Omidi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He was a former employee of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  37. Masoud Mosaheb was charged with “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”. He does not have a sentence yet.
  38. Mohammad Amin Nasab was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of the United Kingdom”. He is an Iranian-British dual citizen.
  39. Majid Nikafraz was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”.

This list only contains the national-security related prisoners in this ward.  Other political prisoners with charges such as “assembly and collision”, “propaganda against the state”, and “missionary” are also held in this ward.