Category: Labor and Guilds

Heavy Prison Terms for Labor Activists & Students in Tabriz

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Labor and Guilds
Mohammad Jarahi, Nima Pouryaghob, Sasan Vahebivash, Shahrokh Zamani

HRANA News Agency – Shahrokh Zamani, Nima Pouryaghob, Mohammad Jarahi and Sasan Vahebivash have been sentenced to heavy prison terms in Tabriz, Iran.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the aforementioned individuals are labor activists and students in the city of Tabriz.The Revolutionary Court, Branch 1, has issued verdicts sentencing them to a total of 22 years and 6 months in prison.A fifth defender, Buick Sydler, was found not guilty.

Shahrokh Zamani was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of organizing an opposition group and propaganda against the regime.

Mohammad Jarahi received a 5 year prison term for organizing an opposition group.Nima Pouryaghob was sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of organizing an opposition group and propaganda against the regime.

Sasan Vahebivash received a 6 month prison term on charges of the membership in an organization opposing IRI and propaganda against the regime.

The Revolutionary Court, Branch 1, tried and convicted these leftist labor activists and students on August 18, 2011.Prior to this trial, a bail approximately equivalent to $94,000 was set for Nima Pouryaghob while Sasan Vahebivash and Buick Sydler each posted approximately $30,000 bail to be temporally released from Tabriz Prison.

The verdicts issued against these political activists are unprecedented in Tabriz in the recent few years.

 

Six Members of Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan Summoned

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Labor and Guilds
Ali Qarishi, Ezat Nosrati, Kamal Fakorian, Mostafa Sarbazan, Parviz Nasehi

HRANA News Agency – On Monday, July 29, 2011, six labor activists and members of Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan were summoned to the Revolutionary Court.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Kamal Fakorian, Ali Qarishi, Mostafa Sarbazan, Parviz Nasehi and Ezat Nosrati are amongst those summoned on Monday afternoon by phone to appear before the Revolutionary Court in the city of Sanandaj.

Six labor activists have been ordered to report to the Interrogation Unit of the Revolutionary Court, Branch 4, promptly at 8:00am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

 

Siavash Eslami’s Lashing Sentence Carried Out

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Labor and Guilds
Siavash Eslami

HRANA News Agency – Siavash Eslami, a board member of Teachers Union in Sari, received 37 lashes according to a verdict handed down by the Appeals Court.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Siavash Eslami is a union activist who has been charged with acting against national security through participating in the events after 2009 presidential elections.He was initially sentenced to 74 lashes, but the Appeals Court later reduced this verdict to 37 lashes.

Siavash Eslami was flagged on Sunday, July 31, 2011, one day before the month of Ramadan began.It has been reported that Siavash Eslami was fasting when taken to Sari Enforcement Bureau to be flogged.

Siavash Eslami has been a teacher for 24 years and holds a master’s degree in political science.He has been teaching Islamic Studies in various high schools in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province.

 

Labor Activist Ali Nejati Sentenced to One Year in Prison

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Labor and Guilds
Ali Nejati

HRANA News Agency – The Ahvaz Appeals Court, Branch 13, has sentenced Ali Nejati to one year in prison.Ali Nejati is one of the board members of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company Workers’ Trade Union.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), this verdict is handed down despite the fact that Ali Nejati has already served six months in the Fajr Prison of Dezful for the same charge.While he was in prison, Ali Nejati was summoned to court to be tried again on charges for which he was behind bars.

According to a report by the website of the Coordinating Committee to Create Labor Organizations, after Ali Nejati’s prison term was over, prosecutors attempted to try him again, but the charges were dismissed by the court since they were repetitive.

After the acquittal, because of the prosecutor’s objection and pressure from intelligence officials, Ali Nejati’s case was once again referred to the appeals court at the provincial capital.

About three years ago, Ali Nejati was fired from his job at Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company after working there for over 25 years.Consequently, he has also been suffering financially and has lost the means to support himself.Ali Nejati suffers from heart problems and the clogging of arteries.After his most recent heart surgery, he has been receiving medical care for several months.

 

Workers of Tractor Manufacturing Company on Strike in Tabriz

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Labor and Guilds
Tabriz

HRANA News Agency – The workers of Iranian Tractor Manufacturing Company whose headquarters are in Tabriz have been on strike since five days ago.During this time, all factory workshops have shut down while company and provincial officials continue to ignore workers’ demands and have threatened them with termination.

According to a report by Araz News, workers have requested full payment of outstanding productivity bonuses, increasing contract workers’ duration of employment, timely payment of social security disbursements, removal of difficult retirement requirements and full payment of wages for work performed.

Since earlier this year, the Iranian Tractor Manufacturing Company has been offering contract workers only monthly contracts whose duration is one month.Additionally, the company has failed to disburse social security payments to qualified workers, causing problems for a large number of employees.

 

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Official Child Laborers More Than 600,000 in Iran

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Labor and Guilds
Mehr News

HRANA News Agency – Official reports from Iran indicate that there are more than 600,000 Iranian children who have left school in order to enter the job market.As a result, these children are abused in a variety of ways by their families and profiteers.

According to a report by Mehr News Agency, official statistics show that there are 380,000 children between the ages of 10 and 14 working throughout the year in Iran.Additionally, there are about 360,000 children working at seasonal jobs.

Poverty, poor economy, insufficient economic growth and improper distribution of wealth are believed to be the main reasons causing such disturbing social phenomenon as child labor.

In addition to the fact that various occupations requiring hard manual labor harm children psychologically and physically, since laws prohibit employers from hiring minors for such occupations, children are not protected by labor regulations or given any social benefits.

While the official child labor statistics are published, there are thousands of children who work in black markets illegally.

 

Union Activist Nabiollah Bastani Released and Fired

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Labor and Guilds
Nabiollah Bastani

HRANA News Agency – On Thursday, July 14, 2011, the trade union activist Nabiollah Bastani was released from the central prison in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Province and was simultaneously fired from his job by the Ministry of Education.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on January 6, 2011, Nabiollah Bastani was summoned to begin serving his one year sentence at the central prison in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Province.Nabiollah Bastani is a labor activist who taught literature at various high schools in Farsan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Province.He was also the deputy cultural director of Velayat-e Faqih High School.

After six months and seven days behind bars, Nabiollah Bastani was granted a conditional release from prison.Upon his release, he was fired from his job.The Board of Education has also banned Nabiollah Bastani from teaching.Furthermore, prior to his dismissal, the Ministry of Education had refused to pay his salary.The decision to fire a teacher at the same time when he was being released from prison was rare and unexpected.

 

Bazaar on Strike in Javanroud

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Labor and Guilds
Abdullah Visi

HRANA News Agency – All the merchants and shopkeepers in the Kurdish city of Javanroud in Kermanshah Province are on strike after a well-known local store owner was abducted and murdered this week.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Abdullah Visi was abducted by unidentified individuals on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, around 3:00pm while he was heading home after work.On the same day, this merchant’s jewelry store was also robbed by unknown individuals.Abdullah Visi was well known and respected for his charitable and benevolent donations in the city of Javanroud.

For three days following his abduction, Abdullah Visi’s family didn’t know his whereabouts and had absolutely no news of him.On Friday, July 6, 2011, Abdullah Visi’s body was found in Kachal-Ava region near the city of Javanroud.

On Saturday, July 7, 2011, the merchants and shopkeepers of the Javanroud bazaar in a coordinated effort began a strike to protest against this city’s police force neglecting the security and safety of its citizens and failing to investigate the abduction of Abdullah Visi.

As this report is being released, the border bazaar and the majority of stores around the city of Javanroud are closed.

Abdullah Visi’s funeral was held this morning at 9:30am while thousands of people from Javanroud and the outlining areas gathered in the city mosque for the procession to the cemetery.The attendees demanded that Javanroud officials take immediate action to investigate this crime.

 

Esmail Abadi, Math Teacher, Sentenced to Ten Years

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Labor and Guilds
Ali Reza Tabatabai, Esmail Abadi

HRANA News Agency – Esmail Abadi, a high school math teacher and trade union activist, has been sentenced to ten years in prison.This sentence has been suspended for five years.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, the court ruling sentencing Esmail Abadi to ten years in prison was delivered to his attorney, Ali Reza Tabatabai.Citing Article 500 (propaganda against the regime) and Article 505 (association with hostile governments), Judge Peerabasi presided over the trail and issued the verdict.

In summer of 2009, during an interview with a foreign media, Esmail Abadi talked about Iran’s educational system and several imprisoned teacher.Esmail Abadi was subsequently arrested and locked up for 44 days in Evin Prison.

 

Bahnam Ebrahimzadeh Stands Trial Again

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Labor and Guilds
Bahnam Ebrahimzadeh

HRANA News Agency – Bahman Ebrahimzadeh, labor activist, stood trial for the second time after spending more than a year in prison.During the second trial, Judge Moqayaseh presided over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 28.

According to a report by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Bahman Ebrahimzadeh was initially tried by the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.Following his request for appeal and the Supreme Court’s approval, he was tried again.It has been reported that Bahman Ebrahimzadeh’s attorney is optimistic about the second trial and hopeful that his client will receive a lighter sentence.

Bahman Ebrahimzadeh is also an advocate against child labor and has supported the Society to Defend Child Laborers and Street Children.He was arrested in June 2010 and was locked up in one of the solitary confinements in Evin Prison’s ward 2A.Bahman Ebrahimzadeh has been denied furlough since then.