Take URGENT ACTION with Amnesty for Reza Shahabi!
Persian report by Rowzane.com
Translation by Laleh Gillani, Persian2English
The Islamic Republic of Iran routinely arrests Iranian workers and teachers for demanding better wages, job security and improved working conditions. Scores of Iranian workers and their leaders are currently in jail for going on strike, building a union or celebrating May Day. The Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran has issued the following statement regarding Reza Shahabi, the jailed board member of Bus Workers’ Union in Tehran:
Announcement No. 63
In our Campaign’s Announcement No. 62, we reported that since December 4, 2010, Reza Shahabi, the board member of the Bus Workers’ Union in Tehran, has gone on hunger strike to protest against constant pressures and physical torture inflicted on him.
In an interview with Radio Farda, Hassan Shahabi, Reza Shahabi’s brother has confirmed the news of his brother’s dry hunger strike and poor physical condition. So far, Hassan Shahabi has inquired about the status of his brother’s case by referring to multiple revolutionary courts in Tehran. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Court at Evin prison has sent Hassan Shahabi to another court whose officials have denied receiving the case file.
On December 8, 2010, Robabeh Rezaei, Reza Shahabi’s wife visited the Special Interrogation Security Office in Evin prison to file a complaint about her husband’s ongoing incarceration and uncertain situation. The judicial officials stationed in Evin prison have refused to meet with Robabeh Rezaei or accept her formal complaint thus far.
Consequently, Robabeh Rezaei was left with no other option than to refer to the Attorney General’s office in Tehran. It has been reported that an official by the name of Amjad who is in charge of branch 2 of the Attorney General’s Interrogation Office, has denied Rezaei’s entrance into the building and has refused to acknowledge the receipt of her husband’s case.
In her complaint, Rezaei states that if any harm comes to her husband, she holds Iran’s judicial system directly responsible. She has also demanded immediate release of her husband who is being held in ward 209 of Evin prison.
As we have previously reported, the second branch of the Islamic Republic’s Security Interrogation Unit in Evin prison issued a letter on October 11, 2010, setting the bail for Reza Shahabi’s release to 60 million toman (approximately $60 thousand USD). Although his family has posted the bail, after three days of uncertainty and frustration, they were informed that his release from prison has not been approved.
To date, Reza Shahabi has spent six months in prison, and two months has passed after his release order was issued. Despite all this, the judicial authorities refuse to comment on his status and have kept his family in the dark regarding the details surrounding his case.
Since Reza Shahabi is currently in dire physical condition and his life is also in danger, there is an immediate and urgent need to take any action to save him. We urge everyone to unite in order to protest Reza Shahabi’s imprisonment and to demand his immediate release. We call upon everyone to act now so that Reza Shahabi does not have to continue his hunger strike. By filing petitions, protesting against the imprisonment of all Iranian workers, and demanding their release from prison, we can ask Reza Shahabi to end his hunger strike to prevent further damage to his health.
The Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran strives to be the voice of Reza Shahabi and all Iranian workers in captivity. We carry the voices of Iranian workers across the world. Please help this campaign in any shape or form possible and lend a helping hand to our cause.
We demand the immediate release of all members of the Bus Workers’ Union, Reza Shahabi, Mansour Ossanloo, Ebrahim Madadi, Gholamreza Gholam-Hosseini, and Morteza Kamsari. We also insist on freeing all political prisons including the labor activist and children’s rights advocate Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, without further delays or conditions.
The Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran
Shahla Daneshfar
Bahram Soroush
17 Azar, 1389 (December 8, 2010)
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