Reza Shahabi has been granted five days of medical furlough in order to seek treatment following the worsening of his health in both Rajaee Shahr and Evin Prisons. Reza suffered two strokes in Rajaee Shahr Prison in December 2017 however prison and judicial authorities refused to hospitalize him or release him despite the fact that his totally unjust six-year prison sentence since June 2010 has been finished. Reza Shahabi had been transferred to ward 209 of the Evin prison in Tehran from Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj on January 9, 2018.
Reza, a board member of Tehran bus workers’ syndicate, has been held hostage by the anti-worker authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran merely because of his role as a prominent labour activist and leader within the Iranian workers’ movement. His photo on the left above taken today comparing to the day he was about to return to prison in August 2017 shows that his health has deteriorated significantly especially following his stroke: He looks pale and unwell and his face and eye is visibly droopy on the left side. Reza needs months of treatment, not five days, in order to be able to regain his health if it’s even possible considering years of mistreatment, tortures and abuse at the hands of the Iranian government authorities.
Many thanks and huge gratitude to all comrades in the working class movements globally for their continued support and solidarity, we need to continue advocating for Reza Shahabi to be immediately and unconditionally freed. He cannot and must not return to prison.
Free Reza Shahabi Now!
International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI) – February 8, 2018
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