Saqez Labour Activists Back in Court
According to a statement by the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers’ Organization in Iran, the appeal hearings for Mahmoud Salehi, Mohsen Hakimi, Jalal Hosseini and Borhan Divargar were held on Sunday, March 11, 2007 at the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeal, Division 7. Mr. Mohammad Sharif, the lawyer for these four labour activists, in interviews with official news agencies, ISNA and ILNA, reported that because the head of the Division7, the same person who had issued the acquittal verdict last time the case had been brought to the appeal court, was on vacation, instead the head of the Division 9 of the appeal court (the substitute judge used to be the head of the Saqez court which had issued the jail sentences against these activists in the first place) was assigned as his replacement.
Mr. Sharif added that he is hopeful that his clients would be acquitted this time since there is no new evidence or charges against them and because of the fact that the same appeal court had acquitted them a year ago. The coordinating Committee has demanded the complete withdrawal of the charges and full acquittal of these labour activists, who have been facing persecution for about three years because of their participation in planning a May Day celebration in the City of Saqez in 2004. They were arrested before the event even took place. Salehi has been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, while Jalali, Hakimi and Divargar were each sentenced to two years jail. All sentences were issued by the Branch One of the Saqez Revolutionary Court.
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March 12, 2007