We are writing to raise our extreme concerns and condemnation regarding the recent death in custody of Shahrokh Zamani, one of the most well-known and respected imprisoned labour activists in Iran, who died on 13 September 2015 in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj. There is growing evidence and belief that Mr. Zamani was killed in prison and thus the Iranian regime is hold directly responsible for his death. Shahrokh’s death has sparked global condemnation and a growing call for an independent international inquiry into his death and the conditions of other jailed labour activists and political prisoners in Iran. Many prisoners in Iran go through severe torture, medical neglects and gross abuse and mistreatments by security guards and prison authorities.
Mr. Zamani was found unconscious. He was taken to the prison’s medical centre and doctors announced him dead. The authorities claimed that a stroke was the cause of his death but there are confirmed reports that there were visible bruises on his body. Mr. Zamani was originally arrested in June 2011 and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. He was a member of the Founding Board of the Syndicate of Paint Workers of Tehran and the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers Organizations.
We are also alarmed that in recent days Mahmoud Salehi, a well-known labour activist and member of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations, who has been in and out of prisons for the past two decades, has been sentenced to another 9 years of prison. Although currently out of prison on bail, Mr. Salehi has lost both his kidneys as a result of years of imprisonment; thus, going back to jail means he will undoubtedly die. Also, Ali Nejati, board member of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate, was arrested on September 15th, just two days after Shahrokh’s death. Rasoul Bodaghi, a teacher and education activist and member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, who just finished his six-year prison term, received another three year sentences even though he had to be freed. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh has been sentenced to another 7 years and 9 months and 15 days in addition to his previous sentences. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, member of the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’ Organizations, and a Children’s Rights advocate, has been incarcerated since June 2010. He was sentenced to five years after conviction of “gathering and colluding with intent to harm state security”.
The list of persecuted and prosecuted labour activists and teachers in Iran goes on. As of this time, Mr. Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, a board member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA-Tehran), who was arrested by security forces at his home on September 6, 2015, is still in custody. Mr. Esmail Abdi, General Secretary of the ITTA-Tehran, as well as a number of other prominent teachers including Ali Akbar Baghani, Alireza Hashemi and Abolreza Ghanbari continue to be in prison.
We join the international condemnation of Mr. Zamani’s death and also call for the unconditional release of all labour activists, teachers and political prisoners in Iran and the recognition of workers to have the right to organize freely without fear of persecution.
PLEASE SEND protest letters to:
· Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
Twitter: @khamenei_ir (English) or @Khamenei_fa (Persian)
Email: [email protected]
· President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and
@Rouhani_ir (Persian)
· Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Email: [email protected]