The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has issued a call to action regarding the recent arrest of labour activists in Iran and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders writes that the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) has called its attention to the persecution of the union activists.
The Observatory lists the names of 13 labour activists, most of whom were arrested within the past month, including: Sheys Amani, a founding member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers, on January 17; Sharif Sa’ed-Panah, a board member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers, on January 8, and Maysam Nejati-Aref, a unionist at Tehran’s SAIPA car manufacturing company, on January 3.
The announcement also expresses concern over the “ongoing detention and health status of Mr. Reza Shahabi, the board member and treasurer of Sherkat-e Vahed, who went on a hunger strike last November and had to be hospitalized on December 13.” Shahabi’s judicial case has been kept in limbo for more than 18 months while he is held in jail without bail.
The Observatory calls on the Iranian government to end its persecution of these activists and urges the judiciary to refrain from harassing any detainees.
It also reminds the Islamic Republic that it must remain faithful to its international commitments regarding human rights.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a joint program of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
