Seven Labor Activists of Haft Tappeh’s Case Sentenced to 110 Years in Prison and 74 Lashes, Combined

On September 7, 2019, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Esmail Bakhshi to a 14-year prison term and 74 lashes and Mohammad Khanifar to six years imprisonment. In addition, Sepideh Gholian, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Allahyari, and Asal Mohammadi were sentenced to 18 years in prison, each. Their trial was held in the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, in August. Ali Nejati’s case is still open.

The collective court session for the detained labor activists of Haft Tappeh’s case was initially scheduled for August 3, 2019 at the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran led by judge Moghiseh. However, the session was postponed to a later date and was held one-by-one.

According to the verdict issued by the Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court led by judge Moghiseh, Esmail Bakhshi was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”, two years imprisonment for “insulting the Supreme Leader”, two years imprisonment for the charge of “spreading falsehood”, one years and half in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the state”, and 1.5 years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of “disrupting the public order”.

Sepideh Gholian, Amir (Ali) Amirgholi, Amir Hossein Mohammadfard, Sanaz Allahyari, and Asal Mohammadi, each were sentenced to seven years in prison for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”,  another seven years in prison for the charge of “membership in Gam group”, one year and a half in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the state”, and two years and a half for “spreading falsehood”. According to the article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, each should serve the sentence for the charge with the highest penalty which is seven years imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”.

Mohammad Khanifar was sentenced to five years in prison for the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security” and a one-year prison term for the charge of “propaganda against the state”. According to the article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, Mohammad Khanifar should serve the sentence for the charge with the highest penalty which is five years imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion aimed to act against national security”.

The protests of the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane industrial complex started on March 28, 2018 in front of the Shush governor compound. Subsequently, the prosecutor’s office of Shush summoned several workers. The workers went to the prosecutor’s office three days later but were informed that their session was rescheduled.  On the same day, 10 protester workers were arrested. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane industrial complex union reported the strike of more than five hundred workers of this company from July 29, 2018 and these protests periodical continued till August 2018. The protesters demanded an end to the privatization of the company and alleged houses to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, firing the executive board members of the company, and sustain the current director of the company. In November 2018 these protests were accompanied by protests of the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) and continued till late December.  Esmail Bakhshi and Ali Nejati are two prominent labor activists of Haft Tappeh Complex who have been arrested during the protests.

Esmail Bakhshi was arrested in November and was released on bail in December 2018. He was charged with “disruption of public order”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, and “participation in forming a group”, “intended to disrupt public security”. On December 2, 2018 he reported his return to his workplace. On January 4, 2019, Esmail Bakhshi wrote an open letter and spoke out about abuse and torture he suffered in detention from the Intelligence Department authorities during his detention. After that, Sepideh Gholian, a civil rights activist who was arrested during workers protests supported him. Bakhshi and Gholian have been rearrested after the broadcast of their under-torture confessions on the national television. They have been transferred from Sheiban and Sepidar prison in Ahvaz to Evin prison in Tehran on April 28, 2018 for their court hearing.

On August 10, 2019, the trial of Sepideh Gholian was held at the Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. In this session Sepideh Gholian claimed that she was subjected to abuse during her interrogation and was forced to confess therefore she does not approve her accusation. Sepideh Gholians attorney, Jamal Heydari Manesh, stated that his client was under pressure during her arrest and interrogation and she was falsely accused. He emphasized that defending the workers’ right is not a crime but one the rights of his client.

Ali Nejati, who is a labor activist and a member of the managing board of the labor union representing employees of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, was arrested by the security forces on November 29, 2018 on the charges of “disrupting public order”, “collusion and assembly against national security” and “cooperation in establishing a group intended to disrupt peace and security”. He was transferred to the Shush prison on December 24, 2018. He was taken to the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Baghaei Hospital due to the deteriorating health for his heart. He is suffering from heart disease and a prolonged detention had a dire health consequence and even endangered his life. In January, his family reported about his inappropriate detention condition. Nevertheless, his verdict was changed to release on bail, and he was temporary released on January 28, 2019.

The members of “Gam”, a labor right defendant magazine was arrested by the security forces. On January 16, 2019, Amir Amirgholi was arrested in city of Babolsar and was transferred to the ward 209 of Evin Prison. He was transferred to Ahvaz’s Intelligence department on February 18, 2019 and then transferred to quarantine ward of Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz. Currently, he is in ward four of Evin Prison. Sanaz Allahyari and her husband Amir Hossein Mohammadifar, were arrested on January 9, 2019. Mohammadifar was transferred from the ward 209 in Evin Prison to the ward 4 and Allahyari was transferred to the woman ward of Evin Prison.

Asal Mohammadi, labor activist, was arrested at her home by security forces on the charge of supporting workers’ protests on November 22. On January 5, 2019, she was released on 400 million Tomans [4000 dollars] bail. She was rearrested on August 4, 2019 by judge Moghiseh order. Reportedly, she could not afford the updated set bail of two billion Tomans [200 thousand dollars].

Mohammad Khanifar was arrested during the mass arrest on November 19, 2019 during the protest of workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane and he was released on January 26, 2019. On January 29, he was summoned to Shush’s Intelligence department and was rearrested there. He was released on bail on January 29, 2019. His trial session for another part of this case was held on February 12, 2019 in the Shush Court. In this session his incitement was about the charge of” unauthorized demonstration demanding the change of management of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcan Agro-Industry and the release of Esmail Bakhshi”.

Haft Tappeh was founded in the 1960s in the city of Shush, in Khuzestan Province. It is the oldest sugar factory in Iran. Since 2015 due to the privatization deal based on article 44 of the constitution was transferred to the present owners. It has four thousand workers and employees and is located 15 kilometers south of the Shush city.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 28, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 28th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than six protests were organized across the country. Several residents of Khash in Sistan and Balouchestan province, the customers of SAIPA and IranKhodro in Tehran, the municipality workers in Borujerd, the students of Farhanigian University in Tehran, bus drivers in Mashhad, and the workers of Dashtestan Rural Water Association have held separate protests to request their demands.

(2) A Kulbar (Kurdish back carrier), Hossein Balkhkanlou Aghdam, was killed after the Iranian border patrol opened fire to a group of Kulbars near Maku. Moreover, a landmine explosion injured two Kulbars in Baneh.

(3) A Baha’i citizen, Neda Shabani, was released on bail. Shabani and Soroush Agahi have been arrested in Karaj on November 28, 2018. Baha’i is Iran’s largest non-Muslim minority and are systematically persecuted by the government.

(4) Ali Nejati, labor activist, was released on bail. The former leader of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane was arrested on November 29th, 2018. He was charged with “disrupting public order” and “propaganda against the state” through protesting.

(5) A person accused of murdering Saeed Parham, a park ranger in Shirvan, was sentenced to death after eight years.

(6) The court was in session for seven people, on the charge of “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group” in Oshnavieh. They are identified as Koroush Azizi, Abubakr Minapak, Yousef Ahmadi, Kamel Ahmadi, Mohammad Amin Ghazi, Ayoub Bahramnejad, Tayeb Bamorovat.

(7) The workers of Parsefid abattoir in Amol, South Pars Petrochemical Industry, and HEPCO Company have at least three months of unpaid wages.

(8) A convict in the Golestan province received an alternate sentence for imprisonment. He is sentenced to plant a hundred trees in forest such as oak, maple, and hornbeam.

(9) Mehdi Gholian was released on bail. He was beaten and arrested because he asked for injunction from the security forces who raided his parents’ house to arrest his sister, Sepideh Gholian.

(10) A Baha’i citizen living in Yazd was arrested on January 28, 2019. Farzad Rouhani Manshadi, was sentenced along six other Baha’i citizens to three-year suspended prison term earlier in August 2018.

(11) In a bus rollover at the Bonab Islamic Azad University, six students were injured on January 28.

(12) An anti-addiction activist, Esmail Ebrahimi Viniche, was arrested for an unknown reason on January 16 and has been detained in Isfahan’s Dasgerd prison. He works in an addiction recovery center in Isfahan.

(13) Mostafa Mostafavi was transferred to Urmia prison after 27 days of being held in solitary confinement and interrogation in the Intelligence Office detention center.

(14) Baktash Abtin, a writer and member of the Iranian Writers Association, was released on bail. He was arrested along with two other writers, Keyvan Bazhan and Reza Khandan Mehrabadi on January 22 on the charge of “encouraging immorality or prostitution”.

(15) Two workers died and two others were injured in Tehran, Arak, and Dezful because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions in their workplaces. Iran ranked 102 in the workplace safety among other countries.

(16) Amir Nosratkhah was executed in the Zanjan prison on the charge of murder. Moreover, three prisoners accused of murder, were spared from hanging on gallows by consent of next of kin in Zanjan and Sirvan.

(17) Razgar Mohammadi, Yousef Rasouli, Adel Bakhshvari, and Mousa Esmaili were arrested in Piranshahr on the charge of “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 30, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 30th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) The 2018 annual overview of Human rights violations in Iran which is compiled by HRANA from 3677 reports is published. This 42-page report contains the details of more than 7442 months of imprisonment sentences, 2694 lashes, and execution of 236 people.

(2) The house of Jalil Behamin, a Baha’i citizen in Isfahan, was thoroughly searched by the security forces and some of his belongings were confiscated. The house of two other Baha’i citizens in Isfahan had been searched by the security forces in the past weeks

(3) Nine Christian converts in Karaj were arrested suspecting their ties to a ‘Zionist Christian sect’. They are accused of trying to convert Muslims and the followers of other religions to their underground house church.

(4) The family of Ali Nejati, a detained member the syndicate of workers of Haft Tappeh Agro-Industry, reported concerns about his health conditions in the prison. He is suffering from heart disease.

(5) Jamshid Derakhshan, a Christian convert, was released on bail on December 16th. He was arrested on November 30th in Karaj.

(6) Four prisoners were transferred to solitary confinements
in preparation for their execution in the Urmia prison. Their charges are murder and narcotic drugs-related crimes.

(7) The appeal court of five Baha’i citizens of Shiraz will be in session on Monday. They were earlier sentenced to one-year imprisonment and one year of exile in the Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court.

(8) Pouya Razavian, a Baha’i student, has been banned from school since 2011. He was barred from graduating from high school because of his faith.

(9) Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist Hengameh Shahidi’s attorney confirmed that he has submitted an appeal request for her sentence of 12-years and nine months of imprisonment.

(10) A school vehicle crash injured five students in Sumay-ye Beradust District in Urmia province. The injured students have been transferred to a local hospital.

(11) A citizen was severely injured in a landmine explosion incident in Dasht-e Abbas village in Dehloran County in Ilam Province.

(12) Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi, a writer and activist, who was arrested in Mashhad at October 11, was released on bail today. He was accused of acting against national security and overthrowing the government.

(13) Marliksan Company in Qazvin laid off 180 workers.

(14) Two citizens were sentenced to death in Tehran. One of them accused of murdering the executive editor of ‘Shomaresh’ magazine. Moreover, in Gonbad-e Kavus three prisoners got the victims’ family’s consent and were saved from execution.

(15) Several employees and the head of Kish Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting were fired due to inefficient censorship of a foreign television show.

(16) Hendijan’s head of health care system confirmed that 33 residents are victims of drinking contaminated water. They have been diagnosed with dysentery.

(17) The director of AIDS Research Center, Dr. Minoo Mohraz, confirmed that the main AIDS transmission method has been changed to sexual contact in the past two years. She added that the number of infected females has grown 10 times.

(18) Two workers in Tehran and Kerman have been injured due to their unsafe workplaces.

(19) Municipal workers of Lowshan, students who have been accepted in Azad University entrance exam, workers of city services in Nishabur, the farmers of Isfahan province, families of detained workers of Iran National Steel Industry Group, workers of city services in Kut-e Abdolla, and students of Science and Technology University held separate protests on December 30, 2018.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 24, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 24th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than five protests were held in Iran; shareholders of the bankrupt financial institute of Caspian, workers of Tabriz Ball Bearing Manufacturer, farmers of Varzaneh in Isfahan, workers of Ahvaz Intercity Railway Company, workers of Andimeshk Arya Steel Company, and families of the detained workers of National Steel Company of Ahvaz.

(2) A teacher’s union activist, Mohammad Habibi ‘s sentence of ten years and a half in prison was confirmed in an appeal court. His sentence also included prohibition of social and political activities for two years, a travel ban for two years, and 74 lashes.

(3) Ebrahim Nouri and Jafar Rostamirad, two Azerbaijani Turkic rights activists were charged with ‘propaganda against the state’. Nouri was sentence to 18 months in prison and two years exile. Rostamirad faced six months imprisonment.

(4) Raheleh Rahemipour’s appeal court will be in session next month. She has been accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ because of writing a letter to the UN, demanding whereabouts of her executed brother and her disappeared nephew.

(5) Houshang Rezaei’s appeal court was on session after he spent 9 years in prison. He has been on the death row for 9 years being accused of Moharabeh through membership in Komele [Kurdish opposition group].

(6) Mohammad Saber Malek Reisi and Shir Ahmad Shirani who had been transferred to an unknown place, returned to the Ardabil prison.

(7) The Iranian parliament has failed to muster enough votes to approve “child bride” bill. This bill aims to set the legal age of marriage at 16 for girls and at 18 for boys.

(8) Ali Nejati, a labor activist, who is a member of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Mill Labor Syndicate, has been transferred to Shush prison. He suffers from heart disease.

(9) Three Kurdish citizens, Amir Barekati, Osman Faraji, and Saber Khoshaiand were arrested in Ilam, Baneh, and Sarpol-e Zahab.

(10) Four detained political activists, Abdollah and Mohammad Hossein Ghasempour, Alireza Habibian, and Akbar Dalir have been deprived from the right to an attorney in the last seven months.

(11) Iranian border patrol continues to shoot Kurdish couriers. Two kulbars, Ebrahim Mohammad Rahim and Ataollah Mohammadzadeh were shot and injured.

(12) In the last eight months, 291 workers died of work-related incidents which is an increase of 11 percent from last year.

(13) Two detained activists, Musa Mahmoudi and Mohammad Ebrahimi who were charged with ‘cooperation with Kurdish opposition groups’ were sentenced to 4- and 15-years confinement respectively. They are from Piranshahr and Oshnavieh.

(14) A worker was injured in an unsafe factory in Nishabur city in Khorasan Razavi province.

(15) Ahmad Rastegari was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in Urmia prison. He is accused of ‘membership in a Kurdish opposition groups’ and ‘propaganda against the state’ and was sentenced by Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court.

(16) A prisoner charged with murder was saved from execution with forgiveness of the next of kin in the Kermanshah province.

(17) In the Mashhad Central Prison, a man was saved from hand amputation after his plaintiff forgave him.

(18) Marivan firefighters and the workers of Karaj municipality have 3 months of unpaid wages.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 14, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 14th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Seven Iranian Kulbars and Several Horses Were Killed or Injured

(2) No Information About a Political Prisoner, Mohammad Saber Malek Raeisi’s Whereabouts

(3) Two Inmates Were Beaten in Zahedan Prison

(4) A Citizen Was Arrested in Zabol Accused of Intentionally Creating “Anxiety and Unease in the Public’s Mind”

(5) A Citizen Was Saved from Execution in Kermanshah After Eight Years in Jail

(6) The European Parliament Demanded the Immediate Release of Nasrin Sotoudeh

(7) More from Iran


(1) Seven Iranian Kulbars and Several Horses Were Killed or Injured

Five Kulbars were killed in Baneh and Urmia. Javad Golabi, a 35 years old Kulbar died in an avalanche. Mohammad Maroufi 20 years old and Rahman Ketabi 45 years old and two other Kulbars were injured by the border patrol on December 14, 2018. Moreover,  two other Kulbars were killed or injured in this week. Hadi Nemati, a 29 years old, was injured by border patrol shoot in Khoy borderline. Another Kulbar, Zanyar Azizzadeh from Piranshahr, died of hypothermia in border mountains on December 11, 2018.

(2) No Information About a Political Prisoner, Mohammad Saber Malek Raeisi’s Whereabouts

Mohammad Saber malek Raeisi was transferred from Ardabil prison to an unknown place on December 12, 2018. The prison officials told the prisoners of his ward that he won’t return for the next 10 to 15 days. He added that Raeisi has been punished for leaking prison news. It should be noted that Raeisi and eleven other prisoners had written an open letter to the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran and disclosed human rights violations in their prison which caused them  threats and deprivation from prison officials. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Mohammad Saber Malek Raisi was arrested at the age of 15 on September 24, 2009, as a hostage to return his brother back to Iran. After enduring one-year detention in the Intelligence office in Zahedan, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in exile without access to a lawyer. Then he was deported to Urmia prison and after many months of his transfer, he was denied the opportunity to meet and contact his family.

(3) Two Inmates Were Beaten in Zahedan Prison

Two prisoners, Esmail Sanchuli and Mohammad Keykhah who are accused of Moharebeh through armed robbery, were transferred to quarantine ward have been severely beaten on December 13, 2018. They have been injured and were moved back to their ward without any medical care.

(4) A Citizen Was Arrested in Zabol Accused of Intentionally Creating “Anxiety and Unease in the Public’s Mind”

The Sheriff of Zabol county said that a 35 years old man, accused of intentionally creating “anxiety and unease in the public’s mind” in cyberspace, was arrested in Zabol on December 13, 2018. He added that Iranian Cyber Police investigated and reported him to the judicial system.

(5) A Citizen Was Saved from Execution in Kermanshah After Eight Years in Jail

A prisoner who was charged with murder and was held in prison for the past eight years, was saved from death with the help of elders and the forgiveness and consent of the next of kin at the gallows.

(6) The European Parliament Demanded the Immediate Release of Nasrin Sotoudeh

On December 13th, 2018, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the Iranian government to immediately and unconditionally release the human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. In their statement it has been declared that Iran is not only arresting dissidents, human rights defenders, and labor leaders, but their lawyers as well, criminalizing their fundamental freedoms. The statement specifically condemned the juvenile offenders’ executions, Baha’i religious community institutionalized discrimination, the arrest of Iranian with a dual European nationality. They requested the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Nasrin Sotoudeh, Farhad Meisami, and other political and religious prisoners, arrested protests’ participants, detained labors, human rights activists, environmental activists, feminist activists, and stop torturing and abusing prisoner. Furthermore, they requested the right to counsel and freedom of religion for everyone, to stop executions, and to cooperate with international human right officials.

(7) More from Iran

The detained labor activist, Ali Nejati who is a member of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Argo-Industrial workers’ Syndicate was transferred to hospital. He was arrested 14 days ago and is suffering from heart disease.

The prisoners of Shiraz prison wrote an open letter about Vahid Sayadi Nasiri ‘s death. They expressed their solidarity with him.

A 50 years old worker had a fatal fall in a water well in Chahar Fasl village in Razavi province.

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Shapour Rashno Exiled to Adel Abad Prison of Shiraz

HRANA News Agency – Shapour Rashno, a political activist who had previously been sentenced to imprisonment in exile on charge of propaganda against the regime and had been detained in Ahvaz’s Intelligence Office for a while, was finally exiled to Adel Abad prison in Shiraz to serve his imprisonment sentence.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Shapour Rashno, national-religious activist from Khuzestan, who had previously been sentenced to four months of imprisonment on charge of propaganda against the regime, was exiled to Adel Abad prison in Shiraz to serve his imprisonment sentence, he is a doctoral student of political science. Continue reading “Shapour Rashno Exiled to Adel Abad Prison of Shiraz”

Shapur Rashno Deprived of Meeting His Lawyer

HRANA News Agency – Shapur Rashno, an activist in Andimeshk city, has been arrested by Intelligence Office’s agents in Ahwaz on January 7, 2018. Despite several weeks since being arrested, he is still deprived of the right to have a lawyer.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Shapur Rashno was arrested on charge of propaganda against the regime by the Ministry of Intelligence agents at his home in Shahid Dezfuli Street, Andimeshk, on January 7, 2018. Continue reading “Shapur Rashno Deprived of Meeting His Lawyer”

Ezzatollah Jafari Began Serving His Term in Kerman Prison

HRANA News Agency – Ezzatollah Jafari, political activist from Khuzestan, went to Kerman Prison to serve the one-year sentence in exile. Mr. Jafari is one of the defendants in the case known as “Mother’s Library” in Andimeshk.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Ezzatollah Jafari showed up in Kerman Prison to serve his one-year sentence in exile on August 31. Continue reading “Ezzatollah Jafari Began Serving His Term in Kerman Prison”

Activists Detanied In Andimeshk Transferred To Ahvaz Prison

HRANA News Agency – All of the recent arrestees of Andimeshk city were transferred to the security ward of Karoon prison in Ahvaz.
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Shapour Rashno’s Wife Had Abortion Because Of The Agents’ Violence

HRANA News Agency – Violent attack by the security forces to arrest Shapour Rashno, civil activist, caused his wife to have an abortion.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), violent attacks by the security forces on the morning of Spetember 15th to arrest Shapour Rashno, civil activist with the National Religious orientation, led his wife to have an abortion, while she was three months pregnant and lost her child because of the fear and stress caused by the security forces. Continue reading “Shapour Rashno’s Wife Had Abortion Because Of The Agents’ Violence”