A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 17, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 17th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency(HRANA).

(1) On the 38th day of the National Steel Company workers protest, more than 32 of them have been arrested: Meisam Ali Ghanavati, Issa Marai, Amin Alavani, Morteza Akbarian,Tarogh Khalafi, Masoud Afri, Jafar Sobhani, Mostafa Abayat, Gharib Hoyzavi,Hossein Davoudi, Karim Siahi, Hamed Baseri, Hafez Kanaani, Hamed Joudaki, Kazem Heydari, Yaser Ebrahimian, Majid Janadeleh, Kourosh Emaeili, Ali Oghaba, Mohsen Balouti, Mohammad Pourhassan, Mohsen Behbahani, Seyed Habib Tabatabaei, Jasem Roumzei, Ali Etmami, Seyed Ali Javadpour, Javad Gholami, Abdolreza Dasti, Seyed Ahmad Seyednour, Fariborz Sheikhrobat, Ehsan Yousefi.

(2) Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who is currently serving a 16 year prison sentence, was transferred to the Legal Medicine Organization office to verify the necessity of her hospitalization.

(3) The workers of five government-owned corporations, National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), Bavers Steel Company, Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company, the caviar fishery department of the Iran Fisheries Organization of Golestan province, and Sepehr Windshield Manufacturer, are demanding their 16 months unpaid wages. The unpaid wages has been continuous issue in Iran over the last year.

(4) Two workers were injured today in Tehran, due to unsafe workplaces. Moreover, Tehran Metro Company has notprovided safety work clothing and workwear for their employees in past three years. Iran holds the dubious record for the highest number of deaths and injuries in workplaces.

(5) Another social deprivation case from Iran: this year, approximately 100 thousand children are deprived from going to school.

(6) A child abuse case was reported in Mahabad. The child’s abuse was identified to have taken place by his father that is a drug addict and has abnormal psychological condition. The victim was transferred to the city’s State Welfare organization.

(7) Another 17-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in Isfahan. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers.

(8) Civil rights activist, Amir Chamani was arrested and transferred to Tabriz prison to begin serving his sentence.  According to Hrana, he has been sentenced to a six-month prison term on charges of “Propaganda against the regime” and “Cooperation with opposition groups”. Chamani has previously been pursued on similar charges. On July 5th, 2012, Chamani received a sentenced of six months’ imprisonment for “insulting both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the late Ayatollah Khomeini”and “propaganda against the regime”. In another instance, after turning himself in for charges of insulting the President, Chamani was sentenced on January 13,2013, to 40 lashes by the Tabriz Criminal Court. He was dealt with the lashes on June 5, 2013 and was not released from custody until October 2nd of the same year.

(9) After four years, the petition of a Baha’i citizen, Taraneh Ghiami who has been barred from entering university due to her religious beliefs, was denied by the supreme court.

(10) According to the issued verdict in the appeal court of West Azerbaijan province, Eghbal Ahmadpour sentence on a charge of “acting against national security through membership inKurdish opposition parties” has been reduced from five years to six months.According to Hrana, the Urmia Revolutionary Court sentenced Eghbal Ahmadpour tofive years in prison on a charge of “acting against national security through membership in Kurdish opposition parties” on Thursday, October 4, 2018. He was denied access to a trial lawyer. Security forces arrested Ahmadpour on September 11, 2018. He was interrogated and held in solitary confinement for 12 days before being sent to Urmia Prison.