A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 29, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 29th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) A Ph.D. student of political science, Shapour Reshno, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and two years exile. He along with six other residents of Andimeshk were accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ through cooperation with opposition groups. Ehsan Mirzavand was sentenced three years in prison and two years exile. Hossein Tafi, Darioush Jafarpour, and Iman Mirzavand were sentenced to six months imprisonment and finally, Behzad and Siavash Ghalavand faced four months in prison.

(2) In a letter, Mohammad Habibi, a teacher’s right activist who is detained in the Evin prison, has warned that the political prisoners’ cases are judged outside the judicial system. He is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 74 lashes.

(3) Hamzeh Darvish a Sunni prisoner of Rajai-Shahr Prison in Karaj had a severe anxiety attack and the left side of his body is paralyzed. He ended his hunger strike after 70 days last month.

(4) Hamidreza Rahmati,a teacher activist,who was protesting the arrest of the teachers during teachers’ strikes, was arrested.He is accused of ‘disturbing public order’ through his nine days sit-in by the Shahreza’s Ministry of Education office.

(5) Farid Pazhoohi a 24-year-old from Marivan, was arrested in October 2018 by the Intelligence Agency. His whereabouts is still unknown.

(6) Two kulbars were injured by the border patrol’s shot in Urmia and Khoy. Another kulbar was drowned in Baneh.

(7) The workers of Paloud Dairy Company reported that at least 180 workers have five months of unpaid wages. Also, Sani Electric Company went out of business and laid off 40 workers.

(8) The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company has shown concerns about incidents similar to the Azad University bus rollover and criticized the government’s policies on transportation. Ten students died in a bus rollover in Tehran on December 25.

(9) Delnia Sabouri and Rojin Ebrahimi were transferred to Kamyaran prison. They are accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ by attending the international Labor Day protest in the Kurdistan ‘s appeal court.

(10) Three workers in Hamadan were injured in an unsafe workplace-related incident.

(11) A citizen of Turkey, Aydin Ojilak, was exiled to Tabriz prison. He was accused of cooperation with opposition groups and had been serving his five years sentence in Urmia prison. After his hunger strike, he faced exile and was transferred to Tabriz prison.

(12) Retired staff of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, and the family of detained workers of the Iran National Steel company were held protests on December 29.

(13) Students and the families of students who died in a bus rollover incident at the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch were protested on December 29, 2018. The main reason behind the deadly bus crash seems to be the old transport system. University students participated in a demonstration at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, in Tehran to protest about old transport fleet which led to the death of their peers this week. The family members of the victims also joined the demonstration.

(14) A Baha’i prisoner was denied medical care despite his severe heart disease in Adelabad prison. Hasan Momtaz Sarvestani was accused of tutoring at The Baha’i Institute of Higher Education and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

(15) Several children in Kerman province are suffering from Epidermolysis bullosa which is a group of genetic conditions that cause the skin to be very fragile and to blister easily. They don’t have access to needed health care.