Two new charges against Ali Nejati, retired Haft Tappeh worker
The defense lawyer of Ali Nejati, one of the retired workers arrested on the sidelines of the Haft Tappeh workers' gatherings, announced that his client had been informed of two new charges.
Regarding the latest situation of retired worker Ali Nejati, who was arrested by the security police on December 29, Farzaneh Zeilabi told IRNA on Tuesday that her client was arrested in order to execute a previous conviction for "propaganda against the system" and new charges related to "strikes and gatherings of Haft Tappeh workers."
Nejati is one of the labor activists who has been summoned or arrested many times before. He was also arrested in September 2015 and released from prison after more than a month on bail of 100 million Tomans.
Mr. Nejati's lawyer has announced that the new charges against his client are one of "disturbing public order by directing strikes and gatherings at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company" and the other of "security" charges, which according to the client is "propaganda against the system," which is currently under investigation. Both charges against the imprisoned worker are pending in the First Branch of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office.
While the Islamic Republic's judiciary has not yet issued a verdict on the new charges against this retired worker, and given that he also has a history of heart disease, Mr. Nejati was referred to Dezful Prison after his arrest for a record-keeping period and then transferred to the Ahvaz Security Detention Center.
Ali Nejati's lawyer said that due to illness and after being transferred to the hospital, he was forced to be transferred to the security ward of Dezful Prison on December 14, but according to the deputy prosecutor of Branch 1 of the Shush Prosecutor's Office, his temporary detention order is still in effect and he has only had a few phone calls with his family so far.
The lawyer requested that his client be referred to a forensic doctor to apply Article 502 of the Criminal Procedure Code, but according to him, "unfortunately, contrary to the law, by making it dependent on a new security case, this issue has remained without action so far."
However, the continued arrest of Ali Nejati comes at a time when the Islamic Republic has also carried out widespread arrests of protesting Ahvaz Steel workers since Sunday, with labor sources reporting that the number of arrested workers is 41.
The international community has previously supported labor protests in Iran. Most recently, Robert Palladino, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, expressed regret on Twitter on Monday over the arrest of steel workers in Iran for demanding their wages, saying that the Iranian regime consistently violates people's rights.
The United Nations has also adopted a resolution protesting widespread human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The resolution states: Over the past year, repression of journalists, social media users, and protesters has increased in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
