9 Labor Rights Activists Sentenced to a Total of 50 Years in Prison by Appeals Court
Sepideh Qolian, Ismail Bakhshi, Mohammad Khanifer, Amir Amirqoli, Amirhossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Elahiari, Asel Mohammadi, Aatefe Rangariz, and Marzieh Amiri have been sentenced to a total of 50 years in prison by the appellate court.
Sepideh Qolian announced this news on her Instagram page, stating that this labor activist, along with Mohammad Khanifer, Amir Amirqoli, Amirhossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Elahiari, and Asel Mohammadi, has been sentenced by Branch 36 of the appellate court to five years in prison each on charges including “membership in anti-system groups,” “propaganda activities,” and “spreading false information.” Ismail Bakhshi has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on the stated charges and the charge of “insulting the leader.”
According to this labor activist, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the aggregation of sentences, only 5 years of Bakhshi’s prison sentence would be enforceable.
According to her, Aatefe Rangariz and Marzieh Amiri, who were detained on International Workers’ Day, have also been sentenced by Branch 36 of the appellate court to 5 years in prison each on the charge of “assembly and conspiracy,” given that their activities were determined to be in line with the activities of the Haft Tappeh detainees.
Ms. Qolian, in posting this news on her Instagram page, described the “appellate review” ruling as “confirmation of verdict” and wrote that the issued sentence offers no “sweet taste of justice” for these labor rights activists in circumstances where officials had promised them an open trial with the presence of these individuals and their lawyers.
At the end, this labor activist, referring to her temporary release and that of other convicted activists as a carnival, stated that given the non-transparent process of reviewing the case at the appellate court, she considers the issued rulings to have no legitimacy and will continue her protests in whatever way possible in the coming days.
Philip Luther, Director of Research for Western Asia and North Africa at Amnesty International, emphasized in the latest report of Amnesty International that the world should not remain silent in the face of continued widespread human rights violations in the suppression of dissidents by Iranian authorities.
The U.S. State Department has also repeatedly condemned violent treatment and widespread suppression of protesters in various instances, as well as the repeated and ongoing violation of the rights of Iranian citizens by the regime governing that country.
Source: Voice of America
