Families of Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qollian Summoned to Information Office

According to reports, the families of Esmail Bakhshi, a representative of workers at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company, and Sepideh Qollian, a civil activist, have been summoned to the Information Office in the city of Shush.

Some human rights sources reported that on Thursday, the 2nd of Esfand, the Information Office of Shush summoned the families of these two individuals and requested that they refrain from disseminating information about the condition of Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qollian.

In recent days, Esmail Bakhshi’s family gathered in front of the Shush Justice Department and demanded the release of this labor activist.

Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qollian were arrested in November of this year during protests by workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company. After their release, the two announced that they had been tortured during detention and forced into “coerced confessions.”

The two were arrested following the broadcast of a film titled “Burnt Design” containing their confessions on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Previously, the independent Haft Tappeh Workers Channel had reported that the Ministry of Information was preparing televised confessions from Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qollian.

Source: Voice of America