Heavy sentences in Haft Tappeh case | Lawyer Esmail Bakhshi: We expected these sentences due to political manipulation
While the issuance of heavy sentences for labor activists in the Haft Tappeh case has been met with widespread protests, defense attorney Esmail Bakhshi also says that given the political atmosphere, the issuance of such sentences was not far from the expectations of the lawyers in the case, the workers, and labor activists.
The Telegram channel of the Haft Tappeh Workers' Syndicate, on Sunday, September 7, quoted Farzaneh Zeilabi, lawyer for labor activist Esmaeil Bakhshi, referring to the recent rulings in the "Haft Tappeh" case and the issuance of heavy sentences to workers and labor activists in the Haft Tappeh case, and wrote that, given the political manipulations and prejudices of senior officials in the judiciary and some related media outlets, the issuance of heavy sentences to the lawyers in the case and the workers and labor activists "was not far from expected."
The text continues by stating that the bailiffs' report was prepared based on a "conspiracy theory" and attributed all strikes and gatherings of truck drivers, educators, marketers, students, workers, etc. to foreigners. From the very beginning, throughout the proceedings, the prosecution and court proceedings were conducted with the assumption that the client was "the culprit, not the accused."
According to the text published on this Telegram channel, the lawyer emphasized the lack of impartiality of the security agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and the bailiff and said that "regarding some of the accusations attributed to Esmaeil Bakhshi, the Revolutionary Court basically did not have the inherent jurisdiction to investigate."
According to Ms. Zeilabi, "In fact, Judge Moghiseh issued a verdict suddenly and hastily in an unfinished investigation, without holding a court session for one of my clients, and it was notified to the defendants without the presence of their lawyers, and it has not been notified to the lawyers to this day."
The heavy sentences handed down by the judiciary against labor activists and members of the Gam editorial board, which were unofficially published yesterday and confirmed by Sepideh Gholian's lawyer, were widely criticized.
Last year, Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers went on strike, sat down, and peacefully expressed their opinions in protest of not being paid their overdue wages for more than three months. However, the government responded to these protests by suppressing them with government forces. Esmaeil Bakhshi, a representative of Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers, and Sepideh Qolyan, a civil rights activist, were among those arrested and tortured in connection with these protests. They were arrested again after they revealed that they had been tortured.
The rulings issued in the Haft Tappeh case even drew protests from several members of parliament, and one of the members even wrote in a tweet addressed to Ebrahim Raisi that "the recent rulings show that Mr. Raisi's approach is much harsher than his predecessors."
The Haft Tappeh Workers' Union also condemned these sentences in a statement, writing: "The workers and toilers have not yet shown their anger, resentment, and hatred, they have not yet made up their minds to show that they will shake the earth with their presence. The day will come when, through unity and solidarity, we will scorch the earth under the feet of the owners of wealth and power and their defenders."
According to unofficial news from labor sources, heavy prison sentences have been issued for these individuals and several other workers and labor activists.
Jamal Heydarimanesh, Sepideh Qolyan's lawyer, announced on his Instagram page that Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court had issued a verdict for the defendants in the Haft Tappeh case, and wrote that "according to this unsubstantiated verdict and without considering the defenses presented in court," Sepideh Qolyan has been sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison.
According to this report, Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, editor-in-chief of Gam magazine, Amir Amirgholi, editorial board member of Gam magazine, Sanaz Alhayari, editorial board member of Gam magazine, and Asal Mohammadi Daneshjo, a student and editorial board member of Gam magazine, have each been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The United States has repeatedly condemned Iran's security crackdown on various segments of the population, including workers and women. The US State Department recently said in a message that the Islamic Republic's regime could have paid the salaries of workers in Iran with the money it has spent in Syria.
Source: Voice of America
