Punishment for union protest: Another worker, Maziar Seyednejad, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Labor activist Mazyar Seyednejad was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Islamic Republic solely for participating in union protests and accompanying protesting Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers.
According to sources close to Mr. Seyednejad, in a verdict issued on Saturday, December 19, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison on charges of what is called “membership in an anti-regime group.” This verdict is subject to appeal.
In December 2018, several labor groups held rallies with Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers to protest the lack of wages and proper insurance. Maziar Seyednejad, a labor activist with the National Steel Group in Khuzestan, participated in the rallies with these workers. He was subsequently detained for 107 days and temporarily released on bail of 500 million tomans in March of that year.
Mr. Seyednejad's relatives say that he was forced to confess under pressure during his detention. In a film broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as "Burnt Design," he made confessions against himself.
The Islamic Republic often coerces critics and political opponents into confessions against itself and others. Political activists have repeatedly revealed, upon release, that they were tortured during detention to force confessions.
The US State Department has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
