Previously we informed you that Emaeil Bakhshi, the beloved and well-known leader of sugar cane workers of Haft Tapeh in Ahvaz, Iran, in an open letter which he published on his instagram page he challenged Mr Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence , to a live debate over the tortures he was subjected to during his imprisonment.
Esmaeil Bakhshi was arrested on 18th November 2018 and spent 25 days in custody. He exposed torture, humiliation, sleep deprivation, insults, and spying on his personal life (listening to his private conversations with his wife).
Sepideh Ghliyan and Asal Mohamadi, two student activists who attended the protests as citizen journalists were also arrested and later released on bail. They, too, have spoken about the tortures and have said that they witnessed torture of Esmail Bakhshi. They are happy to testify in a public hearing.
Esmaeil Bakhshi and sugar cane workers of Haft Tapeh need your support.
Solicitor of Esmaeil Bakhshi says that he is currently under pressure and is being threatened to deny the claim of torture and abuse in prison. He is being threatened to more prison time if he refuses to deny the claim.
In the past two weeks, since he published the open letter, Esmaeil Bakhshi has been a target of defamation by senior authorities and media of Islamic Republic.
We call on you, workers and workers’ organisations to object to the treatment of Esmaeil Bakhshi and campaign against the systematic pressure on him.
Islamic Republic of Iran arrested and tortured a worker who demanded some legitimate and basic rights such as getting paid for work and having job security and demanding the right to livelihood for workers, and now the regime wants to silence him by threats and pressure. We, the workers, workers’ unions and organisations across the world must not tolerate such abuse.
Esmaeil Bakhshi’s letter (see below) has been welcomed and endorsed by many in Iran. Many have joined campaign of “I have been tortured too” and “we are all Esmaeil Bakhshi” (#من_هم_شکنجه_شدم) to demand answers from the authorities.
Under pressure of the campaigns the authorities announced that they would investigate but on uesday 8 January, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Islamic Assembly, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, claimed that Esmaeil Bakhshi engaged in a fight with arresting officers on the way to prison and that he was not tortured. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, claimed that Esmaeil Bakhshi “confessed” to being “affiliated to the Worker-communist Party” of Iran, that has been denied by the party.
The authorities are making a new case against Esmaeil Bakhshi to justify the torture and to pass on a heavy sentence against him for being a member of an opposition political party, which is considered a “crime” and “act against national security” in Islamic Republic of Iran.
Campaign to Free Jailed Workers call on all international workers’ and humanitarian organisations to wholeheartedly support Esmaeil Bakhshi and show their solidarity with him and the people of Iran who say no torture and imprisonment.
We call on you to emphasise on:
- Waver of all security cases against all the activists
- Immediate and unconditional freedom of all the imprisoned workers, teachers and political activists
- Immediate end to militarisation and security atmosphere in strikes and protests
- Recognition of right to protest, right to organisation, freedom of speech and belief
- Expulsion of all the security agents and armed forces from workplaces and educational institutions
- End to espionage on people’s personal affair and life including monitoring their conversations
- Exposure and prosecution of proponents and perpetrators of torture of Esmaeil Bakhshi, Sepideh Ghliyan and all the activists in the past 40 years
Campaign to Free Jailed Workers In Iran (Free Them Now)
15 January 2019