Jailed Labor Activist: The Islamic Republic “Turned its Daggers against All Workers”

In an open letter from Tehran's Evin Prison, Reza Shahabi, a well-known labor activist, accused the Islamic Republic of having "drawn its daggers against all workers and wage earners since its inception," and asked members of the International Labor Organization to expel the regime’s representatives from its meetings.

"Since the inception of our union, I and my colleagues have been arrested, expelled, imprisoned and tortured many times,” he wrote. “The ruling regime of our country has turned its daggers against all workers and wage earners since its establishment, and its first action was to remove unions and independent labor organizations from the labor law.”

This activist of the Workers' Union of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company added that the Islamic Republic “does not allow the formation of unions and independent organizations.” 

It has also “turned the right of the workers to strike into a security crime and does not allow the election of labor representatives in a democratic process.”

“Whenever the workers have raised their voices in protest they have been faced with expulsion, imprisonment, whipping and torture. The same security establishment sends its appointed representatives to international gatherings, including the meetings of the International Labor Organization,” Shahabi added.

Referring to Akbar Mahjoub, secretary-general of Worker’s House, the official national trade union, Mahjoub asked, "How can a person remain the secretary-general of Worker’s House for nearly three decades and at the same time be a member of parliament for six terms?"