Once again Iranian labour activists are facing the repressive actions of the Iranian government as it tries to contain workers’ anger. This month, an appeal for a retrial of Esmail Abdi, a prominent teacher activist, was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Esmail is serving a 6 year sentence for organising workers. In another case, there is an international campaign to keep Reza Shahabi out of jail. Reza is an organiser for the bus union in Tehran and is currently on bail due to poor health. Esmail and Reza are only two of the many labour activists who are languishing in Iranian prisons.
Once again Iranian labour activists are facing the repressive actions of the Iranian government as it tries to contain workers’ anger. This month, an appeal for a retrial of Esmail Abdi, a prominent teacher activist, was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Esmail is serving a 6 year sentence for organising workers. In another case, there is an international campaign to keep Reza Shahabi out of jail. Reza is an organiser for the bus union in Tehran and is currently on bail due to poor health. Esmail and Reza are only two of the many labour activists who are languishing in Iranian prisons.
