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Iran:
Behind Rouhanis's Smile, Reza Shahabi Tortured In Prison
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"Things have become worse
since Rouhani came to power. Our only hope is human rights organizations
outside Iran. Please do something to help us.... Please do something
quickly." — Reza Shahabi, bus driver who wanted fair wages and safe
working conditions.
Additionally, Mr. Shahabi has
been ordered to pay an extortionate fine of 70 million Rials (US$5,700)
or his release date will be delayed by two years.
Since the Islamic Republic of Iran has continuously violated labor
laws, workers have been fighting for unions, fair wages and safe working
conditions inside the country. As a result, a number of labor activists
have been arrested, tortured and given long prison sentences on charges
of acting "against the regime and national security."
Mr. Reza Shahabi was a city bus driver when, along with many of his
colleagues, he formed a labor rights group for The Tehran and Suburbs Bus
Company. He was arrested in 2010 and subsequently sentenced to six years
imprisonment by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran—five years for
"gathering and colluding against state security," and one year
for "spreading propaganda against the system."
He was initially kept in the most feared section of Evin prison --
Ward 209 -- where prisoners are systematically tortured until they
confess to the arbitrary and vague charges chosen by the authorities.
According to Mr. Shahabi's family and many human rights groups; Mr.
Shahabi now therefore suffers from debilitating chronic pain due to
damaged discs in his neck and upper back and is experiencing numbness in
his left leg.
Although he was approved for spinal surgery by prison authorities in
May 2012 -- thanks to an international outcry from various human
rights organizations such as Amnesty International, the Campaign to Free
Political Prisoners in Iran [CFPPI], and the International Federation for
Human Rights [FIDH], to name just a few -- Mr. Shahabi was returned to
prison shortly after surgery, despite his doctor's orders that the
patient must have strict bed rest for three months outside prison
conditions. The return to prison has obstructed his recovery.
To protest the deliberate withholding of medical treatment for
political prisoners, he has gone on frequent hunger strikes. As a result,
according to an Amnesty International report, Mr. Shahabi was granted a
brief medical leave in early 2013, but was soon sent back.
The quality and nature of the treatments, if any, that Mr. Shahabi
received during his furlough are unknown. What is known, is that Mr.
Shahabi's condition has worsened to the point that he is incapable of
moving without the help of his cellmates. Hospital doctors have stated
that he needs further spinal surgery along with physiotherapy. The
doctors have further warned authorities that without treatment, Mr.
Shahabi's condition will lead to complete paralysis of his entire left
side.
On August 10, 2013, security forces attacked prisoners of ward 350 of
Evin prison where Mr. Shahabi is being held. Mr. Shahabi was grabbed and
thrown on the floor even though other prisoners warned the agents about
Mr. Shahabi's fragile condition. This attack seriously intensified it. On
September 4th, 2013, the Tehran Coroner's Office examined Reza Shahabi at
Evin prison. Based on a MRI scan it was confirmed a disc connected to
three vertebrae was critically damaged, and that he should be immediately
transferred to hospital for surgery.
Although Mr. Shahabi was technically approved for medical furlough by
prison authorities, and taken to a hospital, according to HRANA News
Agency's February 7, 2014 report, he was promptly returned to prison
without treatment and his medical furlough revoked -- a tactic apparently
often used by the regime to make it look as if the prisoner received
medical treatment in order to appease the public and human rights groups.
According to reports from reliable sources inside Iran, including Mr.
Shahabi's family, his condition is deteriorating rapidly and yet the
prison authorities and the attorney general, despite published news to
the contrary, deny him medical leave from prison. In an extremely rare
and daring phone call from Evin prison in November of 2013, Mr. Shahabi
told CFPPI:
"The condition for those inside prison who need medical
intervention is getting worse daily. Things have become even worse since
Rouhani came to power. We are denied all medicine and help. ... no matter
what our medical ailment is they just give us a shot of cortisone ...
which does not help many of our conditions. Please do something quickly…
things are getting worse daily for us. ... You are our only hope. Our
only hope is human rights organizations outside Iran. Please do something
to help us."
Additionally, Mr. Shahabi has been ordered to pay an extortionate
"fine" of 70 million Rials (US$5,700) or his release date will
be delayed to May 2016 from May 2014. The prosecutor is also seeking to
bring the new charge of "enmity to God" for alleged involvement
with a banned opposition group that advocates overthrowing the Islamic
Republic. This new charge can bring forth the death penalty or decades
more in prison. It is believed that the authorities are trying heavily to
punish Mr. Shahabi and his family, for reporting to international human
rights organizations regarding the regime's unremitting human rights
violations.
Much like the North Korean government; the Islamic Republic is known
to be highly sensitive to any news regarding the situation inside Iran
reaching the West and stops at nothing to prevent it, including blocking
websites, disabling the internet, jamming foreign satellite systems and
silencing all opponents.
Iran:
Letter from Ward 350 of Evin Prison
February 17, 2014 at 4:00 am
Translated by Shadi Paveh
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This treatment [in the prison
infirmary, for requesting to be transferred to a hospital] is so
unspeakable that most choose to suffer from their sickness instead of
demanding to be sent to one.
We ask for your support.
Translator's Note: A group of prisoners managed to smuggle a
letter, signed by 47 of them, out of Evin Prison concerning the
unimaginable conditions there. Even though the prisoners know that
serious punishment may well follow, they all signed their names. The
prison has a small infirmary, ill equipped and substandard. So many
prisoners ask to be transferred to a city hospital for adequate care. The
prison doctors are cruel to the prisoners, and apparently chosen for that
quality. When prisoners ask to go to a hospital, they are mocked,
humiliated, and treated so brutally by the prison authorities that they
do not dare ask and just give up asking.
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One of the
entrances to Evin Prison, in Tehran, Iran. (Image source:
Flickr/sabzphoto)
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We political prisoners, due to problems created by the Islamic regime,
are suffering greatly, both with and without ailments, from lack of
medical attention.
Many of us are dying and many of us have developed further ailments
from lack of medicine.
Aside from the countless pressures and difficulties prisoners face
every day, many prisoners have also acquired ailments due to the lack of
hygiene and improper medical care in prison. The medical aid here is
minimal, substandard and ineffective. In many instances, prisoners have
to wait weeks or even months before a medical professional comes to see
even them or they are sent somewhere outside prison which, for some
reason, worsens their condition.
Sometimes the prison doctors declare the patient fit and healthy in
order to punish the prisoner, and the authorities look the other way.
Getting involved in the paperwork and red tape to insist on going to a
hospital is always met with humiliation, insults, and harassment by
prison doctors and guards.
Usually in the prison infirmary, no more than an inadequate nurse's
first-aid station, the sick patient is chained to the bed, mocked and
treated inhumanely. This treatment is so unspeakable that most choose to
suffer from their sickness instead of demanding to go to a hospital.
Although some have very severe illnesses, they refuse to be shackled in
humiliating prison garb and as such they are refused a visit to the
hospital. Every day, medical aid, proper nutrition and a hygienic
environment are being made worse for prisoners.
We the undersigned declare our greatest appreciation for your sincere
and unwavering humanitarian support and would like to bring to your
immediate attention the dire situation of the lack of medical care for
political prisoners and ask for your support.
Signed,
Amir Dorosti, Reza Shahabi, Behnam Ebrahimzade, Saeed Mohammad
Ebrahimi, Omid Shah-Moradi, Majid Mohamadi Maen, Mohammad Mehdi Sajedfar,
Gholamreza Khosravi, Majid Assadi, Mohammad Sayemi, Hati Yazloo, Saeed
Mohammad Hadiri, Reza Akbari Monfared, Ali Maghzi, Hamid Moradi, Amir
Eslati, Mostafa Daneshjoo, Afshin Kermpour, Farshid Yadollahi, Mohammad
Daroie, Sina Azimi, Shahin Dadkhah, Esmael Azizi, Alireza Sayedian, Saeed
Abedini, Gholamreza Hosseini, Reza Entesary, Rasol Etesami, Alireza
Ahmadi, Omid Behroozi, Davood Assadi, Ali Allai, Pajman Abdol
Hosseinzade, Payman Casnejad, Yaghob Maleki, Mehdi Khodai, Rasool
Esmailzade, Esmael Barzagar, Hamid Horaband, Ali- Rezai Ghasabzade, Vahid
Asghari, Omid Zarenejad, Mohammad Haddi Bardbar, Farshid Fatehi, Salar
Sotodeh, Hasan Siskhati, Kamron Eyazi
Ward 350, Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran
October 2013
Courtesy of CFPPI (Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran)
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