A group of prominent labour activists and political prisoners from Evin Prison in Tehran, including Reza Shahabi, wrote on June 24, 2013 that “Afshin Osanloo’s death is only the latest episode of an extended series of political prisoners’ deaths, including Akbar Mohamadi, Amir Heshmat Saran, Zahra Bani Yaghoub, Omid Mirsiafi, Hoda Saber, Mohesn Dokmeh Chi, Satar Beheshti and many more”. This indicates that the Iranian government is pursuing, among other repressive policies and practices, a strategy of slow and gradual death towards political prisoners, by making them subject to severe torture, medical neglect and gross mistreatments by prison authorities.
IASWI holds the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for the death and suffering of political prisoners in Iran. We have called for an independent international inquiry into the death of Afshin Osanloo and the conditions of imprisoned labour and political activists in Iran. We demand an immediate end to all executions, torture and mistreatment of labour activists and all political prisoners and immediate and unconditional freedom for all political prisoners in Iran. We call for the recognition of the right for workers to organize, assemble and freedom of association and expression. We call for an immediate freedom of Reza Shahabi, Shahrokh Zamani, Mohammad Jarahi, Behhnam Ebrahimzadeh, Pedram Nasrollahi, Rasoul Bodaghi and other imprisoned labour activists in Iran.himzadeh, Pedram Nasrollahi, Rasoul Bodaghi and other imprisoned labour activists in Iran.