Amnesty International
Ismail Abdi, prisoner of conscience and
Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), has been
sentenced on charges related to his peaceful trade union activities. He
is awaiting an appeal date and has announced he will go on hunger strike
on International Workers’ Day on 1 May to protest the repression of trade
unionists.
Ismail (Esmail) Abdi was informed in
February that he had been sentenced by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court
in Tehran to six years’ imprisonment on the charges of “spreading propaganda
against the system” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against
national security”. The charges stem from his trade union activities,
including peaceful demonstrations held by teachers and members of the ITTA
outside the Iranian parliament in May 2015 in protest against poor wages,
low education budget,
and imprisonment of teacher trade unionists.
Ismail Abdi has appealed the verdict and is awaiting a date for his hearing.
His trial was in breach of international fair trial standards; in particular
he was denied access a lawyer of his choice during the entire investigative
phase and his lawyer was not allowed to obtain and review his court file
before the trial.
Amnesty International understands that the authorities’ denial of Ismail
Abdi’s right to access a lawyer of his choosing was based on a provision
in Iran’s new 2015 Code of Criminal Procedures,
which restricts access to legal counsel during the investigative phase
for people facing certain offences including those related to national
security. Under this provision, they may only choose a lawyer from a list
of those pre-approved by the Head of Judiciary.
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