After 91 days of freedom, last Monday, April 15, Reza Shahabi returned to his cell in Tehran’s Evin prison to complete a six-year sentence for “colluding against state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system." The treasurer of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Drivers Union (SWTSBC) was temporarily released after going on hunger strike for 23 days in protest of alleged ill-treatment by prison guards and to demand medical leave for injuries, reportedly sustained while in custody, to vertebrae in his neck and back.
Just before Persian New Year in late March, Shalabi issued a defiant public statement: “To workers and freedom-seeking people, recently a new wave of summoning, arrests and imprisonment of labor activists and workers has taken place,” he said. “This is at a time when the poorest parts of society … are living under very unfortunate circumstances and with every day that passes the purchasing power of workers is reduced and their hope in life is lost.”
