Free Shahabi!

Vahed bus drivers’ union executive member Reza Shahabi has been sentenced to 6 years in prison and a further five year ban from trade union activism. He has also been ordered to return around secen million Toman’s which had been raised in solidarity to help imprisoned trade union activists. This is after two and a half years in prison for being arrested on charges of  “propaganda activities against the regime” and another five years for “collusion to act against national security.” These are the typical charges activists face for standing up against oppression and fighting for the working class.

The regime is desperate to warn workers off taking up militant action in defense of their conditions. Sanctions, economic crisis and repression has saw living standards fall dramatically with close to a third of the population living in poverty. Millions are unemployed, especially the youth who along with women, national minorities and the working class have been at the forefront of struggle against the Islamic Republic.