Shapour Ehsanirad begins six year prison sentence

On 12 April 2020, human rights defender Shapour Ehsanirad was summoned to Branch 1 of Evin Prison’s Implementation of Verdicts Department to serve his six year prison sentence despite suffering from respiratory issues, which puts him at serious risk in the current context of COVID-19.

Shapour Ehsanirad is the dismissed representative of the Profil Factory of Saveh, a founding member of the Social Security’s Retired Workers Council, and a member of the board of directors of the Free Trade Union of Workers of Iran.

Security forces arrested Shapour Ehsanirad on 29 July 2019 and brought him to the general ward of Evin Prison on 15 August 2019. His case was referred to the 4th Branch of Evin’s Courthouse and the labour activist was eventually freed on bail on 3 September 2019 until legal proceedings concluded. The specific reason for his arrest is unclear.

On 21 September 2019 the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced the human rights defender to six years’ imprisonment, including five years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and one year for “propaganda against the state”. He was also sentenced to two years internal exile in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan and is prohibited from holding membership of any group deemed to be ‘political’ or ‘social’. On 12 October 2019 the Appeals Court notified Shahpour Ehsanirad that it had ruled to uphold the initial verdict. Neither the human rights defender nor his lawyer were notified of the date of the appeal hearing and so were not present and were notified of the hearing only after it had already taken place.