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The members of the Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA)- Abuja Branch, International Socialist Alternative (ISA) in Nigeria, today (2nd July, 2020), presented a protest letter to the Iranian embassy in Nigeria against the planned execution of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, Mohammad Rajabi and others for expressing their democratic right to protest oppressive conditions in Iran.

The protest letter was acknowledged by the security officer on duty, who was hostile towards the MSA members at the protest, and prevented them from taking pictures at the embassy environment. He insisted that the letter was a protest letter and there was no need for taking photos around the embassy because the CCTV camera was already recording our presence. Nevertheless, comrades continued with their demonstration and recorded it, despite his passionate objection.

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Below is a copy of the protest letter submitted at the embassy. We urge working masses, genuine seekers to read and share this protest letter to demand the release of the arrested protesters and an end to the violation of democratic rights.

Report by 

Musa Muhammad Shamsudeen

PROTEST LETTER

• Stop the execution of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, and others expressing their democratic rights!

• End violation and suppression of rights on movement, association and expression! 

On Wednesday 24th June, 2020, Iran Human Rights News Agency (HRANA) reported that Iran’s Supreme Court has ratified the death sentence for three young protesters arrested by security forces during the protest in November 2019.

The confirmation of death sentence was not officially announced, but was confirmed and announced by the lawyer for one of the detained student.

Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, had all been sentenced to prison, whipping and death by Islamic Revolutionary Court (national security, breach of general decency and political court) in February. After the appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Islamic Revolutionary Court.

On November 15, 2019, the Iranian government announced 300% increase in oil price, which triggered mass demonstrations in 29 of the country’s 31 provinces. The protests were met by severe attacks by the police and the paramilitary arm, Revolutionary Guard (Basiji), for the three young men arrested by security forces, during the protests in November 2019.

Security forces identified and arrested Amir-Hossein Moradi from surveillance cameras during the protests in November 2019. He was abused when he was arrested and interrogated and held in solitary confinement for a month. 

He was tortured and forced to act on the state television channel to “admit” that he had set banks and gas stations on fire and damaged public property, even before trial and judgment. Moradi and other detained and victimized protesters, that is, workers in the case, were denied access to lawyers during the investigation phase.

The other two, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi, fled to Turkey after their friend Moradi was arrested but arrested in Turkey and despite producing abundant evidence that they were in danger, after participating in the protests, the Turkish security forces deported them to Iran, where they were immediately arrested.

The three defendants in the case have been accused of joining the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization (MEK), which Iran has designated a terrorist in the organization, but has always denied the accusation.

For us in Movement for a Socialist Alternative, we want an end to killing of protesters in Iran. Young people like Moradi, Rajabi and Saeed should not be made scape goats to others for fighting for their democratic rights. 

We condemn strongly this attempt to criminalise protest and punish such by death. MSA believes it is the democratic rights of Moradi, Saeed and Rajabi, and others who work in the oil refinery to protest present anti-democratic and undemocratic conditions in Iran.

We believe that these detained workers have the right to unionise in order to defend their interest as workers, against the anti-labour, sharp practices carried out in many oil refineries that are capitalist oriented. 

We also want to state as part of solidarity against this inhuman attacks on them, that the Iranian government must stop using martial laws to abuse democratic right in order to protect capitalist oil corporate organization.

We, therefore, want to state that an attempt to kill Moradi, Saeed and Rajabi for protesting against the anti-labour practices, which also comes with brutalisation, victimization and abuse of right to express, associate and speak up against an oppressive regime, will mean that the Iranian government is not only dictatorial but tyrannical and totalitarian defending capitalist market and profit corporations.

The MSA, a revolutionary organization of workers and oppressed, with an internationalist perspective, will continue to campaign for the rights of the detained workers. We equally demand the immediate and unconditional release of Moradi, Saeed and Rajabi defending their interest as peaceful protesters as workers. 

In the same vein, the MSA (the Nigerian Section of the  International Socialist Alternative) call on workers across different parts of the world to show solidarity, demand for their release and end to violation of democratic rights to unionise in work places. 

Demands:

1. Stop execution of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, and others expressing their democratic rights!

2. End violation and suppression of rights on movement, association and expression! 

3. Immediate release of all detained protesters and unionists in Iran. 

4. The right to protest is a democratic right and non negotiable. No to criminalization of the right to protest.

5. No to the deregulation of the oil wealth of Iranians. 

6. For the nationalisation of the oil industry, under the democratic management and control of workers and poor to end profit driven market. 

Solidarity, 

Dagga Tolar

For: Movement for A Socialist Alternative