Amnesty International, 22 January 2019
Two labour rights activists who were rearrested after speaking out about beatings and other abuse they suffered in detention last year are at grave risk of further torture, Amnesty International has warned.
Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian were violently arrested in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, on 20 January in apparent reprisal for talking publicly about the torture they have said they endured in detention during November and December 2018, provoking a public outcry.
“There are real fears that Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian could be facing a second round of torture after their rearrest. The timing of their arrest strongly suggests it is part of a sinister attempt to silence and punish them for speaking out about the horrific abuse they suffered in custody. The authorities must release them immediately and unconditionally, ensure their allegations of torture are independently investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
The activists were first arrested on 18 November 2018 after participating in a peaceful gathering in front of the governor’s office in Shush, Khuzestan, and seeking to meet with officials to discuss the unpaid wages of several thousand workers at the Haft Tappeh sugar cane industrial complex.
Following their release on bail in mid-December, Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian gave Amnesty International a harrowing account of the torture they suffered at the hands of security police and ministry of intelligence officials in both Shush and Ahvaz. They said they had been relentlessly beaten, slammed against a wall and shoved to the ground, as well as being humiliated and threatened with flogging, sexual violence and murder.
Sepideh Gholian told Amnesty International that, during her daily interrogation sessions, which started around 10 am and lasted until the early hours of the following morning, intelligence officials repeatedly subjected her to sexual insults, calling her a “whore”, accused her of having sexual relationships with workers and threatened to have her family kill her “in the name of honour”.
Esmail Bakhshi wrote on his Instagram account on 4 January 2019 that, immediately after his arrest, “they [the officials] tortured me until I thought I was going to die and beat me with their fists and kicks so much that I could not move in my cell for 72 hours. I was in so much pain that it even hurt to sleep and today, after nearly two months… I still feel pain in my broken ribs, kidneys, left ear and testicles.”
read the full report on Amnesty International website
