Iran: Labour Groups Call For Probe Into Blogger Beheshti’s Death
Three Iranian labour organizations have issued a joint statement urging the government to pursue the case of Sattar Beheshti’s death in police custody so the perpetrators of his death can be brought to justice.
The Kaleme website reports that the Vahed Transit Drivers Union, the Labour Union Project and the Defenders of Labour Rights Centre issued a joint statement on Sunday November 25 to challenge the arrest and eventual death of Sattar Beheshti in prison.
Beheshti, a blogger and labour activist, was arrested on October 30 for “acting against national security through activities on social networks on the internet and on Facebook.” Five days later, his family was informed that they should collect his remains from prison authorities.
The statement by the labour organizations states: “He had committed no crime other than to speak out against the injustice and poverty dominating the lives of workers.”
The Tehran Prosecutor’s office has announced that the coroner’s office has declared it cannot determine the exact cause of Beheshti’s death and has only stated that “shock” could have led to his death.
According to statements by Beheshti’s cellmates, he had severe signs of torture on his body before being taken to his final interrogation, and the spokesman for the judiciary has confirmed that bruises were seen on the body of the deceased.
The Beheshti family stresses that Sattar Beheshti was in complete good health before his arrest, adding that the authorities even denied the family the right to handle his remains and prepare them for burial so that they would not see the state of his body.
