Labor rights activist Nahid Khodajou was summoned to Tehran’s Evin Prison, to serve her sentence amid the coronavirus crisis, the Free Trade Union of Workers in Iran reported Thursday.
According to a statement published on the union’s telegram channel, the court has given five days to Ms. Khodajou to report herself in to the prison to serve six years behind bars.
“The judge has disregarded the fact that the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus has created an extremely life-threatening situation at prisons across the country”, the statement noted.
A member of the board of directors of the Free Trade Union of Workers in Iran, Nahid Khodaju was arrested along with 35 others during a gathering on the International Labor Day last year in front of the parliament in Tehran. She was released on bail after 33 days in detention.
On October 10, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Nahid Khodajou to six years in prison, 74 lashes, hand copying of two books, and a two-year ban from membership in any political or social parties or groups.
The verdict was upheld by an appeals court which, according to the statement, was held without the presence of Ms. Khodajou and her lawyer.
“The court verbally informed Ms. Khodajou’s lawyer that the verdict of the court of first instance, six-year prison sentence, and 74 lashes, had been upheld”, the statement said.
The statement disclosed that in recent days, Ministry of Intelligence agents have phoned a significant number of the members of the union and threatened them while demanding an explanation about their involvement in celebrating last year’s International Labor Day.
Nahid Khodajou is due to be sent to prison amid an outbreak of Covid-19 that has shaken Iran’s penal system.
There are sad reports about the coronavirus outbreak in various prisons in the country such as Fashafouyeh Prison of Tehran, Gohardasht, Ghezelhesar and Central prison of Karaj but also in Urmia, Ahvaz (Sheyban prison) and Kashan.
