Three Iranian labour activists freed after over two years in prison

Three Iranian labor rights activists have been released more than two years after their arrest, their lawyer, Hossein Taj, informed AFP.

“My clients Keyvan Mohtadi, Reza Shahabi, and Hassan Saidi were released Sunday after the judiciary commuted their sentences,” Taj said.

The activists had each been sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy against the state. Mohtadi, in addition to his labor activism, had served as a translator for French nationals Jacques Paris and Cecile Kohler, who remain imprisoned after their May 2022 arrests on charges of spying.

Mohtadi, 38, was arrested alongside his wife, Anisha Asadollahi, in May 2022 at their home in Tehran. Shahabi and Saidi, unionists employed by Tehran’s public bus authority, were arrested in April and May 2022, respectively.

Taj confirmed that the three activists were released after their sentences were commuted on appeal. He also noted that their release followed a pardon from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, decreed in February 2023.