Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – The mother of Anisha Asadollahi, a translator and imprisoned labor activist, has demanded the “immediate” release of her daughter and son-in-law, Keyvan Mohtadi, who she says are being detained without due process.
In a video message dated June 27, Shafiqa Alemi chastises Iran’s government for arresting her daughter “for translating the statements of two French labor activists.”
Anisha Asadollahi and her husband, Keyvan Mohtadi, both cultural and civil activists, were arrested by security forces on May 9.
The charges against the two writers and translators are still unknown, and the Writers’ Association of Iran warned after their arrest that “the responsibility for any harm to their health lies with the security services of the government and the judiciary.”
“Doesn’t Iran consider itself a proud member of the International Labor Organization, the ILO?” Alemi asks in the video.
“Why do you arrest the country’s brightest? To compensate for your own ineptitude and incompetence?”
Anisha Asadollahi has been arrested several times and was sentenced to one year in prison for participating in labor rallies. Keyvan Mohtadi was also briefly detained during 2018 protests by bus workers.
On May 17, state television alleged that the labor activists had met with two French nationals — 37-year-old Cecile Kohler and her 69-year-old partner, Jacques Paris — who were accused of seeking to foment unrest in Iran.
The allegations come as the country’s security forces try to suppress anti government protests in cities across the country against skyrocketing inflation and the government’s recent decision to cut some subsidies. Reports say at least five demonstrators have died in the protests.
