Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a labour activist was arrested by agents of the Intelligence Ministry on December 12 and transferred to an unknown place.

While confirming the news of this prisoner’s arrest, a close relative of Ebrahimzadeh told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that several security forces had raided the house of this Labour activist without a warrant, while inspecting the house and confiscating a number of personal belongings before arresting and transferring him to an unknown location.

According to this source, Mr. Ebrahimzadeh was informed yesterday that he had been sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Dalahu, Kermanshah Province, which had issued this decree in absentia on charges of propaganda against the state. The charge, which was considered by the court as propaganda against the state, concerned the publication of news about the inappropriate situation of the earthquake-stricken areas of Sarpol-e Zahab on social media.

He was arrested by security forces around Sarpol-e Zahab while en route to assist survivors of the Kermanshah earthquake earlier this year on August Aug 17. He was transferred to Dizel Abad prison in Kermanshah after completion of the interrogations but he and was released on a bail of 40 million Tomans on September 11.

Ebrahimzadeh is 40 years old from Oshnavieh and a resident of Tehran. As a labour activist and a member of Society for Defending Street and Labour Children (Jamiat Defaa in Persian), he has been detained several times since 2008 in cases related to his actions as an activist. He was transferred to ward 350 of the prison after being detained in solitary confinement in Evin Prison after four months. In December 2010, he was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment by Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court but this sentence was later reduced to five years of imprisonment by the Court of Appeal.

Another case was also filed against him while he was serving his imprisonment term. In 2014, he was again sentenced to 9 years and 4 months of imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the state”, “community, collusion and action against national security” and “use of satellite equipment and maintenance”. The sentence was later reduced to 7 years, 10 months and 15 days of imprisonment in addition to a fine of 450 thousand tomans at the Court of Appeal.

Eventually, this labour activist was released on May 11, 2017, after serving 7 years of imprisonment at Tehran’s Evin prison and Rajai Shahr in Karaj.