Ali Nejati Will Be Tried Again

HRANA News Agency – On Saturday, June 11, 2011, Ali Nejati will be tried again on charges for which he has already faced prosecution and served prison time. His trial will be held in Ahvaz Appeals Court, Branch 13. Before being fired from his job, Ali Nejati was a laborer at Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company. He is one of the board members of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company Workers’ Trade Union.

According to a report by the website of the Coordinating Committee to Create Labor Organizations, Ali Nejati has spent six months in prison for the same charge. After his prison term was over, prosecutors attempted to try him again, but the charges were dismissed by the court since they were repetitive.

After the acquittal, because of the prosecutor’s objection and pressure from intelligence officials, Ali Nejati’s case was once again referred to the appeals court at the provincial capital.

During previous court proceedings, the trail was postponed due to Ali Nejati’s heart attack. Now, he is being retried while suffering from heart failure and the clogging of arteries and is physically weak after having undergone several heart surgeries.

For more than two years, Ali Nejati has been the target of pressure, prosecution and imprisonment for representing workers and being a board member of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company Workers’ Trade Union. Since he was fired from his job, he has also been suffering financially and has lost the means to support himself.

Once again, Iran’s judiciary and intelligence apparatus is exerting more pressure on Ali Nejati and his family in order to prevent this labor activist to seek justice for workers. He is being tried again on charges for which he has already served prison time.