Condemn the shocking persecution of environmental activists in Iran!
On 23rd September 2018, the news of the murder of Farshid Haki shocked many in Iran. Farshid was an environmental activist and openly criticised the strategies and practices of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) regarding the treatment of the environment. Farshid Haki was stabbed and set on fire in his car near his home in Tehran.
In addition to the murder, five other environmental activists have been sentenced to death in Iran. Mordad Tahbaz, Nilufar Binaie, Houman Jovkar, Sepideh Kashani and Taher Ghadirian have been accused of “corruption on earth” and sentenced to death.
The exploitation and destruction of the environment through the IRI has been the subject of many protests by environmental activists as well as social unrest in the most affected areas.
The main issues of those who fight for life, the environmental activists and social practitioners, have been: drying rivers and lakes, destruction of wildlife and its habitat, cutting trees, building more nuclear power plants, diesel-run industries and industrial equipment as well as the extreme decline of living standards due to environmental changes in some areas.
The destruction of the environment in Iran has led to some serious issues for many and even turned some cities into inhabitable environments. For instance, there have been several mass protests in Ahvaz as people have no clean water and breathable air. For many, the situation is catastrophic.
The activists and social practitioners have been raising awareness about the issues through organising events, holding assemblies and proposing alternatives to solve the issues.
- Human chains on the banks of dried rivers
- Cycling instead of driving once a week
- Voluntary groups who clean up beaches and woods
- Art events and music sessions in destroyed or affected areas to raise awareness
- Lectures and seminars about the conditions of the environment
- Researching the issues
- Reporting the issues
- Releasing statements against the use of nuclear power and proposing green alternatives
- Raising awareness about taking care of the environment
Activists who utilise these humane and modern practices have faced persecution, brutality and repression by the IRI. The activists are accused of “espionage”, treated as “enemies” and sentenced in revolutionary courts for these “crimes”. That’s if they are not assassinated or brutally murdered, as Farshid Haki was.
In Iran, caring for life, environmental activism, standing up to the exploitation of the defenceless nature challenges the deeply corrupt system, organisations and powerful individuals who directly profit from the destruction of the environment.
Many of the businesses that actively take part in the destruction are owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and heads of the regime. Repression and sentencing of the dissidents and assassination of the activists is carried out to secure the business and to keep the corrupt in power. Also, the activists and their humane and modern practices are at odds with the ideology, culture, politics and economy of the rulers.
In response to the repression, society has stood by the activists. Support for the activists and condemnation of the persecutions and murders has been widespread. People continue the social practices and keep on organising to protect life.
We call on all international environmental activists and organisations, labour organisations and human rights defenders to condemn the murder of Farshid Haki and the death sentences of Mordad Tahbaz, Nilufar Binaie, Houman Jovkar, Sepideh Kashani, and Taher Ghadirian.
Worker-communist Party of Iran
01 November 2018
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