Foad Fathi (Sirous Fathi) has been summoned and arrested several times for his labour and trade union activities.

Arrest

Fathi was arrested by security forces in Tehran on 4 November 2023 and was taken to Evin Prison in Tehran

Judicial Process

After being formally charged by Branch Seven of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, Fathi’s trial was held on 1 December 2024 at Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Judge Afshar.

A few days later, the labour activist was informed of his prison sentence.

According to the issued verdict, Fathi was sentenced to a total of four years imprisonment and additional penalties on charges of “acting against national security” through membership of Komala Kurdistan’s Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran, and “propaganda against the state”.

The additional penalties include a ban on leaving the country, a ban on joining political and social groups, and a two-year ban on residing in Tehran and its surrounding areas.

Current Status

Fathi is currently being held in Evin Prison in Tehran.

Additional Information

On 7 January 2024, due to an ear infection, he was transferred to an outside hospital for medical tests and then returned to Evin Prison.

Notes:

1. Komala Kurdistan’s Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran: The Komala of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan, known as Komala, a Marxist-Leninist organisation with Maoist inclinations, after nearly a decade of clandestine activities, publicly declared its establishment on 15 February 1979, simultaneously with the victory of the 1979 revolution.

In 1984, Komala and several other leftist Iranian groups founded the Communist Party of Iran (CPI), and Komala was renamed to Komala Kurdistan’s Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran.

The purpose of forming this party was described as the struggle to “establish a workers’ government and create a socialist society” in Iran.

Since 1991, the CPI has experienced several splits. Currently, apart from Komala Kurdistan’s Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran, two other parties that split from the organisation also use Komala in their official names. The central headquarters of the Komala Kurdistan’s Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran is in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

2. Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Anyone who engages in propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in favour of groups and organisations opposing the state, in any manner, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three months to one year.”