Kazem Ali Nejad Arrested in Eslamshahr

On November 20, Kazem Ali-Nejad Baraloo was apprehended in Eslamshahr, Tehran Province, by security forces, who subsequently transferred him to an undisclosed location.

According to a source closely connected to his family, at 7:00 am on Monday, a group of nine individuals in plainclothes arrived at Ali-Nejad’s residence. They conducted an extensive search, seized some of his personal belongings, and took him into custody.

The grounds for Ali-Nejad’s arrest, his current whereabouts, and the charges against him remain shrouded in uncertainty at this time.

It is worth noting that Ali-Nejad has a history of previous arrests and convictions related to political charges. The circumstances surrounding his latest detention add to the ongoing concern about the state of human rights and political freedoms in the region. The lack of transparency regarding the nature of the charges further underscores the need for a thorough and fair legal process.

HRANA Recap: This Week’s Protests in Iran

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a number of protests took place this week in Iran, many of which were continuations of ongoing movements.  Read our recap below for details, photos, and videos from the demonstrations.

Saturday, October 23

A group of contracted teachers and educators from the counties of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province assembled in front of the government building in Shahrekord to protest this year layoffs.

“126 teachers have been fired this academic year,” one protestor stated at the demonstration. “These layoffs happened only to the educators of this province. The teachers with the same conditions, all over the county, continue their work.”, he added.

Sunday, October 24

Workers for a heap leaching project at the copper mine Sungun Varzaghan assembled and protested their unpaid benefits this Sunday. 

Monday, October 25

In various cities across the country, judiciary personnel assembled in front of their local justice buildings and protested worsening job conditions and the failure of authorities to address their demands.

These protests were held in Tehran, Zanjan, Hamedan, Qom, Arak, Babol, Borujerd, Chaedgan, Firuzabad, Kerman, Khandab, Kuhrang, Meybod, Lenjan, Sari, Mehr, Nahavand, Urmia, Paveh, Rumeshkan, Semirom, Shahrekord, Shirvan,Shut, Taft, Razan, Eslamshahr, and Tuyserkan.

A group of patients with the blood disorder thalassemia assembled in front of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education building in Tehran. They protested the shortage of medicine and the institution’s shortcomings in addressing their issues.

A number of retirees on the pension fund of steel corporation Fulad traveled from various cities to Tehran and assembled in front of the pension fund building. As a symbolic act, they spread tablecloths without any food to show they hardly afford living costs. They asked for a pension above the poverty line, free medical treatment and closing the gap in pension incomes. They claimed that Fulad’s pension fund has breached regulations.

A group of teachers and educators in Rafsanjan City who has passed the recruitment exam taken by the Ministry of Education assembled in front of the building of this ministry in Rafsanjan.

“We are 62 teachers and all have been passed the recruitment exam, nonetheless, we have not been recruited,” one of the teachers commented. He added,  “Given that the Ministry of Education needed more than 200 teachers and there are a lot of local labour forces to be hired, why do they recruit from other cities?”

A number of athletes and paralympic medalists assembled in front of the government building in Damghan City. They protested the mismanagement of the county Ministry of Sport and Youth, as well as a shortage of sports facilities. According to these protestors, the sport salon allocated to them is often closed and each time they have to wait three hours for using the salon.

Bus and minibus drivers working in the transportation service of Southern Pars (Asaluyeh and Bandar-e Kangan) assembled outside the premises of the refineries. They protested against low wages in comparison to increasing transportation costs.

“Our wage is lower in comparison to the vehicle depreciation costs,” one protestor said, “and even though it is not enough, they delay payment.”

A number of young job seekers in Shushtar city assembled in front of the Karun Agro-industry Complex. They asked for recruitment of local job seekers in this industry complex. They find it unfair that, despite having several big corporation in this city, many skilled and educated workers remain jobless.

Some personnel of the Real Estate Registration Organization of Iran assembled and protested in front of the office of a member of the parliament in Qazvin.

A group of market workers in the border village Sheykh Salleh assembled to protest against the assigning  of border affairs to a non-native company.

Tuesday, October 26

A number of workers of Omidiyeh Water and Wastewater Company assembled in front of the government building of this city.

These workers said that despite promises from supervisors, they have four-month unpaid wages. Moreover, the end of year bonuses and three years end of service benefits have not been paid. They have protested several times in the past, but every time, they have not received an adequate response from authorities.

The retirees of Imam Khomeini hospital in Karaj assembled in front of this hospital to promote their demands on Tuesday.

For the second day, the retirees of the pension fund of the steel corporation Fulad assembled in front of the pension fund building in Tehran.

A group of retirees and working personnel of airline company Homa assembled in front of the building of Iran Ministry of Roads & Urban Development. They asked for fair and timely wages. According to these protestors, not only is the pension insignificant, but also there have been significant payment delays.

A number of farmers from eastern Isfahan assembled in front of the building of the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad. They protested not receiving their water shares and rights.

Workers of contractor companies delivering services like gardening, maintenance and transport for Pars Oil and Gas Company assembled in Asaluyeh to demand increased wages, supplementary insurance, and implementation of the Job Classification plan.

In Isfahan and Yazd Provinces, a number of people with hearing impairment assembled in front of the buildings of the State Welfare Organization of Iran. They cited livelihood problems, including denial of right to housing and insurance, as the reasons for their protest.

Wednesday, October 27

For the third consecutive day, a group of workers of Gachsaran Petrochemical Company protested at their workplace and then in front of the government building of Gachsaran.

They said that the contractors discriminates against the native laborers and threatens them to be fired. Reportedly, these contractor companies have raised the wage of non-native labor but not the native ones.

Some personnel of the Azad University, unit “Yadegare Imam” in Shahr-e-Rey city assembled and protested at the university premises to protest ongoing mismanagement. Reportedly, this protest turned somewhat violent.

A number of people who have lost their money in their accounts with Cryptoland, a cryptocurrency exchange, protested in front of the Tehran Courthouse. They demanded that legal processing return their losses.

A number of disabled war veterans assembled in front of the building of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs in Tehran. They protested poor living conditions and the non-implementation of some protective laws

Thursday, October 28

A number of workers of Khorramshahr municipality assembled in front of the building of the municipality to protest against a six-month delay in payment and other demands.

In Isfahan, a number of people with hearing loss assembled in front of the buildings of the State Welfare Organization of Iran.

A number of workers of the Kut-Abdollah municipality protested in front of the Governorate building of Khuzestan Province. They asked for the payment of their delayed wages.

Injured protesters are facing life threatening infections

The nationwide protests of November are one of the most significant events of 2019. During the November protests that lasted more than 10 days simultaneously in 719 parts of the country. At least 7133 people were arrested, hundreds died on the streets, and many protesters got gunshot wounds. This report is compiled by HRANA from field investigations of the injured individuals during the last November’s protests. The majority of the injured who are interviewed for this report are living in Karaj, Eslamshahr, Sirjan, Behbahan, Mahshahr, Qods, and Ahvaz. Their ages range between 19 to 30 and were mostly shot in their feet, chest, and upper body.  They are suffering from life-threatening infections.

Alborz and Tehran

An informed source told HRANA that more than 20 days after the protests, a trusted physician agreed to treat seven of the injured in Karaj. They were shot on the same day in Karaj. Two were shot by bird shots and five were shot by rifle bullets. One of the injured was severely shot in his right foot and right shoulder and was bleeding heavily.

Another informed source in Alborz Province told HRANA that some of the victims from Mohammadieh, Shahriyar, and Eslamshahr who were injured between 16 to 18 November did not seek medical help fearing to be arrested: however, they could not afford private medical treatment. Therefore, one of the injured, a 19-year-old, died because of injuries and infection. The others are relying only on antibiotics to fight infections. The bullets are mostly in the chest and face and the upper body of these victims. Ayob Bahramian is one of the victims who left his house in Shahriar for shopping on November 16 and was shot in the thigh while crossing the street. He was hospitalized and went to a coma. He died on December 18, 2019. He was married and father of a four-year-old and a five-month-old baby.

One of the protesters in Qods city was shot in a foot while filming the security forces beating the protesters. His injury was not serious and was later treated by a trusted doctor.

An informed source told HRANA about the condition of the injured in Qods city “the first night of the protest, about 60 to 70 injured protesters were transferred to the hospital by the police vans and were treating under control of the police. Some of these injured were interrogated and released while being treated”.

Khuzestan

Another protester who interviewed with HRANA was shot by tear gas from a very short distance that broke his ribs. Some of the injured in Behbahan who were hospitalized, and their identities were given to the police are as the following:

1- Ardeshir Omidi, shot in both feet

2- Mohammad Kamrani lost his knee to a gunshot wound

3- Ebrahim Sheikhi, from Asad Abad village in Behbahan who was shot in the eye

4- Iman Alafchin, living in Khorasani neighborhood of Behbahan, who was shot in thigh and hand on November 16 was transferred to Ahvaz Hospital. He lost one foot from the knee down due to severe bleeding and medical negligence. The hospital billed him for approx. $2000. He couldn’t afford to pay this bill, so the hospital refused to release him. He is a baker and lives with his brother.

5- Maryam Payab was shot with a rifle bullet in the waist on November 16 and underwent surgery in Shahidzadeh Hospital in Behbahan She was released three days later by paying approx. $250. She was later arrested on December 19, 2019.

Three of the arrested citizens in Behbahan were also injured and have not contacted their families after their arrest. An informed source told HRANA that the security forces did not allow the personnel of Behbahan Hospital to register the injured individuals. They were even present in the operation rooms and took away the injured right after the bullets were removed from them. They even took bodies out of the hospital. Another citizen was shot in the neck and is in a coma in Ahvaz Hospital where he is under 24-hour monitoring of the security forces. The family of this victim is not allowed to visit him.

Meisam Odgipour, a resident of Khoramshahr, Anvar Matroudi, and Abdollah Yamasi, residents of Shadegan who were injured during the last November’s protest were arrested after being transferred to the hospital. Another citizen of Mahshar who was shot is not yet been treated and his life is in danger. Majid Majdam, a resident of Sarband, in Karun county in Khuzestan, was injured and died in the hospital. In addition, Mansour Dorris, son of Sarabad’s Imam of Friday Prayer was killed by gunshot and was buried on November 26, 2019.

Other provinces

Two protesters in Sirjan were treated by a trusted doctor. They were shot in the stomach. In Yasuj and Gachsaran, some of the arrested protesters were beaten severely. Among them, a 30-year old man had a broken wrist as a result of police beating. He was denied medical treatment and was transferred to the prison where he was only given pain killers for his injury before being released on bail.

Ayub Bahramian

 

Infections of the injured protesters