Tag: protests

Iranian Trucker Strikes Push into Second Straight Week

Posted on by admin-hr
Freedom of Expression, Labor and Guilds
labor activists in iran, labor union iran, protests, truck driver strikes

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – As they make it past the two-week mark, Iranian trucker strikes look nowhere near relenting, and authorities are taking notice.

As of the date of this report, 244 individuals have been arrested in connection to trucker strikes across multiple cities, including but not limited to Shahr-e Kord, Bandar-e Imam Khomeini, Ahvaz, Susangerd, Najaf Abad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Bushehr, Aligudarz, Urmia, Yazd, Zarrin Shahr, Bandar Abbas, Tiran, Miyaneh, Behshahr and Ghuchan.

While broadcasts from state-sponsored news agencies declared on October 6th that the protests were losing steam, the truckers have yet to back down. The same day, the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Shahr-e Kord announced that six more protestors had been detained.

Prior to October 6th, 238 individuals connected with the strike had already been detained and booked on charges of corruption on earth, disturbing public order, and banditry. Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri previously threatened the detainees with heavy sentences, reminding them that their charges are punishable by death. Strikers in multiple provinces are taking the risk: Qazvin, Alborz, Ardabil, Isfahan, Fars, Semnan, Kermanshah, Zanjan, Hamadan, Northern Khorasan, and cities of Nahavand, Bujnurd, Kangan, Pakdasht, Nishabur, Shirvan, Azarshahr, Gorgan, Bandar-e Gaz, Izeh, Razan, and Zaran provinces have seen arrests so far.

At a ceremony for the opening of a tunnel connecting Karaj to Chalus, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi acknowledged truck drivers’ role in the construction of the tunnel, telling a reporter, “the demands of the truck drivers will definitely be addressed.”

The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development showed less compassion toward the strikers in an October 6th response to Tehran-based Friday prayer imam Kaze Sadeghi, who stated that the Ministry should answer to their responsibilities and address the issue rather than “saying irrelevant things.” The Ministry’s retort statement read, “truck drivers are hardly struggling.”

In an interview with Mehr news agency, Deputy Head of the Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (IRMTO) Dariush Amani spoke of his organization’s initiative to meet drivers’ demands for tires, including cheaper import prices on cotton-based tires. “Tires have been placed on the list of essential items which will henceforth be imported at the government-subsidized price of 4200 Tomans [$1 USD].”

Ali Khaneghai, a general manager of the Sistan and Baluchestan provincial transportation and terminals department, acknowledged that high tire prices were one of the industry’s most dire needs, and claimed that 1200 subsidized tires have been distributed to drivers. “The drivers can purchase tires at fair prices through the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade with the presentation of their welcome letter from the Driver’s Union.”

Ahmad Jamshidi, Transportation and Terminals Manager of Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiyari province, also commented on tire influx, stating that 2711 tires had thus far been distributed among regional truckers.

HRANA previously reported on authorities’ reactions to the truckers’ continued strikes, which have been active since September 23rd. On that date, the Iran National Truck Driver’s Trade Union called on truckers to cease their operations until authorities fulfilled a list of 15 conditions, including an increase in pensions, a decrease in part prices, a 70-percent increase in wages, a decrease in insurance premiums, and a crackdown on bribery in the industry.

Three Hundred Gachsaran Prisoners Break into Protest

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners
Gachsaran, hunger strike prisoner, iran human rights, protests

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Around 300 prisoners in Gachsaran, in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, have launched protests and gone on hunger strike in opposition to patterns of injustice plaguing the quality of life in their region.

In phone calls to loved ones, several prisoners expressed discontent with the Gachsaran prosecutor’s unseemly behavior towards their families, the living conditions with which their families were faced, and authorities’ discriminatory treatment of prisoners, including their refusal to grant furlough to those who are eligible.

A source with two family members in the prison told HRANA that protestors were expressing their frustration and despair in very different ways. “During the protests, one prisoner, Hamed Pirayesh, cut his own ear and was subsequently transferred to solitary confinement. Today, another prisoner attempted suicide. Mir Mohammad Miri, an imprisoned political activist from Deyl village in Gachsaran county, is on his third day of hunger strike to protest the rejection of his furlough request.”

Miri was arrested July 21, 2018, to serve his sentence of lashings and two years in prison on charges of “insulting the supreme leader” and “propaganda against the regime.” The Gachsaran Revolutionary Court issued his verdict, which Branch 3 of the Appeals Court later upheld the sentence.

Six Education Rights Activists Get Suspended Sentences for May 10th Gathering

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Labor and Guilds
Ali Eghdamdoost, Esmayil Gerami, Hossein Gholami, Javaad Zolnoori, Mohammad Abedi, mohammad habibi, protests, Rasoul Badaghi, Teachers' Demonstrations

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) –

Six people arrested in a teachers’ demonstration on May 10th have been issued a suspended sentence of nine months imprisonment and 74 lashings, or the equivalent financial penalty, on charges of “disrupting public order by taking part in illegal gatherings” and “disobeying authorities serving their duty.” Their trial took place in Branch 1060 of the Second Criminal Court of Government Employees on September 5th.

HRANA has identified the arrestees as Ali Eghdamdoost, a member of the retirees’ union; Rasoul Badaghi, a previous officer of Tehran’s Teachers Trade Union; Esmayil Gerami, Javaad Zolnoori, Hossein Gholami, and Mohammad Abedi.

All six took part in a May 10th gathering of teachers and retirees advocating in front of Iran’s Planning and Budgeting Organization against the privatization of the country’s education system, and for wages that would hoist them above the poverty line. Police attacks on the demonstrators led to injuries, hospitalizations, and eight arrests.

Arrestees were held in a security police detention house on Vozara street before being transported to Base Seven of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) a few days later. They were finally taken in shackles and handcuffs to Evin prison, where they eventually accepted to post a bail of 500 million rials (approximately 12,000 USD) to await their trial.

Teachers’ union activist Mohammad Habibi, currently housed in Section 4 of Evin Prison, is a defendant on the same case. He was sentenced July 23rd to 10 years and six months in prison, 74 lashings, and a two-year ban on both civic activities and travel.

At trial, a judge offered freedom to the May 10th activists in exchange for their pledge to cease future involvement with labor activism. In defense of their right to stage and participate in peaceful gatherings, all reportedly refused.

Seven days in the month of Dey; The initial brief report of the first week of protests in Iran

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Freedom of Expression
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HRANA – The Center of Statistics at Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) has published this report regarding the recent seven days of protests in Iran which occurred from December 28, 2017 to January 3, 2018.

At the time of the compilation of this report, there are still protests occurring in parts of Iran. As a result, this report does not provide the most comprehensive outlook possible of the recent protests in Iran and is solely focused on the first seven days of protests. Continue reading “Seven days in the month of Dey; The initial brief report of the first week of protests in Iran”