Photo credit to Iran News Wire: Teachers protest against their poor economic condition in dozens of cities in Iran, 2019
At least 177 protests took place in 57 cities, villages, and industrial regions in Iran during the month of August, according to reports from the people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) sources inside Iran. More than 21 people were sentenced to prison or lashes due to their participation in protests in August.
The following is a summary of the protests that took place in Iran during August:
Workers
Total number of protests: 83
Locations: 29 cities, commercial areas, and industrial towns in 20 provinces
Protesters: Forest rangers at the Shafavard Forest Company, workers in the Sisakht municipality, HEPCO workers in the city of Arak, Fasa Sugar Cube factory workers, and RAMCO (Rehabilitation & Maintenance Petrochemical Co.) workers in the city of Ahvaz.
#Iran RAMPCO workers gather in the southwestern city of Ahwaz to demand 6 months of delayed paychecks. The regime ignores the economic woes of Iranians even while most of the population live in poverty. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ySIzssPYvA
— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) August 24, 2019
The workers protested low and delayed wages, lack of job security, the dismissal of workers, non-renewal of contracts, and privatization.
Defrauded Credit Customers
Total number of protests: 12
Locations: 4 cities
Protesters: Defrauded customers of the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Caspian Credit Institution, Ramak Auto, Avizco Auto, Shadi Gold Institute, Adineh Complex, Persian Pars Auto, and the Kimia project.
The protesters demanded the return of their stolen savings.
Retirees
Total number of protests: 6
Locations: 4 cities
Protesters: Retirees of the Fars Province Telecommunications Company, the Nilo Tile factory, the Isfahan Telecommunication Company, and the Tehran metro, and pensioners in the northwestern province of Eastern Azerbaijan.
Archive photo: Retired Iranian bank employees from all over Iran came to Tehran to protest their low pension. The protesters gathered outside the Bank Pension Fund Office- October 2018
Teachers
Total number of protests:17
Locations: 8 cities in 8 provinces
Teachers protested low and unpaid wages, poor living conditions, the lack of official hiring status, and the arrest of their colleagues. Schools are currently on summer break, so these protests are noteworthy.
Other Protests
Total number of protests: 38
Locations: 28 cities in 19 provinces
Protesters: Employees of rural telecommunications; disabled Iranians; villagers in Hani Garmaleh, Kermanshah Province; and landowners in Mahmoud Abad, Mazandaran Province.
Hail to the brave teachers in #Iran who held protest gatherings to demand their basic rights. The mullahs’ rule is entwined with oppression and discrimination. Rights are to be earned, and as you cried out, no one should tolerate injustice and discrimination.
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) August 4, 2019
Hunger Strikes by Iranian Prisoners
Total number of hunger strikes: 13
Locations: 8 prisons in 7 cities
Prisoners who embarked on hunger strikes included :
- Akbar Gavili, a civil rights activist and former member of the Kurdistan Green Association, in protest of his arrest;
- female prisoners in Section 5 of Tehran’s Qarchak Prison, in protest of prison conditions;
- Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, and activist currently detained in Arak Prison, in protest of being held in quarantine;
- Kamran Darvish, a political prisoner in Orumieh Central Prison in protest of not being released on bail;
- Akbar Bagheri, a political prisoner currently detained in Greater Tehran Penitentiary in protest of his prison sentence, not receiving an appeal in the Supreme Court, not receiving medical attention, and being sent to Greater Tehran Prison;
- Ali Ashraf Parvaneh in protest of not being allowed to leave after 18 years in prison.
- Environmentalists Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Taher Ghadirian, Sepideh Kashani, Homan Jukar, and Nilofar Bayani in protest of their continued illegal temporary detention;
- Hamzeh Darvish, a Sunni prisoner currently being held in Rajaie Shahr Prison in protest of not being allowed to choose his lawyer and issues related to his legal case;
- Amir Nourzehi, an Afghan national currently held in Zahedan Prison in protest of prison officials’ refusal to tell him who filed charges against him.
The MEK salutes the brave protesters who continue to stand up to the mullahs despite the regime’s attempts to intimidate and suppress them.
Staff Writer