Over the past few days, Iranians in several cities held twelve separate rallies to protest economic injustices and human rights abuses. The protesters included credit firm clients, government employees, firefighters, hospital workers, students, retirees, families of plane crash victims, and the family and colleagues of a political prisoner

Credit Firm Clients

On Monday, looted clients of the Caspian Credit Institute gathered outside of the company’s offices in Rasht, northern Iran, to demand the return of their stolen savings. Caspian, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, declared bankruptcy and emptied the accounts of its clients after making a series of false promises to lure investors.

In Khorasan Razavi Province, looted customers of the Badre Tous Company, which is affiliated with the Caspian Credit Institute, protested outside of the governorate and demanded that their stolen money he returned.

#Iranians hold 12 rallies in protest to delayed paychecks, economic woes https://t.co/ZrroXs7fAc#IranProtests

— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) February 19, 2019

On Monday, scammed credit customers of the Shadi Goldsmith in Tehran protested outside of the Supreme Court. The protesters were scammed when they sold gold to Shadi and didn’t receive their full share of the profits. Shadi has scammed over 4,000 people over the 19 years it has operated in Tehran.

Delayed and Unpaid Wages

In the Chabahar Municipality of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, workers gathered outside of the municipality to protest several months of delayed paychecks.

In the town of Abadan, southern Iran, municipal workers, and firefighters held two rallies in protest of three months of delayed paychecks. The firefighters also protested the fact that they had not been provided uniforms for the past two years and that their trucks were poorly equipped and lacked necessary safety tools.

In Tehran, employees of government subsidy plan Equity Shares gathered outside of the Ministry of Economy for two consecutive days to demand 48 months of unpaid wages. Protesters also complained that the company did not offer any job security, even after twelve years of employment.

Also in Tehran, retirees of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs rallied outside of the foundation’s offices to protest the delay of their pension bonuses and severance packages. The protesters retired two years ago and have still not received the promised benefits from their employer, nor have they received any response to their demands.

In Karaj, employees and workers from Khomeini Hospital rallied for two consecutive days to demand months of unpaid and delayed wages.

Law Students

On Monday, law students gathered outside of the Iranian regime Parliament in Tehran to protest the low acceptance rate for the 2018 Bar exams.

Family and Colleagues of Political Prisoner

Also on Monday, jailed labor activist Esmail Bakhshi’s family and many of his colleagues from the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane factory in Shush, Khuzestan Province, gathered outside of the judiciary in Shush to demand his release.

Esmail Bakhshi, a spokesperson of the protesting employees at the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Agro Industrial Company in Khuzestan province, issues an open letter describing his horrible incarceration conditions.#Iran#HumanRightshttps://t.co/y1q8td1Txp

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 5, 2019

Bakshi was initially arrested for participating in the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Factory worker strikes last year but was later released along with a number of other arrested workers. He was re-arrested on January 21st after publicly stating that he was tortured while in regime custody.

The MEK was vocal in its support of the factory workers during the Haft Tappeh strikes and active on the ground with its Resistance Units. The MEK and the Iranian Resistance continues to support Mr. Bakshi and calls on regime authorities to release him and drop the charges against him.

Families of Plane Crash Victims

On Monday, the families of the victims of a deadly plane crash rallied at the Mehr Abad Airport in Tehran on the second anniversary of the tragedy. All 66 passengers were killed on the fatal flight. Family members are still waiting for a proper investigation into what went wrong on the flight.

Staff Writer

The Free Union of Workers released a statement on Saturday condemning the conditions imposed upon the workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz after their recent release from prison on bail.

"The Free Union of Workers demanded that all criminal charges be dropped against the 43 workers who were arrested in December."#Iran#IranProtestshttps://t.co/XRF8JHAuv0

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 20, 2019

In its statement, the union denounced the continued repression of the workers, writing,

“The extraction of a 2.5-billion-rial bail from the families of Karim Siahi and Tariq Kholfi shows that wave of repression continues against the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group, who were demanding for their most basic rights during their 38-day strikes and streets protests.”

Siahi and Kholfi are representative of the Ahvaz steelworkers who were arrested along with several dozen others during a series of nighttime raids on workers’ homes in December. The two labor representatives were finally released on Saturday afternoon.

The Ahvaz Steelworkers Strike

The Ahvaz steelworkers embarked on a weeks-long strike beginning in November to protest months of unpaid wages and poor working conditions. As the strikes continued they garnered widespread attention and support from human rights activists and labor groups across the world. The MEK and the Iranian Resistance vocally supported the striking workers.

Ahvaz Steel Workers Gain Support in Their Protests

The Iranian regime cracked down on the striking workers, accusing them of “sedition” and threatening them with arrest. After over a month of protests, regime security forces conducted a series of midnight raids on the houses of striking workers over a period of several days, arresting dozens. Some people were so frightened of arrest that they slept on the streets rather than risk possible arrest at the hands of violent security forces.

Regime Threats

In its statement, the union warned that the regime plans to create false criminal files for the workers so that it may continue to harass them and potentially prosecute them in the future. The statement says, “With made up and vague criminal files, security institutions plan to keep the threat of judicial prosecution over the heads of the brave workers of this big industrial complex and force them to give in to tyranny and the trampling of their rights and salaries.”

Khuzestan province, southwest #Iran
A group of Haft Tapeh sugarcane company employees voice support for Iran National Steel Industrial Group employees in Ahvaz, demand imprisoned workers' release.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/2UxSqLpWZP

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 6, 2019

The statement also thanked supporters of the protesters and restated its solidarity with the Ahvaz steelworkers, writing, “We thank all workers, teachers, retired government employees, students and other noble people who have joined us in this campaign to protest against the arrest and incarceration of the workers of INSIG. We once again reiterate our deepest solidarity with the just struggles of the steelworkers of Ahvaz for their most basic and unalienable rights and will continue our strikes, protests, and marches.”

The Free Union of Workers has demanded that all criminal charges against the 43 workers who-who arrested in December be dropped.

The Haft Tappeh Strikes

The Ahvaz Steelworkers strikes took place alongside the Haft Tappeh factory workers’ strike, also in Ahvaz Province. The workers of Haft Tappeh were striking in protest of not receiving their wages for several months and poor working conditions due to the privatization of their factory. The two groups of striking workers came together in solidarity during their strikes and protests.

The regime reacted to the Haft Tappeh strikes in much the same way as they did to the steelworkers’ strikes. A number of factory workers were arrested for their participation in the strikes and protests after the regime cracked down on the protests. One worker who was recently released from prison publicly stated that he was tortured while he was in custody. He is now being prosecuted by the regime’s judiciary for revealing this fact.

Staff Writer