Attorney General: Help the Underprivileged Porters and Take Action Against Others

The Attorney General of Iran has stated that assistance should be provided to a group of porters he referred to as 'underprivileged,' while another group of porters, allegedly hired by 'some capitalists,' should be dealt with by intelligence and law enforcement forces. According to the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, Mohammad Javad Montazeri said on Tuesday: 'There are two fundamental ways to combat this. One is to close the borders so that smuggled goods do not enter the country at all, and the second is that those who bring in smuggled goods by any means should have their confiscated goods destroyed.' This judicial official, referring to the Supreme Leader's comments about 'burning smuggled goods,' added: 'If there are legal issues regarding this matter, they should be resolved.' He called on the Islamic Consultative Assembly to assist in creating legislation and added: 'If this is implemented, it will deter the temptation to bring in smuggled goods and will also combat smugglers.' Amir Khajasteh, head of the Economic Corruption Combatting Faction in the parliament, warned the head of the Anti-Smuggling Goods Organization on February 3 that '3,000 containers of smuggled goods enter Iran daily.' Previously, Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, announced in a public session of parliament last week that '70% of smuggled goods enter Iran through unofficial channels.' According to Mizan news agency, the Attorney General referred to porters, stating: 'Porters are a group of border residents who have been doing this for a long time. Their means of livelihood is bringing goods from the border.' This judicial official described porters as 'underprivileged' and called for assistance for them. Nevertheless, he characterized another group of porters as 'hired' by 'some capitalists,' adding that these individuals 'hire people and use their skills and knowledge to engage in widespread smuggling of goods into the country.' He continued: 'In this regard, intelligence and law enforcement forces will certainly take action and arrest them.' The Attorney General's remarks follow recent statements regarding the deaths of at least five porters due to avalanches. Reports indicate that on February 1, four porters were killed near Sardasht County in West Azerbaijan Province due to an avalanche. On February 3, three porters were buried under snow due to another avalanche, one of whom, a 19-year-old from Oshnavieh, lost his life. Earlier, on February 3, the Shargh newspaper reported that 30 parliament members had submitted an urgent proposal aimed at supporting porters. Abdul Karim Hosseinzadeh, a representative from Naqdeh and Oshnavieh, announced that the proposal includes providing social security insurance for porters and increasing investment and job creation in western provinces of Iran. Mr. Hosseinzadeh emphasized that the approach to borders should be 'commercial and trade-oriented,' while the officials' view of borders is 'security-oriented.' He added: 'We have been shouting for years that border markets can provide a small share for border residents and compensate for their difficult past lives; however, our cries have not reached any responsible officials, and porters are struggling in poverty far from the capital.' Recently, 60 civil and political activists wrote to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, and parliament representatives, asking for immediate support for the families of victims and long-term job creation in western provinces of Iran. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Hope Faction in parliament, also wrote that 'we officials must hold ourselves accountable for such unfortunate incidents and not evade responsibility, as creating sustainable jobs, especially in deprived areas, is one of the government's duties.' Porters are local individuals in border areas, especially in western provinces of Iran such as Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, and Kermanshah, who carry goods illegally into Iran on their backs. In some cases, they transport heavy items like televisions or car tires on horseback into Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated in May that 'the fight against smuggling does not mean confronting weak porters who bring in small items in some areas, but rather it refers to large smugglers who bring in smuggled goods in dozens and hundreds of containers.' Nevertheless, various reports are published annually regarding the deaths and injuries of porters due to gunfire from law enforcement officers. For instance, according to the Kurdpa news agency, last year 29 porters were killed and 29 others were injured. However, Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi, the spokesperson for the police, described these reports as 'lies' and accused 'foreign media' of attempting to create a context for the entry of weapons, explosives, and drugs into Iran by misrepresenting smugglers as porters. Human rights groups have described the direct and unannounced shooting of porters as inhumane and have strongly criticized such actions by the Islamic Republic's forces. In recent months, videos and images of the mass killing of porters' horses and mules by police officers have also been published. In this context, in September, several representatives from Kurdistan Province in parliament protested against this action by the police.