Conflicting Reports on the Release of Four Detained Workers; Protests by Haft Tappeh Workers Continue

As protests by Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers in Shush continue, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the status of four detained representatives of the workers. According to some reports, they have been released, but several labor organizations have denied this news. ILNA news agency reported on Wednesday that five detainees, including four workers' representatives and civil activist Sepideh Gholian, were released on Sunday in this city. The Telegram channel Emtehad, close to reformists, also reported that two thousand protesting workers 'managed to secure the release of their imprisoned colleagues by staging a sit-in in front of the Shush governor's office and through negotiations with the authorities.' However, social media accounts belonging to Haft Tappeh workers and the Free Workers Union of Iran denied the news of their release. The Free Workers Union of Iran stated that by around 3 PM on Wednesday, 'despite the conversion of the detention order to bail and the supposed release, none of them have been freed, and the Shush Intelligence Department has announced that the four representatives of the workers, Ismail Bakhshi, Mohammad Khenifar, Moslem Armand, Hassan Fazeli, and civil activist Sepideh Gholian will remain in custody until further notice.' Earlier, the Haft Tappeh Workers Syndicate had announced that the conversion of the detention order to bail and the release of this group had been agreed upon. Ismail Bakhshi, Mohammad Khenifar, Moslem Armand, and Hassan Fazeli, along with Sepideh Gholian, were arrested by security forces on Sunday, and their case was declared a security matter. At least 19 individuals were detained in Shush on Sunday, but were released after one day. On the seventeenth day of the strike and gathering of Haft Tappeh workers in front of the Shush governor's office, Mohammad Javad Kolivand, head of the Commission on Councils and Interior Affairs, announced that 'the issue of the gatherings has been discussed in meetings at the Ministry of Interior and also in the National Security Council, and it was decided that the judiciary should engage more and help resolve the workers' problems.' Meanwhile, according to videos published on social media by Haft Tappeh workers, they continue to emphasize the necessity of receiving four months of unpaid wages and demand the transfer of ownership of the unit to the workers and its management by a workers' council or the return of the company's ownership to the public sector under the supervision of a workers' council. They consider this issue their most important demand. This demand has so far been met with negative responses from officials of Hassan Rouhani's government, especially Ali Ashraf Pouri Hosseini, head of the Privatization Organization, who stated in an interview, 'Such statements are not made even in the most communist countries on Earth.' 'The judiciary should engage more' Mohammad Javad Kolivand, head of the Commission on Councils and Interior Affairs, on Wednesday in an interview with ILNA, referring to the latest status of the protests by Haft Tappeh workers, said: 'The issue of the gatherings has been discussed in meetings at the Ministry of Interior and also in the National Security Council, and it was decided that the judiciary should engage more and help resolve the workers' problems.' He added, 'The Haft Tappeh sugarcane company, whether it is to be privatized or managed publicly, must be managed based on a specific program and mechanism. Unfortunately, this company currently lacks a clear status, there is no budget, and the group of workers employed there are confused.' The head of the Commission on Councils and Interior Affairs emphasized that the detention of protesting workers is not the solution to the Haft Tappeh company's problems, stating, 'Certainly, we cannot solve the problem by detaining protesters. Unfortunately, the workers have reached a breaking point.' This representative of the parliament also urged workers to pursue their demands in a way that does not disrupt the peace of other citizens. His reference was to the marches and gatherings of Haft Tappeh workers in the city of Shush, which have received extensive media coverage. Meanwhile, the protests by Haft Tappeh workers and the detention of about 20 individuals on Sunday have received widespread attention in Iran. Alongside the broad coverage of these protests and the criticisms of security and judicial actions against Haft Tappeh workers on social media, the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, the Committee for the Follow-up of the Establishment of Labor Organizations, the Syndicate of Metalworkers, the Union of Veteran Workers, the Supreme Council of Islamic Labor Councils, and the Workers House have called for the release of the detainees. Workers from the National Industrial Steel Group have also recently chanted slogans in support of Haft Tappeh workers and the detainees. Additionally, several teachers and students in various regions of Iran have expressed solidarity with Haft Tappeh workers. In this regard, some students from the University of Tehran chanted slogans in support of Haft Tappeh workers during a gathering on Tuesday. Furthermore, according to social media accounts belonging to Haft Tappeh workers, a group of students from Chamran University in Ahvaz also participated in the Haft Tappeh workers' gathering in Shush on Wednesday. According to this report, protesting workers have chanted: 'Chamrani student, thank you, thank you' and 'Tehrani student, thank you, thank you.' Meanwhile, according to the Emtehad Telegram channel, close to reformists, teachers in Shush announced in a message that if the imprisoned workers are not released by the end of the administrative workday on Wednesday, they will join the protesters on Thursday in support of the demands of Haft Tappeh workers along with their families.