Continued Security and Judicial Crackdowns on Labor and Guild Activists in Iran

The Free Union of Workers of Iran reported on Saturday that Mozafar Saleh-Nia and Sharif Saeed-Panah, board members of this labor organization, were summoned by the news headquarters of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Protection of Information of the Law Enforcement Force in Sanandaj, where they were threatened and interrogated. The union added that several other workers and labor activists in Sanandaj were also summoned and interrogated by the city's security agencies on the same day, but did not mention their names. In this regard, according to the human rights organization Hengaw, the names of these workers and labor activists included 'Tavfik Mahmoudi, Ramin Karimi, Hajar Saeidi, Sousan Razani, Kamran Sakhtemangar, Reza Amjadi, Habibollah Karimi, and Ribwar Abdollahi.' These summons and threats occurred one day before International Workers' Day, May 1st. Previously, some sources had told Voice of America that several labor activists, retirees, and teachers in several cities had been summoned by the security agencies of the Islamic Republic. According to these sources, security agencies warned these activists against holding or participating in International Workers' Day ceremonies. This trend has also occurred in previous years. Nevertheless, labor and guild activists have commemorated this day with ceremonies. The Free Union of Workers of Iran considered the summons, interrogations, and threats from security agencies on the eve of International Workers' Day as 'a result of the government's fear and desperation in the face of increasing labor protests.' This labor organization emphasized that 'both holding International Workers' Day ceremonies and strikes and protest gatherings are the legitimate rights of workers, and no further security measures can prevent the expansion of the struggles of workers and wage earners in Iran.' Previously, the Coordinating Council of Cultural Associations of Teachers of Iran reported on Saturday the arrest of Mohsen Omrani, a board member of the Teachers' Guild of Bushehr. The Telegram channel of this council wrote that government forces raided Mohsen Omrani's home and arrested this guild activist. According to this guild organization, several security forces, after searching Mohsen Omrani's house 'which was accompanied by threats and beatings,' transferred him to an unknown location. The Coordinating Council of Cultural Associations of Teachers of Iran also reported on Friday, April 28, that security agents, during a raid on the home of Mohammad Habibi, the imprisoned spokesperson of the Teachers' Guild of Tehran, arrested a group of teachers, labor activists, and civil and guild activists who had gone to visit his family. According to this report, government agents arrested several named guild activists, including Reyhaneh Ansarinezad, Asal Mohammadi, Hiraad Pirbadaqi, Anisha Asadollahi, Sarvnaz Ahmadi, Kamyar Fakour, Hassan Chortabi, Zahra Rouhzad, Ahmad Heydari, and Aldoz Hashemi, and transferred them to Evin Prison. Mohammad Habibi, an activist of the Iranian teachers' movement, who was released from prison after serving 10 months in February 2023, was recently arrested again. In this context, the Fars News Agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported on Saturday, citing those it called 'informed sources,' that 'members of an organizational meeting consisting of elements with ties to anti-revolutionary Marxist groups, the Mojahedin, and French spies were arrested.' This government media referred to Ms. Asadollahi and Ansarinezad in its report. Meanwhile, according to the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Hassan Saidi, Keyvan Mohtadi, and Reza Shahabi, imprisoned labor activists, wrote in a joint statement: 'The crackdown and arrests on the eve of International Workers' Day and Teachers' Day is not a new phenomenon. However, the desperation and aggression of the security apparatus, which cannot even tolerate human solidarity in individuals' private spaces, indicates the government's recklessness and retreat.' They added: 'The government still wants to cover up the issue by creating fear and panic instead of addressing the root problems. Unaware that our society is awake now, and these acts of bullying will not only be tolerated by any part of society but will also strengthen solidarity and unity among protesters against the current situation.' These three imprisoned labor activists finally called on 'all labor, social, and political activists, and all freedom-loving and caring individuals of this land' to 'not remain silent in the face of the suffocating atmosphere and to confront the dominance and encroachments of the security apparatus by any means possible.'