Several Whipped Workers Sent to Prison

Fars News Agency has reported the arrest of a number of 17 workers who were whipped two days ago on charges of 'preventing and detaining people from conducting business by creating uproar and turmoil.' This news agency on Sunday (April 9) quoted a labor representative as saying that after the execution of the whipping sentence, a group of these workers were sent to prison. The labor representative, named Faramarz Tavakoli, stated that these workers were tried in Branch 101 of the Criminal Court in Takab and Branch 10 of the Court of Appeals in West Azerbaijan Province. Accordingly, each of the first to fifth defendants was sentenced to 150 lashes and five years of imprisonment, which was reduced in the appeals court to 100 lashes and 37 months of imprisonment. According to this labor representative, the sixth to eighth defendants were also each sentenced to 74 lashes and five years of imprisonment, which was reduced to 50 lashes and 37 months of imprisonment. Tavakoli continued, 'It is not appropriate for an employer to file a complaint against a worker for protesting their legal rights, leading to imprisonment and lashes or other sentences.' He stated that 'labor activists are protesting such actions against workers and intend to raise this issue in internal meetings of official labor organizations.' As this labor activist noted, the sentences of lashes and imprisonment for these workers were executed at a time when in December 2014, three unemployed workers from the Agh Dareh gold mine committed suicide. He also reported the dismissal of 350 workers from this mine, which formed one of the main points of protest among workers. ILNA news agency reported last Wednesday about the execution of judicial sentences against 17 dismissed workers from the Agh Dareh gold mine in West Azerbaijan, including the payment of fines and enduring lashes. 'Insulting the company's guard,' 'damaging the guard's clothing and illegal detention,' and 'deliberately damaging the company's sign' were other charges against these workers. In recent years, several workers and labor activists in various parts of Iran have been sentenced to endure lashes, which have been executed in some cases. For instance, in April last year, five workers from the Chadormalu mine in Yazd Province were sentenced to one year in prison and lashes. In September 2014, the General Court of Imam Khomeini Port sentenced four workers from the Razi Petrochemical Company to six months in prison and 50 lashes. Alongside these punishments, labor organizations in Iran have repeatedly reported summons, arrests, and prison sentences for labor activists on security charges, as well as the dismissal of workers protesting their labor conditions or their arrests. These actions against labor activists and workers in Iran continue amid criticism from human rights organizations and labor unions worldwide, which have raised these policies in international meetings.