Two Labor Organizations Protest the Sentencing of 17 Workers to Flogging

Two labor organizations in Iran issued a joint statement condemning the flogging sentences of 17 workers from the "Agh Dareh" gold mine in East Azerbaijan. The statement from the Coordination Council of Islamic Labor Councils of East Azerbaijan Province and the Association of Labor Unions of this province was published on Tuesday (May 30). In their statement, the organizations protested the judiciary's interference in labor issues and stated that the implementation of the sentences against the 17 workers has "hurt" the "hearts and souls of all workers." They expressed regret that labor activists are being prosecuted for "labor protests." The two labor organizations assessed the referral of the protesting workers' cases to the judiciary as an attempt to prevent them from voicing their demands based on "law." In late May of this year, 17 workers from the "Agh Dareh" gold mine in East Azerbaijan were flogged by court order, and some of them were imprisoned. The sentences against these workers relate to protests by about 350 workers at this mine in 2014, which were issued based on a complaint from Pouya Zarkan Company, the main contractor of the Agh Dareh gold mine. That year, a group of workers held a gathering in protest against layoffs and were accused of "preventing and obstructing people from conducting business." Other charges against these workers included "insulting the company's guard," "destroying the guard's clothing and illegal detention," and "deliberately damaging the company's sign." Following the formation of the court and the issuance and execution of flogging sentences for the 17 protesting workers and the imprisonment of some of them, protests against such rulings have been increasing. The two labor organizations from East Azerbaijan Province are among those that have protested the issuance and execution of these sentences. In their statement, they called for the respect of workers' labor rights, adherence to the principles of tripartism, and the prohibition of judicial interference in labor issues. In recent years, several workers and labor activists in various parts of Iran have been sentenced to endure flogging, and in some cases, these sentences have been executed. These actions against labor activists and workers in Iran continue even as human rights organizations and labor unions around the world have repeatedly criticized these policies and have raised them in international forums.