Uncertainty Continues Over the Situation of Mehdi Jahangiri, Detained Worker

The family of Mehdi Jahangiri, a worker from the Golgoon Industrial Park in Tehran and a labor activist, who was arrested last week by the security forces of the Islamic Republic, has no information about his status. According to the Free Workers Union of Iran, Mr. Jahangiri's family has recently visited the police stations in Saeedabad, Khademabad, Hassanabad Kholaseh, and Shahriyar, but officials at these stations have expressed ignorance about the worker's condition. Mehdi Jahangiri, a former student of Tehran University and a worker at the Golgoon Industrial Park, was arrested on Tuesday, December 18, following protests by workers at this industrial park over frequent power outages. After the gathering ended and while he was leaving the site, he was separated from his friends by the 'Security Police' under the pretext of needing to 'talk for two minutes' and was detained. In recent years, alongside the expansion of protests by workers and wage earners, administrative, security, and judicial actions against them and labor activists have intensified. In this context, reports from some media in Iran indicate the dismissal of several workers protesting their living conditions. Additionally, a number of labor and union activists have been detained on security charges and sentenced to prison. Such actions have provoked protests from labor unions and syndicates worldwide. Strikes by workers at the Azerbaijan Steel Company, warnings from a parliament representative about the consequences of worker dissatisfaction in Iran, and support from a global labor union for workers in the Iranian steel industry have also been noted.