Hundreds of Defrauded Investors Protest in Qazvin: 'We Saw No Justice, We Will Not Vote Again'

Hundreds of defrauded investors from the company 'Razaayat Khodro Taravat Novin' gathered in front of the Qazvin governor's office on Tuesday, July 4, chanting 'We saw no justice, we will not vote again,' expressing their refusal to participate in the upcoming government elections to replace Raisi. This protest, accompanied by slogans against officials of the Islamic Republic, was in response to the authorities' indifference to their complaints and the loss of their investments. The protesters also accused the Qazvin prosecutor of accepting bribes and emphasized that they would continue their protests until their demands were addressed and the case of the large financial corruption was investigated. This gathering, which has been repeated multiple times, is in protest against the loss of their assets due to the activities of Mohammad Reza Ghafari, the detained owner and manager of Razaayat Khodro Taravat Novin. According to several government officials, including Hossein Rajabi, the Qazvin prosecutor, and Mohammad Mehdi Alaei, the governor of Qazvin, the owner of this company attracted 'over 12 trillion tomans' from thousands of citizens between 2013 and 2019, delivering less than 'two thousand cars' to customers, with '50,000 complainants' in this case. The expansion of protests from various groups, including defrauded investors, retirees, workers from various industries, teachers, and healthcare workers, indicates the increasing livelihood problems in Iran and the authorities' indifference. Jamshid Asadi, an economist, previously told VOA that the economic situation and living conditions will worsen beyond what they currently are.