Iranians hold more than 260 protests in July

 by Adena Nima_05 Aug 2019

According to reports collected in July, there were 267 Iran protests in 78 cities, villages and industrial regions with an average of nine protests per day.

Workers

Workers staged 130 Iran protests in July in 41 cities, commercial areas and industrial towns with an average of four protests per day. The gatherings were mostly in protest to delayed paychecks, lack of job security, dismissal of workers, the non-renewal of workers’ contract, privatization and low wages.

Gatherings by workers of oil refineries in various cities most important worker's protests which lasted several days were as follows:

workers of the Fasa sugar cube company

• Gathering by workers of the Fasa sugar cube company in southwestern Iran
• Gathering by workers of the Damash Mineral Water Company in northern Iran
• Gathering by railroad workers in several cities including Neishapour, Bandar Abbas, Nourabad, Ahmad Abad, Sirjan, Doroud, Tabriz, Khoram Abad, and Andimeshk.
• Gathering by municipality workers in several cities including in Lali, Ahvaz, Rasht, Abjedan, Loushan, Manjil, Ardal, Borujerd, Jiroft, Shahin Shahr, Sarfariab and Aghajeri.

Defrauded creditors

Defrauded creditors of various regime-affiliated credit institutions held 13 Iran protests in two cities in Iran in July. The protesters were demanding their stolen money from the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Caspian Institution, Saipa Auto, Deniz Auto, Ramak Auto, and the Airplane Cooperation Company in Tehran, and the southeastern city of Sirjan.

Pensioners

In July, retirees including government workers and teachers held seven Iran protests.

Some of these protests included:

• Retired teachers gathering outside the regime’s parliament in Tehran in protest to not receiving their end of service bonus. The protesters chanted, “Teachers will die rather than bow down”, and “we will not stay silent until we get our bonuses”.
• Retired teachers in Tehran held a two-day protest outside of the Planning and Budget Organization demanding their bonuses. The protesters held placards which read, “Teachers will die rather than bow down”, “Pension bonus is our inalienable right” and “Teachers’ bonuses have to be paid”.
• Two-day gathering by retired workers of the Shiraz Telecommunication Company in Tehran, demanding their unpaid wages.
•  Retirees from various government companies gathered outside of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. They chanted, “Income, health, and efficient insurance, is our inalienable right”, “We need our income and health insurance”, “Detained teachers must be released”, “Detained workers must be released”, “Majlis, government, stop deceiving the nation!”, “We’re fed up with all of this injustice!”, “We will not stop protesting until we get our rights!”, “Assembling and organizing is our inalienable right”, “A nation has never seen such injustice”, “Teachers, workers, students, unite, unite!”, “Detained teachers, workers and students must be released!”, “Line of poverty is 7 million tomans and we get 2 million tomans,” “Thieving and corruption are causing nationwide misery”, “If corruption is eradicated, our problems will be solved”, and “Poverty and unemployment have made our tables empty”.  
• Retired teachers and employees of state-run companies gathered outside the Pensioners Fund Organization in Tehran in protest to the fund stealing their savings and not receiving insurance.

Teachers

Teachers held nine Iran protests in six cities including in Tehran, Shahriar, Shiraz, and Kermanshah.

Some of the most significant of these protests were:

• Gathering by teacher activists in Tehran, Shahriar, and Shiraz in protest to the condition of jailed teacher Mohammad Habibi.
• Gathering in Kermanshah in protest to the sentencing of detailed teacher Hamid Rahmati.
•  Gathering by educators of Iran’s Literacy Movement Organization in Tehran.

Farmers

In July, farmers held three gatherings in three cities in protest to water scarcity and the diversion of their water sources by the regime.

Other sectors

Other sectors of the society held 41 Iran protests in various cities including Ahvaz, Tehran, Mahshahr Port, and Qazvin.

Some of the most significant of these protests were as following:

• Gathering by unemployed young people in Ahvaz outside the Ahvaz Oil Company. They were demanding that the company hire locals.
• Gathering by the families and friends of activists who were detained on Labor Day, May 1, outside of Tehran’s Evin Prison.
• Gathering by the families of the victims of Tehran’s Azad University’s bus accident which led to the death of 10 students.
• Gathering by locals in southwestern Iran with empty buckets and unwashed clothes in protest to the lack of water.

Hunger strikes in Iran prisons

There were 24 cases of hunger strikes by prisoners in July. They were protesting their obscure legal procedures, arbitrary detention and not having access to fair trials. Some of these include:

• Civil rights activist Mehdi Kokhian sewed his lips shut and went on hunger strike in protest to not being allowed a medical leave.
• Mohammad Pishbin, detained in Urmia Central Prison, went on hunger strike in protest to not being transferred to a prison in his hometown.
• Turkey national Rahmi Tourgout detained in Urmia Prions went on hunger strike in protest to the authorities’ refusal for a furlough and release on bail.
• Omid Solouki detained in Rajaie Shahr Prison went on hunger strike in protest to the increase of his bail and being denied leave.
• Political prisoner Peiman Mirzazadeh detained in Urmia Prison went on hunger strike in protest to his prison sentence.
• Sunni prisoner of conscience, Mansour Chupani detained in Urmia Prison went on hunger strike in protest to not being allowed to leave and transfer to a prison in his hometown.
• Civil rights activist Hossein Kamangar detained in the Sanandaj Intelligence Detention Center went on hunger strike in protest to being coerced into giving forced confessions.
• Labor activist Sepideh Ghalian went on hunger strike in protest to the mistreatment of his parents by prison agents among other things.

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