April 28, 2021

Crippling Economic Hardship Enflames Iranian Protests

Protests in Iran over high inflation and unpaid wages are spreading in Iran as the working class and retirees struggle to ...

September 30, 2020

Showdown at Haft Tappeh Sugar Factory: Minor Win for Workers, Larger Abuses Left Unchecked

Court Annuls Privatization of Company but Unpaid Wages and Withheld Insurance Benefits Persist “We are going to witness a big wave of labor protests spreading ...

August 4, 2020

Strikes Break Out in Iran’s Critical Oil Industry Amid Continuing Labor Unrest

New Fact Sheet Highlights Widespread Rights Abuses, Protests Likely to Continue August 4, 2020—With workers in Iran’s critical oil refining, petrochemicals and drilling industries striking ...

June 25, 2020

Sepideh Qoliyan Refuses to Beg for Pardon, Goes Back to Prison

She Must Serve Five-year Sentence for Reporting on Peaceful Labor Rally Freelance reporter Sepideh Qoliyan, issued a five-year sentence for reporting on a ...

December 20, 2019

“This Verdict Means Any Protest Will Be Considered an Act of Violence”

Nine Labor Rights Activists and Journalists Sentenced to Prison Without Right to Appeal Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi Eliminated Appeal Process with Supreme ...

October 28, 2019

Iran Releases Seven Political Prisoners on Bail Without Explanation

Six Prisoners Posted Extraordinarily High Bail, Unclear Why Fellow Prisoners of Conscience Remain Jailed A Christian convert, four journalists and two activists ...

October 7, 2019

Sepideh Qoliyan Said She Was Tortured in Iran, Now She’s Serving an 18-Year Prison Sentence

Female Activist Described Inhumane Conditions of Detention in Video Statement *Warning: This article contains content that could be upsetting or disturbing for some ...

September 20, 2019

Audio Message From Gharchak Prison Reveals Intense Pressure on Labor Activist Sepideh Qoliyan

Mehdi Qoliyan Acquitted of All Charges After Violent Home Raid On September 14, 2019, the BBC aired an audio file containing the voice of ...

September 9, 2019

Mass Sentencing of Labor Activists, Journalists Prelude to Reign of Repression Under New Judiciary Chief

Seven Sentenced to Lengthy Jail Terms in Connection with Peaceful Protests September 9, 2019—Less than a year after workers’ rights activists in southwestern Iran publicized evidence that Intelligence Ministry agents had tortured detainees, those ...

August 12, 2019

Supporters of Detained Workers’ Rights Activists Arrested Outside Courthouse

The family of labor activist Roham Yeganeh has not heard from him since he was arrested in front of the Revolutionary Court in ...

August 8, 2019

Major Trade Union Federations Call on Iran to Release Detained Workers’ Rights Activists

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) have called on Iranian authorities to release detained workers' rights activists including Esmail Bakhshi and ...

June 20, 2019

At Least 40 Detained in Connection With Protests at Ahvaz Sugar Mill

A group of workers of the Hafteh Tappeh sugar mill company in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, published a list of 40 names of colleagues and supporters ...

May 22, 2019

Seven to Face Trial in Connection with Labor Protests

Many Denied Access to Counsel, Families Warned to Stay Quiet After months of unlawful prosecution in connection with workers’ rights protests in southwestern Iran, five journalists and two labor activists are due to go on trial ...

April 23, 2019

Workers’ Rights Activists Arrested for Revealing Torture by Intelligence Ministry Held Unlawfully

Lawyers representing workers’ rights activists Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan say the two are being held unlawfully now that their two-month detention orders ...

March 14, 2019

Qoliyan and Bakhshi Held Without Bail or Access to Lawyers for Almost Two Months, Transferred to Prisons in Ahvaz

Despite the apparent end of investigations by judicial authorities against labor activist Esmail Bakhshi and freelance reporter Sepideh Qoliyan, the two have not been ...

February 26, 2019

Intelligence Ministry Denies Labor Activists Qoliyan and Bakhshi Medical Treatment

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February 22, 2019

Intelligence Ministry Threatens Families of Labor Activists Bakhsi, Qoliyan With Prosecution

The Intelligence Ministry in the city of Shush, southwestern Iran, summoned the families of detained labor activist Esmail Bakhshi and freelance ...

February 14, 2019

Sugar Mill Workers Call for International Action to Free Detained Colleagues Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan

Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan Pressured to Retract Torture Allegations A union representing workers of the Haft Tappeh sugar mill in the Iranian city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, has called on individuals and international ...

January 22, 2019

Iran: Release Labor Activists Re-Arrested For Revealing They’d Been Tortured

Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan Both At Risk of Serious Harm January 22, 2019—The arrests of labor activist Esmail Bakhshi...

January 17, 2019

Sham Investigation of Labor Activist’s Alleged Torture Lacks Impartiality, Ignores Witnesses

Iran Must Re-Open an Independent and Impartial Investigation into Labor Activist’s Abuse Multiple Cases of Alleged Torture Must Be Thoroughly Investigated January ...

January 10, 2019

Labor Activist’s Revelation of Torture During Detention Prompts Wave of Reports of Abuse in Iran’s Prisons

Esmail Bakhshi’s lawyer says her client is under intense pressure to retract statements about his torture Labor activist Esmail Bakhshi’s public ...

January 9, 2019

Mother of Imprisoned Activist Describes Beatings and Threats by Interrogators to Kill Family

Atena Daemi’s Mother: “[Torture] is not just Mr. Bakhshi’s story. It’s my daughter’s story, too.” In the wake of revelations of the torture of labor activist Esmail Bakhshi, others have stepped forward to join the ...

January 4, 2019