Arrest of Ali Nejati, Member of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Workers’ Syndicate
Ali Nejati, a member of the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers’ syndicate, was arrested this morning, Thursday, December 8 (November 29) by security forces.
Farzaneh Zilabi, lawyer for Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers, told ILNA that Nejati was arrested this morning at his personal residence. According to this lawyer, security forces entered Nejati’s home “without an arrest warrant” and arrested him.
ILNA reported, citing “one of Khuzestan’s judicial officials” without mentioning his name, that Nejati’s arrest “is likely unrelated to the Haft Tappeh workers’ gatherings and pertains to another case.”
Simultaneously, some human rights websites, including HRANA, reported, citing an “informed source,” that after Nejati and his family requested the officers to present a judicial warrant, “they subjected them to mistreatment and beating.”
Nejati is among labor activists who has previously been summoned or arrested multiple times. He was arrested in September 2015, for instance, and after more than a month was released on a 1 billion toman bail.
Previously, Mr. Nejati had also spoken with Voice of America about the conditions of Haft Tappeh workers. On November 20, he told Voice of America that the number of people arrested in the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers’ protests was 20 people, fifteen of whom were released on bail around midnight on Monday, November 28, and 4 other arrested workers named Esmail Bakhshi, Mohammad Khonifer, Moslem Armand, and Seyyed Hassan Fadli, along with Sepideh Golian, a student and civil activist, remained in detention and there was no information about their detention location.
After this interview, a number of workers were released, but Bakhshi and Ms. Golian remained imprisoned.
Nejati’s arrest occurred while workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company continue their protests. They are pursuing their demands through gatherings in front of the Shush municipality and strikes.
Payment of wages for Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers had been delayed for 4 months. Following the protests of these workers, wages for two months were deposited into their accounts, and government officials have promised that the remaining wages will also be deposited into workers’ accounts by next month.
Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers are also demanding the cancellation of the privatization of this factory and its management by a workers’ council.
Previously, the Free Union of Iranian Workers had reported, citing some Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers, that members of the Shush city Security Council in a meeting with members of the Haft Tappeh workers’ representatives assembly had, “under pressure and threats,” asked them to “announce an end to the workers’ strike.”
Earlier this week, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, head of Iran’s Judiciary, had said that those who want to “instrumentally exploit workers’ demands and disrupt the country’s order” should be dealt with.
Source: Voice of America
