At Least 8 Protest Gatherings Held

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a group of unemployed youth from Shahrvardi village in the suburbs of Behbahan, in protest against unemployment and lack of jobs, gathered in front of the engineering camp of Bid Boland 2 refinery in the city.

The gathering of these individuals took place after nearly a year and a half of waiting for these young people to be employed and job creation for them, when the security commander of Behbahan at yesterday’s gathering promised to hold a meeting with relevant officials to recruit these young people in the workplace, provided they stop their gatherings, but ultimately the result of this meeting turned out contrary to the promises made.

This meeting was held with the presence of the refinery management and head of security, the security commander of Behbahan, the representative of the people of Behbahan, and engineer Omidi-zadeh. It is said that each of the aforementioned officials personally employed individuals at Bid Boland 2 refinery in Behbahan without following legal procedures.

Gathering of Worker Families in Shadegan

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a group of families of workers and retired workers in Shadegan city, in protest against their poor living conditions, held a protest gathering with written slogans in hand in this city.

One of those present at this gathering addressed the officials saying: Officials only think about themselves and their children. So when will someone help the people? We cannot even afford the cost of milk for our infants.

Gathering of Shareholders in Tehran

According to Fars news agency, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a group of shareholders of Mehr Eqtesad Bank, in protest against the share pricing of this bank, held a protest gathering in front of the Judiciary building.

One of those present at this gathering said: “Shareholders are protesting against the merger process and asset valuation of the bank because they believe the determined price is much less than its actual value”.

Another protesting citizen stated: “The share price that has been determined is 1,400 tomans and despite all this inflation and price increases, the value of this bank’s shares has not changed. While shares of similar banks have witnessed significant increases during this period. In addition, this bank has been profitable based on banking financial statements and there is no reason for low pricing of its shares”.

Gathering of Citizens Protesting Environmentally Destructive Activities in Yazd

According to the Free Union of Iranian Workers, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a group of people from Kordabad village in Yazd, in protest against environmentally destructive mining activities, held a protest gathering in front of the Yazd governorate building.

The people of Kordabad village had previously expressed their protests regarding this category of development measures, which they consider to be harmful to the environment and nature of the region, and demanded prevention of destructive mining activities.

Gathering of Babol University of Medical Sciences Students

According to the Free Union of Iranian Workers, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a group of students from Babol University of Medical Sciences, in protest against inappropriate educational conditions, held a protest gathering on the university campus.

The protesting students expressed their main demands regarding the poor quality of virtual teaching by professors and the manner of holding final exam sessions as well as the ineffectiveness of the university’s educational department.

Gathering of Literacy Movement Instructors in Khuzestan

According to Asr-e Jonoub, today Wednesday December 17, 2020, a number of literacy movement instructors from Khuzestan Province, in protest against lack of attention to their demands, held a protest gathering in front of the provincial education building.

Literacy movement instructors from 2013 onwards continue to be in a state of limbo regarding their employment status.

The protesters present at this gathering, while chanting slogans such as “Retired personnel, sat in our place” and “We spent our lives, sowed the seeds of literacy,” demanded change of status and determination of their employment.

Gathering of Islamic Azad University Students in Tehran

According to Mehr news agency, on Tuesday December 16, 2020, a number of PhD students from Islamic Azad University, in protest against the new circular regarding defense of specialized doctoral dissertations, gathered in front of the central office of Islamic Azad University.

At this gathering, students held banners written with; “Compensating for Islamic Azad University’s economic recessions and financial pressures from the pockets of graduate students,” “Why is Islamic Azad University not accountable to any institution or organization” and “The doctoral defense circular should be canceled.”

It is said that in part of this circular it was emphasized that “all PhD students who had previously done their pre-defense but failed to complete their final defense by the date of November 15 of the current year, their completed pre-defense shall be deemed ‘as if it never happened’ and they must conduct pre-defense again according to the mentioned conditions.”

This is while some protesting students believe that if they have already done the pre-defense and even have an accepted paper, why does the university nullify it and say they must do the pre-defense again.

In another section of this circular it states: “If a student by presenting one of the specified scientific achievements in the circular and its supplement acquires more than five points, they can proceed to defense and settlement without presenting a second paper.”

However, some students are also protesting this clause and say that acquiring more than 5 points means a Q1 paper which is at a very high level and does not even allow those who have Q2 papers to defend.

Gathering of Khomeini Hospital Karaj Personnel

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, on Tuesday December 16, 2020, a group of personnel from Khomeini Hospital Karaj held a protest gathering on the hospital campus.

The protesters present at this gathering, while chanting slogans such as “Promises and threats are enough, our table is empty,” “Our patience is over, God help us” and “This much injustice, a nation has never seen,” demanded payment of their overdue salaries.