At Least 8 Protest Gatherings Held

According to HRANA news agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists Movement in Iran, today Wednesday, December 17, 2020, a group of young job seekers from Shahrvari village in Behbahan gathered in front of the engineering camp of Bid Boland 2 refinery in this city to protest unemployment and lack of jobs.

The gathering took place while after waiting for approximately one and a half years for employment and job creation, the security commander of Behbahan promised at yesterday’s gathering to hold a meeting with relevant officials to recruit these young people in the job market, on the condition of ending their gatherings, which ultimately resulted contrary to the promises made.

This meeting was held with the participation of the refinery management and head of security, the security commander of Behbahan, the representative of Behbahan people, and engineer Amidizadeh. It is said that each of the mentioned officials personally hired individuals without going through legal procedures at Bid Boland 2 refinery in Behbahan.

Gathering of Workers’ Families in Shadegan

According to HRANA news agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists Movement in Iran, today Wednesday, December 17, 2020, a group of families of workers and retired workers from Shadegan city gathered in protest of their poor living conditions, holding written slogans and carrying out a protest gathering in this city.

One of the participants in this gathering told officials: “Officials only think about themselves and their children. So when will help reach the people? We cannot even afford to pay for baby formula.”

Shareholders Gathering in Tehran

According to Fars News Agency, today Wednesday, December 17, 2020, a group of shareholders of Mehr Eqtesad Bank gathered in front of the judiciary building to protest the share pricing of this bank.

One of the participants in this gathering said: “Shareholders are protesting the merger process and asset valuation of the bank because they believe the set price is much lower than its actual value.”

Another protesting citizen stated: “The share price that has been set 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 seen significant increases during this period. Moreover, according to banking financial statements, this bank has been profitable and there is no reason for low share pricing.”

Gathering of Protesting Citizens Against Environmentally Destructive Activities in Yazd

According to the Free Union of Workers of Iran report, today Wednesday, December 17, 2020, a group of residents of Kordabad village in Yazd gathered in front of the Yazd provincial governor’s building to protest environmentally destructive mining activities.

Residents of Kordabad village have previously expressed their objections regarding this category of development measures which they consider harmful to the environment and nature of this region, and demanded prevention of destructive mining activities.

Gathering of Babol University of Medical Sciences Students

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

The protesting students expressed their main demands regarding the poor quality of virtual teaching by professors, the method of conducting final exams, and the inefficiency of the university’s educational department.

Gathering of Literacy Movement Instructors in Khuzestan

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

Literacy movement instructors from 2013 onwards remain in a state of uncertainty regarding their employment status.

The protesters present at this gathering, while chanting slogans such as “Retired worker, took our place” and “We gave our time, we sowed the seeds of literacy,” demanded a change in their situation and clarification of their employment status.

Gathering of Azad University Students in Tehran

According to Mehr News Agency, on Tuesday, December 16, 2020, a number of doctoral students from Azad University gathered in front of the Azad University central organization to protest a new circular regarding the defense of specialized doctoral theses.

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

It is said that in part of this circular it has been emphasized that “all doctoral students who have previously conducted their pre-defense but have not succeeded in conducting their final defense by November 15 of the current year, their pre-defense will be considered 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 conducted pre-defense or even have an accepted paper, why does the university invalidate it and say they must conduct pre-defense again.

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

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

Gathering of Khomeini Hospital Karaj Personnel

According to HRANA news agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists Movement in Iran, on Tuesday, December 16, 2020, a group of personnel from Khomeini Hospital in Karaj held a protest gathering in the hospital premises.

The protesters present at this gathering, while chanting slogans such as “Promises are enough, our table is empty,” “Our patience is exhausted, God help us,” and “Such injustice, no nation has ever seen,” demanded payment of their overdue salaries.