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, 1399, a group of young job seekers from Shahrviye village in the Behbahan district, in protest against unemployment and lack of employment, gathered in front of the engineering camp gate of Bid Boland 2 refinery in the county.

This gathering took place after these youths waited for nearly a year and a half for employment, and when the Behbahan police commander promised to hold a meeting with relevant officials during yesterday’s gathering to recruit these young people for work, on condition that they end their gatherings, ultimately the results of this meeting contradicted the promises made.

This meeting was held with the presence of refinery management and security chief, Behbahan police commander, representative of Behbahan people, and engineer Amidizadeh. It is reported that each of the aforementioned officials personally hired individuals at Bid Boland 2 refinery in Behbahan without following legal procedures.

Gathering of Workers’ Families in Shadegan

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, today Wednesday, December 17, 1399, a group of families of workers and retired workers in Shadegan county, in protest against their poor living conditions, gathered in the city holding placards with written slogans.

One of the participants at this gathering told officials: “Officials only think of themselves and their children. So when will someone come to our aid? We don’t even have the ability to pay for our infants’ milk.”

Shareholders’ Gathering in Tehran

According to Fars news agency, today Wednesday, December 17, 1399, a group of shareholders of Mehr Eqtesad Bank, in protest against the share pricing of this bank, gathered in front of the Judiciary building.

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

Another protesting citizen stated: “The share price that has been set is 1400 tomans and despite all this inflation and price increases, the value of the shares of this bank has not changed. While shares of similar banks have experienced significant increases during this period. Moreover, this bank has been profitable according to banking financial statements, and there is no reason for low share pricing for it”.

Gathering of Citizens Protesting Environmental Destruction Activities in Yazd

According to the Free Association of Workers of Iran, today Wednesday, December 17, 1399, 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 also expressed their protests regarding this type of development activities, which they consider to be damaging to the environment and nature of the region, and have called for prevention of destructive mining activities.

Gathering of Babol University of Medical Sciences Students

According to the Free Association of Workers of Iran, today Wednesday, December 17, 1399, 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 professors’ virtual teaching and the manner of conducting final exams, as well as the inefficiency of the university’s education unit.

Gathering of Literacy Campaign Instructors in Khuzestan

According to Asr-e Jonub, today Wednesday, December 17, 1399, a number of literacy campaign instructors in Khuzestan province, in protest against failure to address their demands, held a protest gathering in front of the provincial education office.

Literacy campaign instructors from 1392 onward continue to face uncertainty regarding their employment situation.

The protesters present at this gathering, while chanting slogans such as “Retired forces took our place” and “We spent our lives, we planted the seeds of literacy,” called for changing their situation and determining their employment status.

Azad University Students’ Gathering in Tehran

According to Mehr news agency, on Tuesday, December 16, 1399, a number of PhD students from Azad University, in protest against a new circular regarding the defense of specialized doctoral theses, gathered in front of Azad University’s central organization.

At this gathering, students were holding banners that read: “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 must be cancelled.”

It is reported that in a section of this circular, it was emphasized that “all PhD students who have previously conducted their pre-defense but have not managed to conduct their final defense by November 15 of the current year, their previous pre-defense becomes ‘as if it never happened’ and it is necessary that according to the mentioned conditions, they conduct pre-defense again.”

This is while some protesting students believe that when they have already conducted pre-defense or even have an accepted paper, why does the university invalidate it and say they must conduct pre-defense again.

Another section of this circular states: “If a student, by presenting one of the specific scientific achievements mentioned in the circular and its supplement, obtains more than five points, they can proceed with defense and settlement without presenting a second paper.”

However, some students are also protesting this clause, saying that obtaining more than 5 points means a Q1 paper which is at a very high level and even those who have Q2 papers are not allowed to conduct defense.

Khomeini Hospital Karaj Staff Gathering

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, on Tuesday, December 16, 1399, a group of staff members from Khomeini Hospital in Karaj gathered on the hospital campus and held a protest gathering.

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