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Source: RFE/RL

Sep 7, 2023

Six Iranian Miners Remain In Custody A Month After Protest

Six workers from the Agh-Dareh Vosta mines in West Azerbaijan Province have been held in detention since August 31, following union protests.


The Tehran-based Sharq newspaper reported on September 7 that 32 miners in total from the village of Agh-Dareh Vosta, near the northwestern city of Takab, were arrested during a protest last month sparked by demands for the employment of local residents in the region.


All but six have been released.The detained miners, who were employed in the gold and stone mines of Agh-Dareh, are currently being held in Urmia prison.


They face charges including disrupting public order, acting against national security, and kidnapping.


The context or specifics of the kidnapping charge remains unclear, as the newspaper did not provide further details.


The report also cited labor sources as saying that wages for July and August had not been paid to those miners from Agh-Dareh Vosta who participated in last month's protest.


Additionally, several miners who were released on bail are being barred from returning to work.Worker protests in Agh-Dareh, the country's second-largest gold mine, have made headlines several times in recent years.


In 2016, 17 gold miners from the area were sentenced to flogging on charges of disrupting public order.Last month's protests by the miners of Agh-Dareh escalated into violence after police intervened.


Labor protests in Iran have been on the rise in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of insurance.


Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.The government's response to the protests has been arrests, violence, and repression.



Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda


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