Thirteen workers of the Haft Tappeh sugarcane company, one of Iran’s largest and oldest agricultural companies in the Khuzestan Province, were arrested on 26 July for demanding unpaid wages and benefits since April. While five workers were released the next day, eight workers remained in custody without bail. According to the Free Workers Union of Iran (FWUI), judicial authorities refused to reveal where the detainees were being held and rejected requests to release them on bail.
Employing more than 2,700 workers, the Haft Tappeh sugarcane company began operations under Iranian government control in 1961. In March 2016 the announcement of its sale to two private Iranian companies raised concerns among workers about possible job cuts. Since then, delays in salaries and benefit payments have led to several protests and subsequent arrests. On 26 April 2017 six workers were arrested at the plant and summoned to a court in Dezful on charges of “propaganda against the State”. On 25 May 2017 one of the detainees, Haft Tappeh Workers’ Union Board member Ali Nejati, was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence by the Revolutionary Court in Dezful.
