Documented reports from Ahwaz indicate that the Iranian judiciary has sentenced over 10 specialized and local Arab workers from the Petropars Company in Hoveyzeh to flogging and a fine of 200 million rials due to their demands for labor rights; these sentences have already been enforced.
According to “Moj Ahwaz,” these workers, most of whom hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees and have years of experience working under the most challenging conditions in the construction and commissioning projects of the Azadegan South oil field, faced security and judicial backlash following their protests against dismissals, non-renewal of contracts, and replacement with non-local personnel.
Unjust Judicial Process and Enforcement of Flogging Sentences Based on received information, after a peaceful gathering by these workers in front of the Petropars Company, the management filed baseless charges against them, such as “blocking the path” and “causing damage.”
Following this complaint, the workers were violently arrested by officers from the “Samideh” police station under the jurisdiction of Hoveyzeh County.
The case of these labor activists was heard in Branch 101 of the Hoveyzeh Criminal Court, presided over by Judge “Malektabar Firouzjani,” who on July 2, 2026, sentenced each worker to 74 lashes and a fine of 200 million rials. Reports confirm that these inhumane flogging sentences have been carried out against the workers. Systematic discrimination and the resistance of these dismissed local specialists occur while Petropars has replaced them with non-local workers from distant provinces such as Gilan and Fars. This action is a clear example of discriminatory policies and economic marginalization of Arab citizens in the Ahwaz region, which, despite its vast oil and gas resources, struggles with the highest rates of unemployment and poverty. The protesting workers had previously approached the Hoveyzeh governorate, the provincial governor’s office in Ahwaz, and officials in Tehran, demanding their reinstatement, but received nothing but empty promises, police repression, and flogging sentences. Nevertheless, reports indicate that these dismissed workers have not been intimidated by the judicial sentences and continue their weekly protests in front of the company.
The Karoon Human Rights Organization considers the issuance and enforcement of flogging sentences against the workers as a clear instance of “torture” and a blatant violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The instrumental use of the judiciary to suppress peaceful labor protests and implement discriminatory hiring policies against local Arab citizens is a gross violation of fundamental labor rights and human rights standards. This organization expresses solidarity with the protesting workers in Hoveyzeh and calls for the immediate annulment of the judicial sentences, an end to corporal punishment, the reinstatement of dismissed workers, and the cessation of discriminatory hiring policies in oil companies in the Ahwaz region.
