Law enforcement forces used beatings and gunfire to disperse young people protesting the discriminatory employment policies of the Dable Khazai Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company in Ahwaz.
According to videos and reports received by the Karoon Human Rights Organization, armed forces present at the gathering resorted to violence to disperse the protesters and reportedly opened fire on the young demonstrators.
Eyewitnesses and local sources have also reported that one of the officers allegedly inflicted an injury on his own fingers in an attempt to justify the arrest of protesters and make the detention of young people from the area appear legally justified.
The protesting young people and their families, who had gathered on behalf of residents living in areas adjacent to the company, stated that Dable Khazai Sugarcane Company operates on approximately 12,000 hectares of land, a significant portion of which belongs to the local area and its indigenous residents.
Despite the presence of qualified local young people with university degrees and various professional skills, the company’s management has reportedly prioritised the recruitment of non-local workers, leaving young people from the area deprived of basic employment opportunities.
The protesters emphasised that the purpose of their gathering and subsequent legal efforts was solely to demand that qualified local residents be given priority in the recruitment process.
In a written appeal, they urgently called on the relevant authorities to conduct a transparent review of the recruitment procedures, the manner in which employment needs are announced, hiring requirements, and the proportion of positions allocated to local workers. They further called for immediate action to be taken to safeguard the rights of local young people if any violations or deprivation of their lawful employment rights are established.
