Four labor activists in Khuzestan sentenced to 24 years in prison

Hengaw: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 

Four labor and teacher activists from Ahvaz—Kokab Bedaghi-Panah, Ali Koroshat, Pirouz Nami, and Siamak Sadeghi Chehrazi—have been collectively sentenced to 24 years in prison, with each receiving six years, by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the sentencing was handed down by Branch 3 of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court. Kokab Bedaghi-Panah and Pirouz Nami are Bakhtiari teachers from Izeh, while Ali Koroshat is an Arab labor activist, and Siamak Sadeghi Chehrazi is a retired teacher, both residing in Ahvaz. 

Each individual was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for “collusion and assembly against national security” and an additional year for “propaganda against the state.” The verbal ruling was conveyed on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. 

The court hearing for this case took place on November 7, 2024. Over the years, all four activists have been subjected to repeated summonses and interrogations by security agencies due to their advocacy for labor and social rights.