Mahshahr – Two Razi Petrochemical workers arrested and transferred to unknown location

Hengaw – Friday, August 15, 2025

Two workers from the Razi Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, identified as Ahmad Asaakereh and Ahmad Rashidi, have been arrested by security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and transferred to an undisclosed location.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Asaakereh and Rashidi—both Arabs and employees of the contracting firm Petrosaman Avaran Razi—were detained on Thursday, August 14, 2025, and taken to an unknown location.

The two men had previously been arrested on August 11, 2025, by the security unit of the Razi Petrochemical Complex and released following a no-prosecution ruling. They were rearrested for engaging in labor activism and for publishing critical content on social media.

Contract workers at Razi Petrochemical had gone on a four-day strike starting August 8 to protest wage discrimination, inadequate benefits, and low salaries. During the strike, the company’s security unit, in coordination with the Mahshahr Prosecutor’s Office, summoned 75 workers, obtained written commitments from them to return to work under threats and intimidation, and barred night-shift workers from entering the facility.

 No reliable information is available regarding the charges, place of detention, or current condition of the two detainees.