Arrest of Ata Aziri and Threats Against His Family
As the nationwide strike by Iranian truck drivers enters its tenth day, reports indicate increased security pressure and the arrest of labor activists. On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Ata Aziri, one of the striking drivers in the city of Dehgolan, was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents and transferred to Sanandaj. His arrest is part of a broader wave of repression targeting labor protests and efforts to silence social and labor demands.
Ata Aziri was among the drivers who resisted government pressure to end the strike. According to local sources, the Sanandaj prosecutor quickly filed a legal case against him on charges such as “supporting the strike” and “confronting strikebreakers.” Simultaneously, his family has been subjected to threats and pressure to prevent them from publicizing his arrest. This pattern of repression—including arrests, fabricated charges, intimidation of families, and enforced silence—has been used in the past against labor and civil rights activists.
Throughout this strike, which has now spread to over 150 cities, at least 20 drivers have been arrested. Some have reportedly been subjected to psychological and physical pressure to make forced confessions—confessions later broadcast by state media in an attempt to normalize the situation and downplay the significance of the protests.
However, in contrast to the state’s narrative, public support for the strikers and opposition to the arrests is growing. On social media, users and human rights organizations have reacted to the arrest of Ata Aziri and other truck drivers, demanding their unconditional release.
Initially, the truckers’ demands were primarily economic: protesting the rising cost of spare parts, heavy taxation, and the authorities’ failure to address basic livelihood issues. But particularly in marginalized areas such as Kurdistan, these demands have quickly taken on political dimensions. Repeated experiences of discrimination, structural poverty, and security crackdowns have deepened public anger and dissatisfaction.
The arrest of Ata Aziri is more than an attempt to silence a single dissenting driver; it reflects the regime’s fear of grassroots, collective action—movements that emerge from within society itself, independent of official channels, and which hold the potential to become a genuine force for change.
