The following is a statement by the Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell about Yaser Ahmadinejad’s 33-month sentence, calling for his release. It was published in the KVSWC’s Telegram channel on May 29th 2026.
We demand the unconditional release of Yaser Ahmadinejad
Workers’ Bulletin of the Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell [No. 104]
Greetings to all the workers and toilers throughout Iran.
A few days ago, we received news that was both happy and sad. We learned that our dear comrade and brother, who was suddenly arrested and no one knew about his condition, is now safe and alive in prison and has apparently been sentenced to thirty-three months in jail. Of course, the fact that Yaser Ahmadinejad is alive in this mess where no one is sure about his future is happy news, but hearing that he has been sentenced to thirty-three months in prison is not only sad but also unacceptable.
What crime could a person like Yaser have committed that he should suffer such a punishment? His warm and kind face is known to all Arkan Saless workers. He was always a defender of workers’ rights and was at the forefront of all labour protests, and for this reason, he was suspended from work many times and eventually fired. He was an independent worker and believed in the independence of labour organisations, so he never gave in to the compromises and conservatism common to the likes of Ghaffari.* He did not belong to any group or party; the workers of Arkan Saless are his group, and his human commitment in today’s Iran was to defend and fight for their legal and legitimate rights.
Like many others, he was a critic of the incompetence of the authorities and did not hesitate to express his opinions on this matter publicly and openly. Although we may not accept such a method, we consider it the right of all workers, toilers, and all oppressed social groups in Iran to express their opinions in a way they see fit. Unfortunately, such a right is neither recognised nor possible in our country.
Our words are with those who are sent Yaser and the likes of Yaser to prison for defending their working rights and human dignity. We ask: can the truth of the terrible living conditions of workers and other low-income groups in society be denied with [using] the whipping bed and solitary confinement?
What was Yaser’s crime? Does exposing this injustice and trying to realise the rights of Arkan Saless workers deserve a prison sentence? Is it a crime to demand improved working conditions on sites where workers even lose their lives from extreme fatigue and heat? Is it a crime to expose the destructive role of contractors and leeches who, by feeding off the lifeblood of us workers, become more and more prosperous day by day and don’t notice the unbearable conditions of our lives?
Of course, we cannot expect more from a government that has always shown itself to be a defender of the bosses; this government and its military, political, and ideological leaders are in fact the employer class of our country. It is not without reason that whenever a worker utters a word that goes against the interests of the employers, the government immediately goes after him and silences his voice by any means possible. However, historical experience has shown that one can silence voices for a while by relying on bayonets, but one cannot sit on bayonets and continue to rule.
While condemning such baseless and unjust sentences, which we will certainly witness many more of in the future, we demand the unconditional release of Yaser Ahmadinejad and his return to his former job.
Having an independent labour organisation and defending workers’ rights is the undeniable right of all those who are turning the wheels of production and services in this country today as workers, and no government has the right to deny this natural right to Yaser or the likes of Yaser on absurd and meaningless pretexts.
Be victorious.
Let us build the clandestine socialist vanguard workers’ cells!
Let us unite the vanguard workers based on the workers’ action programme!
Let us occupy the factories and impose workers’ control!
Let us open the employers’ books!
Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell
29 May 2026
KVSWC Organiser: Comrade Martin. https://t.me/ahvazijava
* Alireza Ghaffari is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Trade Unions of Gas Refineries Workers of Bushehr Province.
Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign 