PCR Chile | Translated for the Red Phoenix by Camilo Lazo–

Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, has died. Iran, a theocratic capitalist regime that since 1979 has imposed Islamic law on the workers and the people through the use of terror, silenced any type of dissent, prohibited unions, labor parties and all types of associations that are not controlled by the State. Raisi was a fundamental part of the repressive state apparatus. As early as 1988, he formed the “Death Commission” that executed 5,000 political prisoners in summary trials without the right to defense. A role that earned him the title of “The Butcher of Tehran.”

Under his government, Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish girl who had been arrested for violating the rules governing the use of the hijab died after being beaten by agents of the “Moral Police,” an agency in charge of compliance with Islamic law.  This caused one of the largest protests in recent years called by the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement. Raisi’s government responded by murdering more than 500 people, including 68 children, and sentenced 7 leaders of the movement to death.  During 2023, more than 850 people accused of drug trafficking were executed, the highest in decades.  However, others have also been condemned under charges such as “insulting the prophet,” “apostasy,” and ambiguous ones such as “enmity with God” (moharebeh) or “corruption the earth.”

Raisi was also known for the persecution of the trade union movement. Prohibited and outlawed by the Islamic regime, the representation of workers is usurped by two bodies controlled by the government, such as the “Islamic Labor Councils” and the “Assemblies of Workers Representatives,” who must demonstrate explicit loyalty to Islam and the foundations of the Islamic Republic. The economic crisis has driven the creation of independent unions, workers who have shed their fear and who today fight for their rights despite police violence and prison. Outstanding labor leaders such as Reza Shahabi, member of the Board of Directors of the Tehran Bus Company Workers’ Union, Rasoul Bodagh, leader of the Teachers’ Association, are in prison or awaiting cruel sentences.

The defense of anti-imperialism and multipolarity cannot supersede the rights of the workers and the people of Iran. The solidarity of all revolutionaries, consistent democrats and defenders of peace must always be with the oppressed.

Long live the Workers and people of Iran!

Categories: International, Iran