Arrest of Labour Rights Activist in Arak for Criticising Local Officials
8-August-2025
Category: Arrests، Labor and guilds
7 August 2025
News Category: Arrests – Labour and Trade Unions
Breathing in Confinement – Masoud Bakhtiari, a labour and union activist, has been arrested by the Cyber Police (FATA) in Markazi Province after publishing critical remarks about the Friday Prayer Imam and several municipal officials in Arak, as well as highlighting labour-related grievances.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, and based on information from human rights sources, Mr Bakhtiari was detained for publishing content on his personal Telegram channel and has since been transferred to an undisclosed location. The charges reportedly brought against him include “publishing criminal content” and “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion.” His writings reportedly criticised the conduct of Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi (Friday Prayer Imam of Arak, member of the Assembly of Experts, and a former official in Iran’s judiciary and intelligence apparatus), as well as other provincial authorities. Following his arrest, his Telegram channel was also taken offline.
The exact time of Mr Bakhtiari’s arrest and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
His arrest—solely for expressing opinions, voicing labour concerns, and engaging in peaceful union activities—stands in stark violation of the fundamental principles of freedom of expression, freedom of belief, and trade union rights. It also constitutes a breach of Iran’s international human rights obligations, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.