A court in the city of Shush has sentenced several workers of Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane Company to prison and flogging. These workers were arrested recently while protesting for not receiving their paychecks for several months.

According to the Telegram channel of the Haft-Tappeh workers: “After the arrest and torture of several Haft-Tappeh workers and some of their supporters and a kangaroo court that followed in Tehran, their trial was held and the court sentenced several workers to 8 months in prison and receiving 30 lashes.”

The names of these workers have not been released yet. But Their Telegram channel reported that “the Judiciary and security forces once again proved their loyalty to the Asadbeigi family (CEO) and intensified the atmosphere of fear and terror in Haft-Tappeh company so the family can continue their violations and corruption with peace of mind.”

Assadbeigi’s name has been mentioned in several massive embezzlements and economic corruption cases this year and there are contrasting reports of him being a fugitive.

Workers of Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane Company have not received paychecks for many months and have been protesting since last year. Many of them were arrested and some reported torture. Most recently, the trial of Esmail Bakhshi, one of their representatives, along with Ali Nejati and Sepideh Gholian has started in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. Both Gholian and Bakhshi had reported severe torture during their initial incarceration.