By WILLIAM YONG
Shane Bauer, left, and Josh Fattal attend their trail in Tehran Photo: AP
TEHRAN — The trial of the three American hikers accused of espionage and illegally entering Iran began behind closed doors on Sunday, and not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf, their lawyer said.
Factory workers at the southwestern city of Ahvaz staged protests on Tuesday, demanding their unpaid wages. The protest came after repeated similar steps in the past and was followed by warnings that the workers will take their protests to Tehran should their demands go unheeded.
In the midst of intense factional feuding within the regime, some factions are apparently sabotaging attempts by a regime insider, Ahmad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, to become the chairman of the regime’s Assembly of Experts, the state-run Fars news agency reported on Friday
An Iranian regime’s member of parliament ordered his hooligans to beat female workers who protested against not being paid, according to state-run news agencies on Sunday.The state-affiliated website Ayandeh wrote that a female worker called a radio program saying that she referred to the regime’s member of Parliament from Qaemshahr to complain about 9 months of unpaid salary at the textile factory in the town.
The Iranian regime has sentenced to death seven people, including two people who ran internet sites, while requesting execution sentences for four more people in the city of Zahedan.
The spouse of one of the people charged with “ethical crimes” rejected the allegations, saying, “Among the charges stated are insulting Khamenei and Ahmadinejad and having contacts with opposition groups,” referring to the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
