Borhan Ahmadi, a 34-year-old truck driver from Sanandaj, was arrested by security forces and coerced into a forced confession following his participation in the truck drivers’ strike and a verbal altercation with a driver opposing the strike.
Iran Human Rights Society, Friday, May 30, 2025 – As part of the systematic suppression of labor protests in Iran, on Friday, May 24, 2025, security forces of the ruling dictatorship arrested Borhan Ahmadi, a truck driver from Arandan village in Sanandaj County, in front of the city’s freight terminal. This arrest occurred amid a widespread truck drivers’ strike in several cities, protesting dire living conditions, economic pressures, rising fuel costs, and heavy taxes.
According to sources close to Ahmadi’s family, plainclothes IRGC intelligence agents arrested him without a judicial warrant and subjected him to intense interrogations. These sources confirm that Ahmadi was coerced under severe pressure and threats into making a forced confession and recording a fabricated interview for state media. The broadcast of this interview on state television is another indication of the regime’s use of coerced confessions to delegitimize civil and labor protests.
Borhan Ahmadi’s Role in the Truck Drivers’ Strike
Borhan Ahmadi joined the nationwide truck drivers’ strike in western Iran from its early days, refusing to transport cargo in solidarity with other protesting drivers. During a protest gathering at the Sanandaj terminal, he clashed verbally with a driver from Ardabil who defied the collective decision by loading cargo. This altercation provided a pretext for security forces to exploit the Ardabil driver’s complaint, leading to Ahmadi’s arrest and the fabrication of charges against him.
Despite several days passing since his arrest, no official information has been released regarding Ahmadi’s case, the charges against him, or the timeline for judicial proceedings. Human rights sources report that he remains detained in an IRGC intelligence facility, denied access to a lawyer and contact with his family.
Simultaneous Personal and State Charges Against Borhan Ahmadi
According to available information, in addition to the personal complaint filed by the Ardabil driver involved in the altercation, the judiciary, acting as the public prosecutor, has also filed charges against Ahmadi. This dual action reflects the regime’s intensified efforts to criminalize labor activities and pressure prominent protesters. The use of the “public prosecutor” concept to suppress labor protests is a common tactic in targeting labor and union activists in Iran.
Suppression of Truck Drivers’ Strike and Securitization of Labor Demands
The truck drivers’ strike, which began in recent weeks in cities such as Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Baneh, Urmia, and Bukan, has grown into one of the country’s most significant labor protests due to skyrocketing costs of spare parts, rising fuel prices, and dire economic conditions for drivers’ families. However, instead of addressing the legitimate demands of this hardworking community, the ruling dictatorship has responded with threats, summonses, arrests, and case fabrications.
Borhan Ahmadi’s arrest is just one stark example of this suppression. In cities like Tabriz and Kermanshah, several protesting drivers have faced charges such as “disrupting public order” and “propaganda against the system,” all rooted in the regime’s securitized approach to labor protests.
Human Rights Violations in Borhan Ahmadi’s Arrest and Forced Confession
The arrest of Borhan Ahmadi, his coerced confession, and his detention without access to a lawyer violate the following articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:Article 9: Prohibition of arbitrary arrest and the obligation to promptly inform detainees of the reasons for their arrest.
Article 14: Right to a fair trial, including access to a lawyer and an impartial court.
Article 19: Right to freedom of expression and opinion without fear of punishment.
Article 21: Right to peaceful assembly to pursue labor and social demands.
Borhan Ahmadi’s case—marked by arbitrary arrest, pressure for forced confessions, and denial of fair trial—clearly reflects the repressive approach of the ruling dictatorship toward the basic labor demands of truck drivers. This regime, unable to tolerate even the peaceful resistance of drivers exhausted by poverty and rising costs, responds not with dialogue but with threats and imprisonment.
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