Demonstrations against structural corruption, such as the destruction of a commercial building in Abadan, have spread to some other cities. The protesters’ slogans target Ali Khamenei and his appointees, as well as corruption and discrimination in Iranian society. Among the reasons for the protests are a lack of facilities and relief equipment for the injured and a large presence of security forces.
On Thursday, May 26, the people of Khorramshahr, Abadan, Shahinshahr, Bandar-e Abbas and Behbahan took to the streets in solidarity with the protesters of Abadan.
The 10-storey commercial tower, Metropoli has collapsed at noon on Monday, May 23. Dozens of citizens were killed and injured in the incident, and another group was left under the rubble. The Abadan Construction Engineering Organization had previously warned that the necessary points had not been observed in the construction of this complex.
Municipal officials have repeatedly been criticized for their negligence by engineers who have long warned of the catastrophe. First, it was revealed that the building belonged to one of the economic cartels, which is accused of economic corruption. He had repeatedly received government awards for his economic activities!
According to the governor of Khuzestan, the structure of the Metropol building was heavy and this building was designed in six floors, but then three floors and then two more floors were illegaly added to it. The Chief Justice of Khuzestan Province issued an order to investigate the cause and factors of this incident. So far, 11 violators of the project (the current mayor of Abadan, two former mayors, as well as a number of municipal employees and observers) have been arrested by court order. The deputy director of prevention of the Abadan Fire Department had issued warnings about the possibility of the building collapsing on last year, but it was ignored.
He had previously built buildings for the police and the IRGC as a donation, and was subjected to human rights sanctions for his role in the 2019 massacre of protesters. Of course, a businessman kills protesters on the street to maintain his favorite political power, which allows him to steal and loot!
The police announced yesterday that he had been arrested, but amazingly this morning, he’s name is among the dead! His false death must have been advantageous! A blatant corruptions of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary.
The commercial building becomes a massacre of people when profit and wealth become more important than human life. In the construction of this complex, profiteering negligence are crimes. It is a deliberate crime like to fire a missile at a Ukrainian plane few years ago.
While Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei finally called for the punishment of the perpetrators three days after the building collapsed, and other high-ranking officials, including Ibrahim Ra’isi, said that they would deal with any violations, large crowds of residents of Abadan gathered on Thursday night and held a mourning ceremony outside the city governor’s office, demanding the trial of city officials and the perpetrators of this deadly incident.
In the videos posted on social media of the protests in Khorramshahr, women protesters dominate, which indicate that women were present in significant numbers.
Also in solidarity with the people of Abadan, the people of Behbahan and Bandar Abbas held mourning ceremonies. On Friday morning, the Khuzestan Red Crescent announced that the bodies of 21 dead has been removed from the Abadan “Metropole” building.
Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perception Index ranks the Iran in 150th place out of 180 countries, on a scale where lower-ranked countries are perceived to have a more honest public sector. Iran’s ranking has fallen steadily since a high of 130th in 2017 Reformists and conservatives alike – at times even the Supreme Leader – routinely criticize corruption in the government. Although a Reuters special investigation has revealed Supreme Leader Khamenei controls a massive financial empire built on property seizures worth $95 billion.
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