It has just been announced by the Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United (Vahed) Bus Company that Saeed Torabian, the union's jailed public relations officer, has been released. Saeed Torabian was arrested at his home on 9 June, and thus spent 41 days in jail on spurious charges. The union's other leading members, Mansour Ossanlou, Ebrahim Madadi and Reza Shahabi, are still in jail. It is believed Reza Shahabi is being held in Evin Prison's special interrogation ward, Ward 209.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Saeed Torabian freed
It has just been announced by the Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United (Vahed) Bus Company that Saeed Torabian, the union's jailed public relations officer, has been released. Saeed Torabian was arrested at his home on 9 June, and thus spent 41 days in jail on spurious charges. The union's other leading members, Mansour Ossanlou, Ebrahim Madadi and Reza Shahabi, are still in jail. It is believed Reza Shahabi is being held in Evin Prison's special interrogation ward, Ward 209.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Open letter by mother and brother of jailed worker Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
'he was so badly beaten that his leg and two ribs were broken'
Following is the translation of a letter from the mother and brother of one of the jailed workers, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh. Original Farsi appeared on Mission Free Iran:
To all humanist people across the world:
We demand the freedom of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh and all other jailed workers
We are a working-class family in the city of Oshnaviye, Iran. Our 35-year-old son and brother, Behnam, is currently in prison. He was arrested on Saturday, June 12, in Tehran. Right at the outset he was so badly beaten that his leg and two ribs were broken. He called from the prison infirmary and told us about his condition. Since that day, however, we have had no news of him, and our enquiries remain unanswered by the authorities.
Our Behnam is a worker at Polyethylene Pipe Manufacturing in Shoorabaad, Shar-e-Rey, [southern most township of Greater Tehran metropolitan city]. He is a defender of the rights of workers, children, and human beings in general. He was arrested last year also for taking part in the rally held to celebrate May 1 at Laale Park in Tehran, detained for a month, and released on bail.
Besides Behnam, my husband and my other son, Abdolrahmaan Ebrahimzadeh and Eesa Ebrahimzadhe respectively, are also workers who have always fought for their right and never been quiet. They too were arrested last year - together with a number of their fellow workers - kept in jail for 12 days, and released on a bail of $10,000. Now they have been summoned again, and are due to present themselves to court on July 24.
My husband and children are being put under pressure because they want to live a dignified, human life. Instead, they have been thrown into jail like criminals, with files opened for them; just because they demand their right. And it’s been for many years now that this pressure has been on our family as well as the families of all other workers who have refused to be quiet and demanded their rights and wages. Their arrest translates into poverty and hunger for their families. Also, in the process of tracking the fate of their loved ones, families have to bear the constant pressure of insult and humiliation.
I and my son, Moosa, the writers of this letter, know that it may cause and cost us much trouble. But neither can we remain silent any more. How much more are we supposed to remain silent?
We demand the immediate freedom of all our loved ones, all the workers, all the people from jail. We want you to help us. Help us globally! All the workers and all the people, help us! Let us get together and do something: free Behnam; free all of the workers!
Aysha, mother of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
Moosa, brother of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
July 8, 2010
Following is the translation of a letter from the mother and brother of one of the jailed workers, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh. Original Farsi appeared on Mission Free Iran:
To all humanist people across the world:
We demand the freedom of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh and all other jailed workers
We are a working-class family in the city of Oshnaviye, Iran. Our 35-year-old son and brother, Behnam, is currently in prison. He was arrested on Saturday, June 12, in Tehran. Right at the outset he was so badly beaten that his leg and two ribs were broken. He called from the prison infirmary and told us about his condition. Since that day, however, we have had no news of him, and our enquiries remain unanswered by the authorities.
Our Behnam is a worker at Polyethylene Pipe Manufacturing in Shoorabaad, Shar-e-Rey, [southern most township of Greater Tehran metropolitan city]. He is a defender of the rights of workers, children, and human beings in general. He was arrested last year also for taking part in the rally held to celebrate May 1 at Laale Park in Tehran, detained for a month, and released on bail.
Besides Behnam, my husband and my other son, Abdolrahmaan Ebrahimzadeh and Eesa Ebrahimzadhe respectively, are also workers who have always fought for their right and never been quiet. They too were arrested last year - together with a number of their fellow workers - kept in jail for 12 days, and released on a bail of $10,000. Now they have been summoned again, and are due to present themselves to court on July 24.
My husband and children are being put under pressure because they want to live a dignified, human life. Instead, they have been thrown into jail like criminals, with files opened for them; just because they demand their right. And it’s been for many years now that this pressure has been on our family as well as the families of all other workers who have refused to be quiet and demanded their rights and wages. Their arrest translates into poverty and hunger for their families. Also, in the process of tracking the fate of their loved ones, families have to bear the constant pressure of insult and humiliation.
I and my son, Moosa, the writers of this letter, know that it may cause and cost us much trouble. But neither can we remain silent any more. How much more are we supposed to remain silent?
We demand the immediate freedom of all our loved ones, all the workers, all the people from jail. We want you to help us. Help us globally! All the workers and all the people, help us! Let us get together and do something: free Behnam; free all of the workers!
Aysha, mother of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
Moosa, brother of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh
July 8, 2010
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Growing support for the campaign from activists in France
Latest additions to the initial list of signatories:
Stéphane Julien (Labour activist, member of SNUipp-FSU, France)
Jean Sanvoisin (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Nicolas Dessaux (Labour activist, SUD-CT, France)
Laurette Brodut (Retired nurse, France)
Daniel Chambinaud (Member of FO union, France)
Françoise Irkhine (Office worker, Belgium)
Laurent Quinson (Labour activist, member of SNASUB-FSU, France)
The full list so far:
Mamad Amiri (Labour activist, Sweden)Davoud Aram (Labour activist, Canada)
Foroogh Arghavan (Labour activist, Canada)
Masoud Arzhang (Labour activist, Canada)
Naser Asghari (Labour activist, Canada)
Shahla Daneshfar (Labour activist)
Pascal Descamp (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Saleh Falahi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Morteza Fateh (Labour activist, UK)
Ahmad Fatemi (Labour activist, member of Unionen, Sweden)
Reza Fathi (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Farshad Hosseini (Labour activist, Holland)
Mehran Khorshidi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Yadi Kouhi (Labour activist, France)
Mehran Mahboobi (Labour activist, Canada)
Shiva Mahboobi (Spokesperson, Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran)
Manouchehr Mahdavi Tabar (Former member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company)
Abbas Mandegar (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Canada)
Shahnaz Morattab (Labour activist, postal workers’ union, Germany)
Arsalan Nazeri (Labour activist, Australia)
Mohammad Nemati (Former member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers)
Saber Rahimi (Labour activist, Norway)
Reza Rashidi (Former Member of the Follow-up Committee to Set Up Free Workers’ Organisations in Iran)
Bahram Soroush (Labour activist)
Abbas Zamani (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
New since July 9th:
Stéphane Julien (Labour activist, member of SNUipp-FSU, France)
Jean Sanvoisin (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Nicolas Dessaux (Labour activist, SUD-CT, France)
Laurette Brodut (Retired nurse, France)
Daniel Chambinaud (Member of FO union, France)
Françoise Irkhine (Office worker, Belgium)
Laurent Quinson (Labour activist, member of SNASUB-FSU, France)
Stéphane Julien (Labour activist, member of SNUipp-FSU, France)
Jean Sanvoisin (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Nicolas Dessaux (Labour activist, SUD-CT, France)
Laurette Brodut (Retired nurse, France)
Daniel Chambinaud (Member of FO union, France)
Françoise Irkhine (Office worker, Belgium)
Laurent Quinson (Labour activist, member of SNASUB-FSU, France)
The full list so far:
Mamad Amiri (Labour activist, Sweden)Davoud Aram (Labour activist, Canada)
Foroogh Arghavan (Labour activist, Canada)
Masoud Arzhang (Labour activist, Canada)
Naser Asghari (Labour activist, Canada)
Shahla Daneshfar (Labour activist)
Pascal Descamp (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Saleh Falahi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Morteza Fateh (Labour activist, UK)
Ahmad Fatemi (Labour activist, member of Unionen, Sweden)
Reza Fathi (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Farshad Hosseini (Labour activist, Holland)
Mehran Khorshidi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Yadi Kouhi (Labour activist, France)
Mehran Mahboobi (Labour activist, Canada)
Shiva Mahboobi (Spokesperson, Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran)
Manouchehr Mahdavi Tabar (Former member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company)
Abbas Mandegar (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Canada)
Shahnaz Morattab (Labour activist, postal workers’ union, Germany)
Arsalan Nazeri (Labour activist, Australia)
Mohammad Nemati (Former member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers)
Saber Rahimi (Labour activist, Norway)
Reza Rashidi (Former Member of the Follow-up Committee to Set Up Free Workers’ Organisations in Iran)
Bahram Soroush (Labour activist)
Abbas Zamani (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
New since July 9th:
Stéphane Julien (Labour activist, member of SNUipp-FSU, France)
Jean Sanvoisin (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Nicolas Dessaux (Labour activist, SUD-CT, France)
Laurette Brodut (Retired nurse, France)
Daniel Chambinaud (Member of FO union, France)
Françoise Irkhine (Office worker, Belgium)
Laurent Quinson (Labour activist, member of SNASUB-FSU, France)
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Campaign Statement
In Iran workers are routinely arrested for going on strike, for building a union or for celebrating May Day. That is what happened to bus workers in Tehran: Over 700 of them were arrested when they went on strike in 2006. Some of their leaders, such as Mansoor Ossanlou, are still in jail, and some have been fired from their jobs. It happened to sugar cane workers when they organised protests over unpaid wages and built a union. Their leaders have spent months in prison and are daily harassed with court summons and heavy bails. Some have also lost their jobs. Teachers who took strike action and held rallies over their pay and conditions have also been put in prison. Over the years, hundreds of workers have met a similar end for exercising their fundamental right to freely organise, strike and assemble.
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, long prison terms, violent interrogations, beatings, even use of lashing to degrade and break down, denial of medical care to sick detainees, constant harassment in the form of court summons, heavy bails and daily threats issued against the workers and their families, and the ultimate weapon of cutting workers off their livelihood by firing them, make up a brutal regime of systematic persecution of labour activists in Iran.
In May this year the regime added to its 31-year record of horrific human rights abuse by executing well-known teacher and labour activist Farzad Kamangar, along with four other political prisoners. The world’s trade unions and human rights organisations had been campaigning for Farzad’s release for years, and vehemently condemned the callous killings.
We, a group of labour activists and campaigners from Iran and around the world, have set up this campaign to highlight the plight of the workers currently in jail in Iran or under the threat of arrest and detention. The aim of the campaign is the immediate and unconditional release of all labour activists who are currently in jail. Some of us are former members of the very unions suppressed by the regime in Iran, who are continuing the fight in exile through this and other campaigns.
Our demand is clear: the terror and violence against workers in Iran must stop! Workers in Iran should be able to freely exercise their fundamental right to set up their own organisations, meet, assemble and protest as they wish, take strike action, organise and take part in rallies, etc., without fear of being arrested and thrown in jail. All jailed workers must be immediately and unconditionally freed!
The following workers are currently known to be held in various prisons and detention centres in Iran. The actual list is much longer. The whereabouts of some remain unknown (The list is regularly updated on our blogs):
From the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United (Vahed) Bus Company:
Mansoor Ossanlou (President)
Ebrahim Madadi (Vice President)
Saeed Torabian (Spokesperson)
Reza Shahabi (Treasurer)
From the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association:
Ghorban Ahmadi
Ali Akbar Baghani
Hossein Bastani Nejad
Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi
Rasoul Bodaghi
Mohammad Davari
Alireza Hashemi (General Secretary)
Seyyed Hashem Khastar
Abdollah Momeni
* Another teacher, Abdolreza Ghanbari, was arrested during the mass anti-government demonstration on 27 December 2009. He has been sentenced to death.
Other detained labour activists:
Behnam Ebrahim-zadeh
Mehdi Farrahi Shandiz
We call on all trade unions and human rights organisations around the world and all individuals and organisations appalled by the horrific human rights abuse in Iran to support and sign up to this campaign.
Initial signatories:
Mamad Amiri (Labour activist, Sweden)
Davoud Aram (Labour activist, Canada)
Foroogh Arghavan (Labour activist, Canada)
Masoud Arzhang (Labour activist, Canada)
Naser Asghari (Labour activist, Canada)
Dave Bleakney (Canadian Union of Postal Workers, CUPW)
Shahla Daneshfar (Labour activist)
Pascal Descamp (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Salah Fallahi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Morteza Fateh (Labour activist, UK)
Ahmad Fatemi (Labour activist, member of Unionen, Sweden)
Reza Fathi (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Farshad Hosseini (Labour activist, Holland)
Mehran Khorshidi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Yadi Kouhi (Labour activist, France)
Mehran Mahboobi (Labour activist, Canada)
Shiva Mahboobi (Spokesperson, Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran)
Manouchehr Mahdavi Tabar (Former member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company)
Abbas Mandegar (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Canada)
Shahnaz Morattab (Labour activist, postal workers’ union, Germany)
Arsalan Nazeri (Labour activist, Australia)
Mohammad Nemati (Former member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers)
Saber Rahimi (Labour activist, Norway)
Reza Rashidi (Former Member of the Follow-up Committee to Set Up Free Workers’ Organisations in Iran)
Bahram Soroush (Labour activist)
Abbas Zamani (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Campaign co-ordinators:
Shahla Daneshfar
Shahla_Daneshfar@yahoo.com 0044-77798 98968
Bahram Soroush
Bahram.Soroush@gmail.com 0044-7852 338334
8 July 2010
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, long prison terms, violent interrogations, beatings, even use of lashing to degrade and break down, denial of medical care to sick detainees, constant harassment in the form of court summons, heavy bails and daily threats issued against the workers and their families, and the ultimate weapon of cutting workers off their livelihood by firing them, make up a brutal regime of systematic persecution of labour activists in Iran.
In May this year the regime added to its 31-year record of horrific human rights abuse by executing well-known teacher and labour activist Farzad Kamangar, along with four other political prisoners. The world’s trade unions and human rights organisations had been campaigning for Farzad’s release for years, and vehemently condemned the callous killings.
We, a group of labour activists and campaigners from Iran and around the world, have set up this campaign to highlight the plight of the workers currently in jail in Iran or under the threat of arrest and detention. The aim of the campaign is the immediate and unconditional release of all labour activists who are currently in jail. Some of us are former members of the very unions suppressed by the regime in Iran, who are continuing the fight in exile through this and other campaigns.
Our demand is clear: the terror and violence against workers in Iran must stop! Workers in Iran should be able to freely exercise their fundamental right to set up their own organisations, meet, assemble and protest as they wish, take strike action, organise and take part in rallies, etc., without fear of being arrested and thrown in jail. All jailed workers must be immediately and unconditionally freed!
The following workers are currently known to be held in various prisons and detention centres in Iran. The actual list is much longer. The whereabouts of some remain unknown (The list is regularly updated on our blogs):
From the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United (Vahed) Bus Company:
Mansoor Ossanlou (President)
Ebrahim Madadi (Vice President)
Saeed Torabian (Spokesperson)
Reza Shahabi (Treasurer)
From the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association:
Ghorban Ahmadi
Ali Akbar Baghani
Hossein Bastani Nejad
Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi
Rasoul Bodaghi
Mohammad Davari
Alireza Hashemi (General Secretary)
Seyyed Hashem Khastar
Abdollah Momeni
* Another teacher, Abdolreza Ghanbari, was arrested during the mass anti-government demonstration on 27 December 2009. He has been sentenced to death.
Other detained labour activists:
Behnam Ebrahim-zadeh
Mehdi Farrahi Shandiz
We call on all trade unions and human rights organisations around the world and all individuals and organisations appalled by the horrific human rights abuse in Iran to support and sign up to this campaign.
Initial signatories:
Mamad Amiri (Labour activist, Sweden)
Davoud Aram (Labour activist, Canada)
Foroogh Arghavan (Labour activist, Canada)
Masoud Arzhang (Labour activist, Canada)
Naser Asghari (Labour activist, Canada)
Dave Bleakney (Canadian Union of Postal Workers, CUPW)
Shahla Daneshfar (Labour activist)
Pascal Descamp (Labour activist, member of CGT, France)
Salah Fallahi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Morteza Fateh (Labour activist, UK)
Ahmad Fatemi (Labour activist, member of Unionen, Sweden)
Reza Fathi (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Farshad Hosseini (Labour activist, Holland)
Mehran Khorshidi (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Norway)
Yadi Kouhi (Labour activist, France)
Mehran Mahboobi (Labour activist, Canada)
Shiva Mahboobi (Spokesperson, Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran)
Manouchehr Mahdavi Tabar (Former member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company)
Abbas Mandegar (Labour activist, transport workers’ union, Canada)
Shahnaz Morattab (Labour activist, postal workers’ union, Germany)
Arsalan Nazeri (Labour activist, Australia)
Mohammad Nemati (Former member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers)
Saber Rahimi (Labour activist, Norway)
Reza Rashidi (Former Member of the Follow-up Committee to Set Up Free Workers’ Organisations in Iran)
Bahram Soroush (Labour activist)
Abbas Zamani (Labour activist, former member of a union in Iran)
Campaign co-ordinators:
Shahla Daneshfar
Shahla_Daneshfar@yahoo.com 0044-77798 98968
Bahram Soroush
Bahram.Soroush@gmail.com 0044-7852 338334
8 July 2010
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