Another bus worker arrested as attacks on trade unionists intensify

Another member of Tehran’s bus workers’ union was arrested on Tuesday 10 November. Homayoon Jaaberi was detained at the Intelligence Ministry as he was making enquiries about the situation of another colleague, Gholamhosseini, who had been detained a week earlier.

Mr Jaaberi’s computer and other items have been seized from his home. Also, his wife is reported to have been threatened to co-operate with the security officials, otherwise ‘Jaaberi will be detained indefinitely’.

Jaaberi’s arrest comes in the wake of the recent detention of two other members of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Saeed Torabian and Gholamreza Gholamhosseini. Both were physically attacked and detained on 4^th November. Torabian was later released on bail; however, Gholamhosseini is still in detention.

Two other leaders of the bus workers’ union, Mansoor Ossanlou and Ebrahim Madadi, are already serving long prison sentences for union activity. Also, Reza Shahabi, another board member, has been detained since 12 June 2010 for the same reason, without charge. Ossanlou and Shahabi are said to be suffering from a number of medical conditions.

On 8 November two members of the Follow-up Committee to Set Up Free Workers’ Organisations, by the names of Seddigh Khosravi and Ebrahim Esmaily, were arrested and are being held in an unknown location.

Meanwhile, trade unionist and human rights activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh is being detained in Ward 350 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Behnam was recently admitted to the Prison’s clinic with a bleeding stomach, following a hunger strike in protest against his continued arbitrary detention and maltreatment.

We call on all trade unions and concerned activists and individuals around the world to protest in the strongest possible terms against these outrageous attacks by the Islamic regime on worker activists in Iran.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can help by publicising the cases of the jailed workers, signing the petition for their release, sending letters of protest to the Islamic Republic authorities, calling and/or joining protest actions in front of the Islamic Republic's embassies, etc.

Click here to sign the petition

Send letters of protest to:

Sadegh Larijani - Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadiran.ir

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website: http://cp.president.ir/en/

Ali Khamenei – Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter  (English)
http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter  (Persian)

Free Them Now!

Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran

14 November 2010

Co-ordinators:

 
Shahla Daneshfar (Shahla_Daneshfar@yahoo.com 0044-77798 98968)

Bahram Soroush (Bahram.Soroush@gmail.com 0044-7852 338334