Tehran Bus Workers' Appeal

This is their appeal on behalf of (a) their Trade Union Leader Mansour Osanloo who has been unjustly imprisoned in Iran following earlier maltreatment and (b) Ebrahim Madadi for giving backing to Osanloo. I previously raised the issue here and here.

Syndicate of Vahed Strongly Condemns the Unfair Verdicts of 5 Years Prison for Mansour Osanloo and 2 Years for Ebrahim Madadi

Whereas always the Supreme Leader and government’s authorities encourage all people to engage in their own fate and defend their rights by being in present at any scene, whenever workers defended their legitimate rights they have been faced with the judiciary system and prison. Nowhere in the Constitution of Law, Labor Law, Civil Rights, and Islamic Sharia Laws has been written that the consequences of defending workers rights would be prison, repression and dismissal. Creating the atmosphere and preparing the environment by infusing the idea of arresting labor activists whenever they want to arrest a worker’s activist, imprisonment of workers, secret courts, unofficially informing workers from the issued verdicts, and long term prison sentences are not the generous awards to the labor activists who devote their entire life to get the workers legitimate rights. Any enlightened conscience doesn’t accept the way that workers have been treated with contempt.

Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburban Bus Company, Vahed, strongly condemns the unfair verdicts of five years prison for Mansour Osanloo, because of his trade and syndicalism’s activities, and two - year prison sentence for Ebrahim Madadi, only because he went to Mansour Osanloo’s house to express his sympathy with his family, and requests all international labor organizations to react seriously to this unfair and anti-workers decision globally.

Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburban Bus Company, Vahed,
November 3, 2007
http://www.syndicavahed.org/engl31.htm

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Free Two Imprisoned Syndicalists

Sorrowfully two imprisoned syndicalists, Mr. Mansour Osanloo and Mr. Ebrahim Madadi have been sentenced to five and two years prison, respectively. What crimes have they been committed to? Are defending syndicalism’s rights and demanding to form the independent syndicate of workers at Vahed Company considered crimes?

Dear Esteemed Judiciary Authorities!

The principle 165 of Constitution of Law requires all trials to be open to the public with the presence of defending attorneys. Why were the cases tried in these hearing while none of the attorneys, families, and workers of the Vahed Company was in present, in order to find out for which criminal activities the members of the Syndicate’s Executive Board were sentenced?

Why do you think that the activities of the two members of the executive board of the Vahed’s Syndicate are against national security? Why are the defenders of the legitimate rights of workers at Vahed Company, who live under the poverty line and should receive more attention, being treated with oppression and unkindly? How long would the trade and syndicalism’s activities pay this large amount of cost? At the moment, more than 30 workers of the Vahed company have been suspended and they are financially embarrassed, and about 13 of the workers have received the reinstate orders from the board of dispute resolution of Labor Ministry, but the managers of the Vahed Company denied to accept them. These workers are the hardest workers in the society and are in a hard living condition.
We ask the esteemed head of the judiciary power to free the two imprisoned syndicate’s workers immediately.

The Founding Board of the Workers’ Syndicates, expressing the sorrow at the issued verdicts, demands the immediate release of Mr. Mansour Osanloo and Mr. Ebrahim Madadi.

Founding Board of Workers’ Syndicates
November 1, 2007
http://www.syndicavahed.org/engl32.htm