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Iran: Allow Medical Care for Jailed Unionist
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Progressive Portal
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Oct 18, 2007 14:05 PDT
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IRANIAN PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE NEEDS MEDICAL TREATMENT;
URGE COUNTRY'S LEADERS TO ALLOW HIM TO GET CARE
[From LabourStart <http://www.labourstart.org> and
Amnesty International UK <http://www.amnesty.org.uk>]
Prisoner of conscience Mansour Ossanlu, leader of the Union of Workers
of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), was arrested on
10 Jul 2007. He was previously detained for eight months, from December
2005 to August 2006, and again for a month from November to December
2006 in connection with his trade-union activities. He had reportedly
been sentenced to five years' imprisonment in May 2007, but was believed
to be free on bail at the time of his latest arrest.
When a delegation of visiting Indonesian trade unionists, and later his
wife, tried to visit Mansour Ossanlu at Evin prison on 9 Oct 2007, the
prison authorities claimed that he had been taken to a hospital for
urgent treatment of injuries sustained at the hands of the security
forces in May 2005. His wife was eventually able to see him on 15 Oct,
when he told her he had received no medical treatment at all.
Independent trade unions are not permitted in Iran, and discriminatory
legislation means that certain categories of people are not permitted to
stand for election as workers' representatives in government-recognised
unions. Government supervisory bodies select who can run for union posts
and who can work in public-sector jobs. Trades unions in Iran are
represented by a body known as Workers House, whose leaders are also
subject to selection criteria imposed by the state, weakening its
ability to effectively represent workers' concerns. The Union of Workers
of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, which resumed activities in 2004
after a 25-year ban, is still not legally recognised.
Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 22(1) of which states: "Everyone shall
have the right to freedom of association with others, including the
right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his
interests." Article 26 of Iran's Constitution states: "The formation of
parties, societies, political or professional associations ... is
permitted provided they do not violate the principles of independence,
freedom, national unity, the criteria of Islam, or the basis of the
Islamic republic. No one may be prevented from participating in the
aforementioned groups, or be compelled to participate in them." Similar
guarantees are provided under International Labour Organization (ILO)
conventions.
On 16 Oct, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) released
a film entitled _Freedom Will Come: The Story of Mansour Osanloo_,
intended for global distribution in order to galvanise the campaign to
free Mansour Ossanlu and his colleague Ebrahim Madadi, and to protect
the right of Iranian workers to join trade unions. During International
Road Transport Action Week 2007, from 15 Oct 2007, the ITF is calling on
its member unions, and in particular bus drivers, to wear badges calling
for Mansour Ossanlu to be released.
Take Action
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Write to Iranian leaders urging them to allow Mansour Osanloo to receive
medical care:
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=334
More Information
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9-minute video, _Mansour Osanloo: Freedom Will Come_:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in-vF2LvITk
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