The ITF is describing the violent re-arrest of Iranian trade unionist Mansour Osanloo as an outrageous attempt to crush both a brave individual and all attempts to assert basic trade union rights in the country.
Mansour Osanloo, the President of the trade union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, was only released on bail in August after a long campaign of intimidation by Iranian police and state security agents that has seen him and colleagues brutally arrested and meetings violently broken up. His release followed an international campaign led by the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation ) and ICFTU, now renamed ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) that involved protests to Iran, demonstrations outside embassies and a formal complaint to the ILO (see www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/718 for previous press release and www.itfglobal.org/urban-transport/tehranbuses.cfm for full background and chronology.
The ITF has now received news that despite the injuries he had previously sustained Mansour Osanloo was bundled into a car by pistol firing unidentified plain clothes security officials on 19 November. At the time of the arrest, he was with two colleagues on their way to the Ministry of Labour. He was approached by about at least five plain clothes agents who told him he was under arrest. When he asked them to show their identification cards and warrant for his arrest they refused and started beating him and pulling him towards a car. When one of his colleagues asked to see ID he was also abused, punched and had a gun pointed at him. After firing a shot in the air the men forced Osanloo into a car and drove off.
Both the ITUC and ITF have already written to the Iranian government protesting this latest arrest (please contact dawson_sam@itf.org.uk to receive the letter as an attachment).
Osanloo had an eye operation last Thursday following injuries he sustained during a previous arrest and his eye was heavily bandaged. He was due to attend a court hearing tomorrow to answer charges leveled against him and about 16 other union members by state prosecutors regarding the bus workers' job action last year.
Neither his wife nor his lawyer have any information on where he has been taken. News of his arrest has been reported by official news agencies including ILNA and ISNA.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said: "Just when it looks like the Iranian government might try to abide by basic standards on human and trade union rights in this case they do it again - sending in their bully boys to beat and threaten and arrest. This is an appalling case that is revolting opinion around the world. We and other trade unionists worldwide will redouble our efforts to put pressure on the Iranian government to leave this man alone and permit the efforts to build a free trade union of a kind that most of us take for granted."
For more information contact ITF press officer, Sam Dawson, direct line: + 44 (0)20 7940 9260. E-mail: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk
nternational Transport Workers' Federation - ITF: HEAD OFFICE, ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DR,Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7403 2733, Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7357 7871, Email: mail@itf.org.uk Web-page: www.itfglobal.org
Source: ITF (International Transport Workers Federation)