ITF welcomes release of Madadi - but is concerned about Salehi

by pat c Tue Dec 18, 2007 14:52

A report just in.

Other news reported by Solidarity Committee with Iranian Workers-Australia indicate that Mr. Reza Dehghan, a member of the Founding Committee of the Syndicate of Building 's Painters and Decoration's Workers, has been released on 50,000,000 toman bail. Mr. Dehghan was arrested and incarcerated since November 18, 2007.

by pat c Wed Dec 19, 2007 16:21

A report from the International Trade Union Confederation:

The ITUC has welcomed the release of Ebrahim Madadi, Vice President of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Syndica Sherkate-Vahed) and Reza Dehghan, Union of the Painters (Sandicika Nagash). Madadi had been detained since 9 August, without any legitimate reason, Reza Dehgan since 18th November.

The ITUC nevertheless remains very concerned at the at the treatment of Mahmoud Salehi, former President of the Saqez Bakers’ Union, who is being kept in harsh prison conditions in Sanandaj despite his very poor health and fears that his life might be at severe risk.

The ITUC also condemns the continuing repression of trade unionists, including the recent arrests of Ebrahim Gohari, a member of the Executive of the Vahed union, Mohsen Hakimi, a member of the Committee to Form Workers’ Organisations, and two independent labour activists, Alireza Asghari and Hossein Gholami, in Tehran on 14 December.

by pat c Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:59

Below is a statement from the Syndicate of the Workers of Tehran and the Suburban Bus Company, Vahed on the release of Ebrahim Madadi.

Ebrahim Madadi, the Vice President of the Syndicate of the Workers of Vhaed Company had been arrested in front of Osanloo’s house on August 9, 2007 when, in response to the International Trade Unions’ call, he was about entering to Mansour Osanloo’s house, President of the Syndicate. He was tried in the Court of Revolution, Chamber 28, and sentenced to two years prison. Ebrahim Madadi and his attorneys, Dr. Yousef Mowlaie and Parviz Khorshid, protested at the verdict and the case was sent to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal, chamber 44, dropped his charges and his guiltlessness order was sent to the Ghezelhesar prison, and he was released on December 16, 2007 at 10:30 PM from Ghezelhesar after being kept 127 days in prison.

The Syndicate of the Workers of Tehran and the Suburban Bus Company, Vahed, congratulates proudly the release of the vice president of the Sherkat – Vahed Syndicate to the workers and drivers at the Vahed Company, members of the Executive Board of the Syndicate, the activists of Syndicalism and the labor movement, the other social and civil activists, and the international trade unionists, and is sincerely grateful for all efforts of the international labor organizations, the media in the country, abroad, and all the friends of the Syndicalistic movement to release Ebrahim Madadi.

Syndicate of the Workers of Tehran and the Suburban Bus Company, Vahed
December 17, 2007

Ebrahim Madadi, the Vice President of the Syndicate of the Workers of Tehran and the Suburban Bus Company, Vahed, was released

by pat c Fri Jan 04, 2008 19:13

I just got this news from the Direct Action Against War list. It was posted by Iraq Union Solidarity Scotland.

Subject: URGENT ACT NOW -

Dear friends,

Jailed Iranian trade union leader Mahmoud Salehi is facing an acute medical emergency and Amnesty and the international trade union movement are coming together to press the Iranian authorities to release him or protect his health.

The Amnesty UK hosted online web action for Salehi is now live at

http://amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=386

Please circulate this as widely as possible and create links from you websites.
You can read our full e-comm sent to 40,000 Amnesty activists today here: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/admin/e_messages_details.asp?...D=192

We have also completely updated our Iran Trade Union Action pages at:

http://amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10989.

On these pages you can find other actions, including how to send a message of hope to Salehi and Ossanlu and their families.

Please ACT NOW

Shane Enright
Trade Union Campaigns Manager
Amnesty International UK Section
Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EA
+ 44 (0) 20 7033 1569

by pat c Fri Jan 11, 2008 13:29

Latesrt news regarding Mahmoud Salehi below, full text at link.

According to the latest report by the Committee in Defense of Mahmoud Salehi in Iran, on Wednesday, January 9, 2008, Mahmoud Salehi was transferred to Tohid Hospital from Sanandaj’s Central Prison. The treating physician recommended exercise stress test, but Mahmoud could not pass the exercise test. The doctor believes it is caused by a block in one of the major vessels of his heart. Also, on the same day, they took blood test, electrocardiogram and X-rays. Dr. Mohammad Reza Khaledian, who is a cardiologist, performed angiography. At this time, Mahmoud has been hospitalized at Tohid Hospital’s cardiovascular department. According to the recommendations by physicians, he cannot move for 24 hours because it may cause bleeding. . His angiographic result will be known by this Saturday. Just a few days ago, a government’s medical officer had made a recommendation that Salehi’s illness does not require his release from prison despite the mounting international concerns for his health.

by pat c Fri Jan 11, 2008 13:41

Report just posted. Full text at link.

Mahmoud was taken back to jail again on Thursday, January 10, 2008. The angiography result showed a block in one of the major vessels of his heart. Dr. Khaledian has prescribed a number of medications and also recommended one week of medical supervision for Salehi. He also wants Salehi back in hospital on Saturday, January 12, 2008. The prison authorities decided that Mahmoud should stay in prison’s clinic for his medical supervision; thus, despite his serious health problems, they transferred him to prison under tight security.

Mahmoud and his wife, Najibeh Salehzadeh, were treated very roughly by one of the jail guards at the hospital. He handcuffed Mahmoud to the leg of his bed and attempted to assault Najibeh. Najibeh and Mahmoud protested his aggressive actions, but the guard threatened to arrest Najibeh.

by pat c Mon Jan 28, 2008 17:15

This is an update on the condition of Mahmoud Salehi and the harassment of his supporters.

On January 21, 2008, Chiako Gharbehi and Mehrdad Amin Vaziri, members of the Committee in Defense of Mahmoud Salehi, who had gone to Tohid hospital to visit Mahmoud were arrested. They were charged with taking pictures and visiting Salehi. (Many other people on that day had gone to hospital to visit Salehi.) They were detained at police station 13 untilJanuary 22nd when they were taken to the court (branch 4). The presiding Judge, Kaaviani, after their trial, acquitted them of the charges, but the security forces took them again to the police station and they were released at 3:00 PM on Tuesday. The security forces’ intelligence officials have told them that they will summon them again soon.

Mahmoud Salehi was taken from the Sanandaj prison’s medical clinic to Tohid hospital in the morning of January 17, 2008. He had signs of kidney failure as well as hearth attack and stroke. Mahmoud was kept in the hospital’s emergency department until 2 PM that day and then was transferred to the CCU department of the hospital. On January 19th, Doctor Dara Ahmadi announced that the risk of hearth attack or stroke has been significantly reduced. On Sunday, January 20, 2008, Mahmoud was transferred to the cardiovascular department of Tohid hospital where he has been staying under heavy security measures.

by pat c Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:56

This is a letter from Najibeh Salehzadeh to Letter To Louise Arbour United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the treatment of Mahmoud Salehi. Full text at link.

Dear Ms. Louise Arbour;

On January 28, 2008, my spouse, Mahmoud Salehi was taken to the government’s medical examiner for the second time in recent months. Doctors, including the hearth and kidney specialists, at the Tohid hospital were going to make formal recommendations regarding Mahmoud’s health. These physicians have reported a number of times that Mahmoud’s only kidney is losing its functions and that has caused asthma, hearth problems, fluctuating blood pressure, dizziness, vessel clogging and the clogging of the hearth’s vessel, extreme weakness or fatigue, kidney inflammation, and many other dangerous side-effects. As a result, he requires immediate treatment. Thus they think he should stay in hospital.

My husband has been imprisoned because of his efforts to organize an independent May Day event. A big campaign, which I am a part of as well, have been actively advocating that organizing an independent Labour Day is a basic right and the authorities should not keep Mahmoud in prison. We all were hoping that the official medical examiners would check him up in an objective and professional manner, according to Boghrat Oath (ethical code for physicians), and would confirm other doctors’ recommendations and recommend his release from hospital due to his serious health conditions. The official medical examiners are employees of the state and a part of the judiciary and security system of the government. Consequently, they denied all other doctors’ recommendation and decided that Mahmoud should stay in prison because they think he is not in life threatening situation.

I am asking you, based on the universal human rights, to call for the immediate freedom of my husband, Mahmoud Salehi; or, as a minimum, please pressure Iranian authorities to allow a specialist and ethical and independent examination of Mahmoud’s health. At the above mentioned offices, doctors are acting as prison guards and prison guards as doctors. Given such unjust situation, the human rights of my husband, me and my children will not be realised unless there are more protests.

Najibeh Salehzadeh

by pat c Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:35

This is the latest news on Salehi. Full text at link.

Mahmoud Saelhi’s wife, Najibeh Salehzadeh, and his lawyer, Mr. Mohammad Sharif, visited Salehi in prison on February 7. After some arguments the prosecutor finally agreed to allow Sharif and Najibeh to visit Salehi. Afterwards Sharif said that Mahmoud’s health has been greatly deteriorating and Mahmoud is at great risk. Sharif requested the prosecutor to allow Salehi to be freed by the New Year eve (March 20th). All reports by doctors at the Tohid hospital indicated that Salehi’s deteriorating health requires proper treatment outside prison and that Salehi must not stay in prison; however, the government’s medical examiner, Dr. Babayee, has rejected all of these reports.

Sharif reported the authorities are angry that Mahmud’s situation has been publicized around the world and that the permanent representative of Iran to the UN has been warned about Mahmoud’s situation. Mr. Sharif also added that official and semi-official media in Iran have been silent about Mahmoud’s situation. ISNA (an official Iranian Students’ News Agency), for instance, refused to publish his interview.

by pat c Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:06

This is the latest news on the Vahed workers & Osanloo. Full text at link.

The 26 suspended activists of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company are facing severe financial hardships and at times they are not able to feed their own children. Yaghoub Salimi, a member of the board of directors of the syndicate said the authorities have been trying to force these workers to go in exile outside Tehran. The workers are not even allowed to work on private buses in Tehran. THey all have cases with the court as well as the Ministry of Labour. They had even spoken with Ahmadinejad, on a public occasion, but nothing has been done to help them reinstate their jobs. They are not receiving any pay, benefits or compensation whatsoever.

Ebrahim Madadi, the vice president of the syndicate, has been summoned to court for old charges and he may face new sentences. Parviz Khorshid, the Syndicate’s Attorney who defends Ebrahim Madadi as well, said, “Despite of the fact that Ebrahim Madadi’s order, regarding the case was filed in 2005, has not been sent to us, my client has received a letter to be appeared at the Sentence Enforcement Office.

Mansour Osanloo, the Vahed Syndicate’s president was visited by his attorney at the hospital. Paviz Khorshid said, “Mansour Osanloo was transferred from the Evin Prison to the hospital last Thursday and had a heavy operation on his eye. According to the doctors’ recommendations, he should be under the medical control for five weeks, but his stay has been extended until the next Saturday.” Osanloo’s family and some of his colleagues from the Syndicate, were able to visit him in the hospital. Mansour Osanloo’s attorney recalled, “I along with his family, submitted the request of extending his stay to prevent any negative consequences of the surgery.” However Mansour Osanloo was transferred from the Hospital to the prison.

by pat c Thu Mar 06, 2008 15:19

The jailed founder of the Tehran bus workers union, Mansour Osanloo, has won a biennial prize awarded by the Dutch National Federation of Workers (FNV) to trade unionists who oppose totalitarian regimes and fight for workers' rights. Osanloo was convicted of "endangering state security" and "anti-regime propaganda".

The FNV prize was first awarded in 1991 in honour of Salvadorean trade unionist Elisabeth Velasquez, who was mudered by the military.

Source: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/

by pat c Thu Mar 06, 2008 15:31

Osanloo's wife Parvaneh has condemned the Iranian authorities over the harsh conditions of his detention. "My husband is not allowed to meet his lawyers, who should prepare his defence for an appeal," she said. Osanloo the founder of the Tehran bus workers union is serving a five-year sentence for "endangering state security" and "anti-regime propaganda".

Iranian workers consider Osanloo and Salehi symbols of their struggle for rights. Salehi founded the Kurdistan bakery workers union and last April began a one-year jailterm for "conspiring to commit crimes against national security". Osanloo has repeatedly been arrested and incarcerated. Salehi has spent 7 years in jail. Both men's health has deteriorated behind bars and there are concerns they have not received the necessary medical treatment.

“Osanloo's health is at risk - he had an eye operation in hospital but was immediately sent back to prison. He is very weak after the operation and his lengthy period of detention, and we don't know who is caring for him. Fortunately, his morale is high and every time we see him he tries to cheer us up too. But I am certain that being apart from his family and his fellow trade union workers is causing him great suffering." Parveneh said.