Imprisoned Iranian Trade Unionists

international | worker & community struggles and protests | press release Sunday June 27, 2010 14:18 by John Cornford - Hands Off the People of iran anne at hopoi dot info

Here is a list of imprisoned Iranian Trade Unionists. In Iran Free Trade Unions are illegal and workers who attempt to organise to defend their conditions are imprisoned flogged and murdered. You can take steps to to help these workers as the one thing the Mullahs fear is publicity. Copy the list into an email and send it to the Iranian Embassy demanding that these workers be released and their safety guaranteed.

Send emails, faxes and letters of protest to:

The embassy of the Islamic Republic of iran,
72 Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
[email protected]
Tel: 01 288 5881 / 01 288 0252. Fax: 01 283 4246.

1. Mansour Osanloo – Currently at Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj City near Tehran. Osanloo is President of the Executive Committee of the Tehran Bus Workers’ union. He is has been in prison since 12 July 2007.
2. Ebrahim Madadi – Currently at Evin Prison. He is the Vice President of the Tehran Bus Workers’ union.
3. Saeed Torabian was arrested by the security forces on 9 June 2010 and his whereabouts are currently unknown. He is the spokesperson of the Tehran Bus Workers’ union.
4. Reza Shahbi was arrested by the security forces on 12 June 2010 and his whereabouts are also unknown. He is the treasurer of the Tehran Bus Workers’ union.
5. Pejman Rahimi, a union activist in Khuzestan, southern Iran, was sentenced to one year imprisonment and 40 lashes by the Ahwaz Public Court on 17 April 2010 on charges of disrupting public order. The verdict was announced on 31 May. He was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison for supporting the workers at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Factory and the Ahwaz Tubing Factory.
6. Mehdi Farahi Shandiz was arrested and transferred to the notorious Kahrizak prison during a visit to the Revolutionary Court to retrieve his personal belongings on 8 June 2010. He is a 50-year old teacher and a worker activist. His belongings were confiscated last year after he was detained on the anniversary of International Workers’ Day (May Day).
7. Abolfazl Abedini Nasr was sentenced to 11 years of peremptory confinement on 11 May 2010. He is a journalist and a labour and human rights activist. Abolfazl is a key person who has assisted the Haft Tapeh union in the last 3 years.
8. Mohammad Olyaiefard, a lawyer for the Haft Tapeh and Tehran Bus Workers’ Union, was arrested on 1 May 2010 and is currently in detention. He has been sentenced to one year in prison in the past.
9. Alireza Hashemi, secretary general of the Iranian Teachers’ Organization.
10. Abdolreza Ghanbari, a school teacher in Pakdasht Varamin and online professor of the Payam e Nour University, was arrested at his home in Pakdasht on 4 January 2010. He was charged with ‘Moharebeh’ (enmity towards God) for receiving emails from an armed opposition group to which he does not belong. His subsequent death sentence was confirmed by Tehran’s Appeal Court, Branch 36. In detention at the Evin Prison, Ghanbari has been interrogated for 25 days in a row under duress. In 2007, he was detained for 120 days and sentenced to a six-month suspension from teaching and exiled from Sari to Pakdasht.
11. Esmael Abdi, a school teacher member of the Iranian Teachers’ Association of Tehran, was arrested on 19 May 2010. Four officials from the Ministry of Intelligence searched his house and took his computer, notebook and some literature. They cut the wire of his landline phone and told Abdi’s partner to keep his detention a secret. Abdi remains in detention in an unknown location. According to his relatives, his arrest is the consequence of an interview he gave to foreign media on National Teachers’ Day.
12. Rasoul Bodaghi is another member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association of Tehran who is in detention. He was transferred from the Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on 10 May 2010, and was reportedly beaten very severely by two prison officers on 26 May 2010.This experience has caused a dramatic deterioration in his health, and yet there is no report of when his trial might take place.
13. Hashem Khastar is a retired teacher suffering from kidney disease who has already served more than a third of his prison sentence, yet he is still not allowed to go on leave and visit his family. This alone is against the governing rules for prisoners in Iran.

List of Jailed Iranian Journalists following the 2009 Elections and who remain in jail in June 2010

14. Ahmadi Amoee ,Bahamn: freelance journalist, first arrested on 20 June 2009 released on 18 March 2010 and arrested again on 30 May 2010
15. Eslampour, Mohammadali: Chief Editor of Navaie Vaght, arrested on 3 February 2010
16. Bastani, Masoud: Chief Editor of Jomhouriat website, arrested on 25 June 2009

17. Baghi, Emadeddin: Chief Editor of Jomhouriat newspaper, arrested on 28 December 2009

*Released on 23 June 2010, according to Amnesty International

18. Bordbar, Babak: photographer, arrested on 28 December 2009
19. Beheshti Shirazi, Alireza: Chief Editor of Kaleme Sabz newspaper, arrested on 28 December 2009
20. Behavar, Emad: freelance journalist, arrested on 10 March 2010
21. Pour Abdollah, Mohammad: freelance journalist, arrested on 13 February 2010
22. Saghafi, Alireza: freelance journalist, arrested on 1 February 2010
23. Khansari, Mahboobe: Kargozaran newspaper, arrested on 31 May 2010
24. Davari, Mohammad: Chief Editor of Sahamnews website, arrested on 8 September 2009
25. Derakhshan, Hossein: freelance journalist, arrested on 1 November 2008
26. Dormanki, Khalil: freelance journalist, arrested on 30 December 2009
27. Dehghan, Mostafa: freelance journalist, arrested on 1 January 2010
28. Rafiei Foroushani, Reza: freelancer journalist, arrested on 26June 2009
29. Ronagh Maleki, Seyed Hossein: freelancer journalist, arrested on 13 December 2009
30. Zeidabadi, Ahmad: freelancer journalist, Roozonline columnist, arrested on 13 June 2009
31. Saharkhiz, Isa: freelancer journalist with Roozonline website, arrested on 3 July 2009
32. Salimi, Omid: freelancer photographer, arrested on 14 June 2009
33. Shahidi, Hengameh: freelancer journalist, first arrested on 30 June 2009 and released 1 November 2009 and arrested again on 28 February 2010
34. Samimi, Keivan: Chief Editor of Name magazine, arrested on 13 June 2009
35. Ghasemi Kermanshahi, Kaveh: freelancer journalist, arrested on 3 February 2010
36. Karami, Mahboube: freelancer journalist, arrested on 2 March 2010
37. Godarzi, Kouhyar: freelancer journalist, arrested on 20 December 2009
38. Gahsetooni, Motjaba: freelancer journalist, arrested on 4 March 2010
39. Laripour, Niloofar: Chelcheragh magazine, arrested on 2 February 2010
40. Lavasani, Seyed Masoud: freelancer journalist, arrested on 26 September 2009
41. Mafi, Hamid: freelancer journalist, arrested on 9 February 2010
42. Mahzadeh, Javad: Yas e No newspaper, arrested on 21 October 2009
43. Matinpour, Saeed: freelancer journalist, arrested on 11 July 2009
44. Mahmoodian, Mehdi: Norooznews website, arrested on 16 September 2009
45. Malihi, Ali: Etemad newspaper, arrested on 9 February 2010
46. Mehrabi, Ehsan: Etemad Meli newspaper, arrested on 6 February 2010
47. Nazar Ahari, Shiva: freelancer journalist, arrested on 14 June 2009 released on 23 September 2009 arrested again on 20 December 2009
48. Naghi Pour, Nasor: freelancer journalist, arrested on 2 March 2010
49. Noorani Nejad, Hossein: Norooznews website, arrested on 28 August 2009
50. Nourizad, Mohammad: freelancer journalist, arrested on 20 December 2009
51. Visme, Azam: Parlemannews website, arrested on 31 May 2010
52. Mirdamadi, Mohsen: Norooz newspaper, arrested on 11 July 2009
53. Armin, Mohsen: Former member of board of the Association of Iranian Journalists, arrested on 10 May 2010