Bus Workers Released following
the May Day Arrests!
Free Mansour Osanloo Now!
As it has already been reported, on May 1st, 2006 in Tehran, the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company had called for a rally in front of the company’s headquarters to demand, among others, the release of Mansour Osanloo, the recognition of the Syndicate of Tehran Bus Workers as the genuine representative of transport workers in Tehran, and the immediate reinstatement of about 200 union members who were sacked following their January 28th strike.
The rally was attacked by hundreds of police and security forces and many participants were beaten. Over 10 union members and students from various universities in Tehran were arrested during the raid. As of May 6, 2006 all of the detainees have been released although some with bail conditions and will have to appear in court to face possible charges. Many members of the board of directors of the syndicate, including some of those arrested on May first, have already been charged with serious allegations including “propaganda against the regime” and “practices against the national security” and will have to face trial in the near future.
Moreover, Mr. Mansour Osanloo, the President of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, has been in prison since December 22nd, 2005. There have been numerous campaigns and calls in Iran and abroad for Osanloo’s freedom. Just very recently, 445 social, political and educational activists in Iran have issued an open statement in which they warned that the government authorities have been putting Mansour Osanloo under extreme pressures in prison to make false confessions in order to give them justifications for keeping him in custody for such a long period without official charges or the right to bail.
The release of Mansour Osanloo is absolutely critical for the union hat he helped to revitalize and re-organize after over 20 years of inactivity due to the state, the employer and the Workers’ House repressions and control; it’s also absolutely crucial for the Iranian labour movement to defend its activists and leaders who are struggling against the repressive government and employers under such hostile and unfavorable conditions.
Any attempts by the government to torture, threaten or pressure Osanloo into making false confessions or to intimidate the members of his family is strongly condemned and it will surely backfire against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mansour Osanloo must be freed immediately and unconditionally! All charges against bus workers must be repealed immediately!
Free Mansour Osanloo Now!
International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran
May 8, 2006