May 14, 2007
Mr. Guy Ryder
Secretary General
International Trade Union Confederation

With ample greetings

Dear Mr. Secretary General, as we had announced in our letter of May 2,
2007 to the International Trade Union Confederation, on May 1, 2007, the
security forces of Sanandaj city attacked workers who had gathered from
various factories to stage ceremonies, and in addition to beating and
threatening the workers with clubs and pepper spray, arrested 13 of
them. Since that time, in addition to remitting a letter to the ITUC in
protest of the beatings, threats and arrests, our union issued an appeal
for a protest in front of the Basij Square Public Courthouse in Sanandaj
city, and this protest took place on May 5, 2007. Our union has also
risen to defend those arrested using various means such as widespread
announcement of news of the arrests and beatings, daily presence of
union members in front of the courthouse, issuance of a public
manifesto, and granting financial help to the families of the arrestees,
etc. Following these events, through May 9, 2007, after enduring 10 days
of captivity and bearing charges by the judiciary authorities of
“conspiring to disturb the public order”, eleven arrestees were released
on five million toomans of bail; but Sheis Amani, the head of the
Governing Board of this union, and Seddigh Karaimi, a member of the
Board of Directors, are still imprisoned.

In addition to charging Mr. Amani with “conspiracy to disturb public
order”, they also charged him with “inciting workers against the
government”, and to Cheeman Salimi, the wife of Seddigh Karimi, they
have announced that these two persons will remain in prison anywhere
from two months to one year, pending “completion” of their files, and
only then will the authorities even begin to process their petitions for
freedom. In addition, 13 agents of the intelligence forces entered Mr.
Amani's house without any warrants, leaving the house in shambles and
confiscating several important union documents.

Dear Mr. Secretary General, we in the Union of Unemployed and Dismissed
of Iran, view the staging of protests, the formation of workers
organizations, and the strident commemoration of May 1, 2007 as our
patent right, and we will escalate our grievance for the freedom of
Sheis Amani, Seddigh Karimi, and also Mahmoud Salehi.

Our demand: The immediate and unconditional freedom of Sheis Amani,
Seddigh Karimi and Mahmoud Salehi from prison; the repeal of all charges
applied to all of the released workers, the return of all union
documents by the intelligence forces, an end to the harassment and
arrest of labor leaders, and the freedom to form workers groups. We
expect that in addition to unequivocal support of our demands, that you
will voice forceful protests to the Iranian government on this matter,
and as always, will rise to the defense of Iranian workers.

Without a doubt, your efforts and solidarity with Iranian workers, in
addition to having a considerable effect on the reactions of the Iranian
government, and bringing a decrease in pressure applied on workers and
labor leaders, will nurture global solidarity to the level of a unified
global class, and internationalism of workers will counter the daily
aggressive encroachment by global capital upon workers rights, by the
formation of trade unions across the cosmos.

Long live the First of May
Long Live Global Solidarity
The Union of Unemployed and Dismissed
May 14, 2007
cc: Global Unions Federations