johninnit

Great news that Mahmoud Salehi was freed on Sunday. He had already served his one year jail sentence, and it looked worryingly as though the authorities were planning to cook up fresh charges to keep him inside, prompting him to go on hunger strike and fellow unionists in Iran and around the world to join in protest until he was released. He joins Ebrahim Madadi of the Tehran bus workers’ union and, who were both also released from jail late last year, after arrests earlier in 2007 for union activity. Still behind bars though, with continuing fears for his health is Mansour Osanloo. (more…)

Today is the ITF’s global day of action in support of Mansour Osanloo, leader of the Tehran bus drivers’ union, who is currently being held in Evin Prison, because of his union related activities. (more…)

Well, I don’t think they’d value a Christmas card anyway, but I found a nice postcard of Tolpuddle to send to Mahmoud Salehi, currently in jail in Saqez.

Amnesty are asking everyone to write personal cards in solidarity to him and to Mansour Osanloo, who are both still imprisoned (along with other colleagues) for their trade union activities (Salehi in particular for organising May Day celebrations). You can find our how to write to them here. (more…)

A rather cramped demo on the pavement opposite the Iranian Embassy today. The Embassy is set back from the road and has a big wall built in the way to keep us out, but the police needn’t really have bothered to squash us into so tight a corral, as it looked like they weren’t home anyway, with the doors firmly closed and shutters rolled down.

Very different from the demo planned in Tehran, where 5 more members of the Bus Workers Union were arrested today, and police surrounded the demo venue of Mansour Osanloo’s house, threatening to arrest anyone who turned up.

Mahmood Salehi has managed to get a message out from his cell in Sanadaj prison, which is displayed on the web here. Very selflessly he uses the message to ask for campaigning support for another group of workers who have been sentenced to prison or whipping over their roles in the May Day celebrations, and says he’s currently on a one day hunger strike to protest their treatment.

Anyway here are a few pics from the event:

Most of the demonstrators were with the ITF (the yellow tabards), or ex-pat Iranians, but also a presence from Unison and GMB.

Nice to see Peter Tatchell there, who gave a good speech to the crowd on the need for solidarity across the human rights agenda - If you come for one of us, we’ll all come for you (much more concise than most union demo speeches!) .

David Cockroft gives an update to the cameras on this morning’s crackdown in Iran.

Nearly two months have passed now since the arrest of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran bus workers’ union.

Also still in custody in Iran, with friends seriously concerned for his health without medical treatment, is Mahmoud Salehi, the former President of the Saquez bakers’ union, jailed for his role in organising May Day celebrations.

Mansour Osanloo is 48 years old. In 2004, he and 14 other bus workers in Tehran started an independent trade union, which very quickly signed up the majority of the city’s bus workers, leaving the state-sponsored union, the Islamic Workers’ Council. Since then, the bus workers have become a rallying point for free unions in the country, and have taken effective actions. When Mansour was arrested in 2005, bus drivers started giving rides for free in protest until he was released, bringing the city to a standstill after armed guards were sent in to break up their action. They have also successfully stood up to a ruling that women could only use the 20% of seats at the back of their buses. This has come at a heavy price though - including arrests and the severe beating of their families and children by the Iranian branch of Hezbollah.

Mahmoud Salehi is 45 years old, and married with two children. Born into poverty in the city of Saqez in Iranian Kurdistan, Mahmoud started working in bakery and tailoring at the age of 6. Mahmoud joined the newly founded Saqez bakers’ union at the age of 17, and since helped organise events for free unions and May Day celebrations - work that has seen him incarcerated three times before now. Mahmoud has only one kidney and is said to be suffering from kidney stones, heart and intestinal problems, and needs medical treatment outside of prison.

Unionists from many organisations in the UK will be helping to step up protests this Thursday (9th August) at the Iranian Embassy in London, as part of a worldwide day of action for the two men. The demo, called by the ITF, will be running from 12-2pm, so if you get a lunchbreak in Central London, come along and join us for a bit. You can find a map here.

And if you can’t be in London, mark the day by blogging something about Mansoor and Mahmoud, and help keep the pressure on Iran.

If you’ve not yet done so, there are online petitions here (ITF - Mansour Osanloo) and here (LabourStart - Mahmoud Salehi) that could do with your signature.