IRAN: FREE MANSOUR OSANLOO NOW !!!
Mansour Osanloo is the President of the Syndicate of the Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. He was arrested on Sunday, Nov. 19th, when he and two other union members were on their way to the Labour Ministry in East Tehran. The plainclothes police who arrested him assaulted him and discharged a firearm before forcing him into a car. he was granted a hearing on Nov., 20th. Mr. Osanloo had previously served about 8 months in Tehran's Evin prison following an action by his union in 2005.
Other union activists in Iran have also been targeted. Mahmoud Saleli, former President of the Bakery Workers' Association of Saqez City has been sentenced to four years imprisonment. Jalal Hosseini, a board member of the Committee to Form Workers' Organizations was sentenced to 2 years of prison, as was Borhan Divargar, also of Saqez.
The theocracy of Iran is determined to prevent the spread of any independent organizations, especially unions who might threaten the financial empire that they have built up through control of the state.
There is now an international campaign to demand Mansour Osanloo's release. You can learn more about this case and participate by going to the 'Labour Start' website at http://www.labourstart.org . This site has also been added to the 'Other Interesting Sites' section of this blog's links. It's a site highly recommended for those who want to keep up with union news from across the world and participate in solidarity actions.