All detained workers released; sentences against Saqez activists quashed

The following six executive committee members and activists of the Vahed bus workers’ union, who were detained in this year’s May Day rally in Tehran, were all released today:

Hadi Kabiri, Yaghoub Salimi, Ebrahim Madadi, Gholamreza Gholamhosseini, Mahmoud Houzhabri and Abbas Najand Koudaki

They were among 17 workers and students arrested when the security forces attacked and broke up independent May Day rallies in Tehran and Sanandaj. All but the above six were released within a few days of the arrests.

However, Mansoor Ossanlou, the head of the executive committee of the bus workers’ union, who has been in prison for over four months, is still being detained.

Also, in an important development, the Kurdistan Organisation of WPI reported yesterday that the sentences of 2 to 5 years in prison against five activists from the city of Saqez for organising a May Day rally in 2004 have all been quashed by the appeal court. The following had their convictions overturned:

Jalal Hosseini, Mahmoud Salehi, Borhan Divargar, Mohammad Abdi Pour and Mohsen Hakimi

The trial of these activists (as well as Hadi Tanoumand and Esmail Khodkam who were acquitted in a court hearing last year) was the focus of a powerful two-year international campaign by trade unions and human rights organisations.

These are fantastic victories gained as a result of the tireless efforts of international labour organisations, labour sites, human rights and progressive organisations and all those individuals who contributed in different ways to the success of this campaign.

However, the fight for the release of Mansoor Ossanlou and the reinstatement of hundreds of workers arrested in 28^th January bus strike continues.