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SWEDISH TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION KL/ln
30th November 2005 Dear Mister President, On behalf of the Section 12 of the Swedish Transport Workers Union with it´ s 5700 members we hereby strongly protest against the sentences of members of the Bakery Worker´s Association of Saqez. Working in trade unions belong to the human rights and we condemn that representants for the Bakery Workers have been sentenced to long imprisonments for their mission to look after the interests of their members. We
urge to you that our colleagues will be repealed and that trade
union work in the future will be fully recognised and allowed.
Sincerely yours Kent
Liljenfors
SWEDISH TRANSPORT WORKERS
UNION WPI – Committee Abroad To labour organisations around the world Urgent action required Labour activists in Iran sentenced to prison and exile for taking part in May Day rallyTwo labour activists were on Wednesday, 9 November, sentenced to prison terms of up to five years for taking part in a May Day rally in Iran last year. Mr Mahmoud Salehi, a well-known labour activist, has been sentenced to five years in prison and three years’ exile, and Mr Jalal Hosseini has been sentenced to three years in prison. Three other activists are also about to be tried. Last May the Islamic Republic authorities detained these activists as they were preparing to take part in a May Day rally in the city of Saqez, in the west of Iran. However, strong protests by labour organisations internationally, as well as by workers in Iran, forced the regime to release all seven on bail. Nevertheless, the harassment of these activists has continued all along. These sentences are a violation of workers’ most basic rights. The Iranian regime must be forced to drop all the charges against these workers and to abide by internationally recognised labour rights. There is no doubt that if the Iranian government succeeds in this attempt, further attacks on workers in Iran will follow. We call on all trade unions and labour organisations worldwide to condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran for this blatant violation of workers’ rights, and to demand that all the charges against these labour activists be immediately dropped. Celebrating May Day, taking strike action and other forms of labour protest are workers’ indisputable rights. We call on labour organisations internationally to support workers in Iran in their struggle for these basic rights. Please send your protest letters to ahmadinejad@president.ir and a copy to us. In solidarity, Khalil Keyvan Three more labour activists sentenced to prison in IranOn Wednesday 9 November the Islamic
Republic authorities sentenced Mahmoud Salehi to 5 years in prison
and 3 years’ exile in the town of Ghorveh, and Jalal Hosseini to 3
years in prison. Three other activists, namely, Mohsen
Hakimi, Mohammad Abdipour and Borhan Divargar have been sentenced to
2 years in prison, while two other activists, Hadi Tanomand and
Esmail Khodkam, were acquitted. Bahram Soroush Public Relations International Labour Solidarity Committee of the Worker-communist Party of Iran b.soroush@ukonline.co.uk www.wpriran.org BM Box 8927 wpiabroad@yahoo.co.uk
www.wpiran.org Date: 2005-11-22 Swedish Trade Union Confederation Schwedischer Gewerkschaftsbund Confédération Générale du Travail de Suède Unión General de Trabajadores de Suecia Skriv in adressen här Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President The Presidency Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran Dear Mr President,
SENTENCES IN THE SAQEZ TRIAL The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO-Sweden), on behalf of nearly 2 million members, hereby strongly protests against sentences handed down to trade union members. We refer to our letter dated 26th August 2005 concerning the arrest of Mr. Borhan Divangar and the request that trade union freedom and rights shall be respected in Iran. Unfortunately it is with regret that we got to know that the Iranian Government has not respected ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and no action has been taken towards it. LO-Sweden has been informed that on 9 November this year Mahmoud Salehi, the former President of the Bakery Workers’ Association of the city of Saqez and a co-founder of the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers’ Organisations was sentenced to five years imprisonment and three years in exile in the city of Ghorveh. Jalal Hosseini, a member of the Bakery Workers’ Association of the city of Saqez, was sentenced to three years imprisonment. We have been informed that the Saqez Revolutionary Court has also sentenced Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour to two years imprisonment. Hence five out of the seven initially charged have now been sentenced, including Mahmoud Salehi and Jalal Sosseini. LO-Sweden believes that similarly to those
condemned earlier, Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour
were sentenced for their trade union activities, especially given the fact that the initial arrests were made in connection with their participation in May Day 2004 celebrations and that charges against them were made shortly thereafter. LO-Sweden maintains that these sentences show that your government violate fundamental trade union rights, such as freedom of association. LO-Sweden urges you to take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate repeal of the sentences against Mohmoud Salehi, Jalal Hosseini, Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour. We urge you to ensure that all charges against Borhan Divangar in connection with his arrest on 7 August 2005 be dropped. We trust that the innocence of our above-mentioned colleagues will be fully recognised in later stages of this judicial process. We look forward to your immediate and decisive
action in these matters. Yours sincerely, Wanja Lundby-Wedin Copy to: ------------------------------------------- ICFTU http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223048&Language=EN
98-21-6648.06.65 TUR/JS 10 November 2005 Dear Mr. President, Harsh sentences to M. Salehi and J. Hosseini, Since you took office I have already been obliged to protest to you several times against violations of fundamental trade union rights. On behalf of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which represents more than 145 million workers through its 234 affiliated trade union centres in 154 countries and territories worldwide, I strongly condemn the sentences handed down to Mahmoud Salehi and Jalal Hosseini. The ICFTU has been informed that yesterday Mahmoud Salehi, the former President of the Bakery Workers’ Association of the city of Saqez and a co-founder of the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers’ Organisations has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and 3 years in exile in the city of Ghorveh. Jalal Hosseini, a member of the Bakery Workers’ Association of the city of Saqez, was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment, whereas Hadi Tanomand and Esmail Khodkam were acquitted. All four, along with Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Abdipoor, were charged with association with the banned political association Komala after having participated in peaceful May Day 2004 celebrations. Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Abdipoor are still awaiting a verdict in their cases. The ICFTU understands that Mahmoud Salehi, Jalal Hosseini, Hadi Tanomand and Esmail Khodkam were all found not guilty with regards to the charges pertaining to association with the banned association Komala. Despite this fact, Salehi and Hosseini were sentenced according to article 610 of the Islamic Punishment Act, prescribing penalties from 2 to 5 years of imprisonment for congregating to conspire to commit crimes against national security. The ICFTU has not been informed what other perceived crimes have led to the sentence of the two. The ICFTU has persistently requested access to the court hearings to ensure that the defendants were given a fair hearing and to assess the full details of the charges against them. The ICFTU can only deduct that Salehi and Hosseini were sentenced for their trade union activities, especially given the fact that the initial arrests were made in connection with their participation in May Day 2004 celebrations and that charges against them were made shortly thereafter. Furthermore, during the court hearings against Mr. Salehi his trade union activities were held against him by the prosecutor, including a meeting he had with an ICFTU delegation in April 2004. The ICFTU is outraged at these sentences which show that your government utterly disregards fundamental trade union rights, such as freedom of association. The ICFTU would like to reiterate that the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) has already issued recommendations to your government to drop the charges made against the 7 labour leaders in connection with the celebration of 1st May 2004 in Saqez. By virtue of Iran’s membership of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), your government is under an
obligation to uphold the right to freedom of association and therefore
also the right to organise. According to this principle, workers have
the right to participate in peaceful celebrations on May Day and
cooperate with international workers’ organisations such as the ICFTU.
The ICFTU strongly urges you to take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate repeal of the sentences against Salehi and Hosseini. It also urges you to ensure that all charges against Mohsen Hakimi, Mohammad Abdipoor and Borhan Divangar be dropped, along with the charges against the latter in connection with his arrest on 7 August 2005. Your government’s further record on fundamental workers’ rights will be closely monitored by the international trade union movement. Your government should immediately rectify the above mentioned violations of trade union rights and ensure that core labour standards and workers’ rights will be respected in the future. I trust that the innocence of our above-mentioned colleagues will be fully recognised in later stages of this judicial process and that the ICFTU will be granted access to the coming court hearings. In the meantime, I look forward to your immediate and decisive action in these matters. Yours sincerely, General Secretary -------------------------------- Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 98-21-6648.06.65 Dear Mr. President, Further sentences in the Saqez trial Further to my letter to you on 10 November concerning earlier sentences in the Saqez trial, I am writing again, this time to strongly protest against the sentences against Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour. The ICFTU has just been informed that the Saqez Revolutionary Court has also sentenced Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour to two years imprisonment. Hence five out of the seven initially charged have now been sentenced, including Mahmoud Salehi, Jalal Hosseini, while two others (Hadi Tanomand and Esmail Khodkam) were acquitted. All seven were arrested after having participated in peaceful May Day 2004 celebrations and subsequently charged with association with the banned political association Komala. The ICFTU believes that similarly to those condemned earlier, Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour were also sentenced for their trade union activities, especially given the fact that the initial arrests were made in connection with their participation in May Day 2004 celebrations and that charges against them were made shortly thereafter. The ICFTU maintains that these sentences show that your government utterly disregards fundamental trade union rights, such as freedom of association. The ICFTU would like to once more reiterate that the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) has already issued recommendations to your government to drop the charges made against the 7 labour leaders in connection with the celebration of 1st May 2004 in Saqez. The ICFTU again strongly urges you to take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate repeal of the sentences against Mahmoud Salehi, Jalal Hosseini, Mohsen Hakimi, Borhan Divangar and Mohammad Adipour. It once more urges you to ensure that all charges against Borhan Divangar in connection with his arrest on 7 August 2005 be dropped. I trust that the innocence of our
above-mentioned colleagues will be fully recognised in later stages of
this judicial process and that the ICFTU will be granted access to the
coming court hearings. Yours sincerely, General Secretary ---------------------------- Helsinki 22.11.2005 I am writing to you to express my deep concern
about the situation of trade union representatives in Iran. I have
recently heard that a court in the city of Saghez, in the Iranian
Kurdistan, has been dealing with the cases of seven labour activists
accused of organising an independent May Day rally in the city. The crimes of these labour activists are attempts to celebrate the May Day and organising trade organisations independent of the government's interference. Celebrating the May Day is the most basic and recognised right of the workers in the world. The Islamic government in Iran tramples on the most basic rights of the workers and suppresses any attempts by the workers to exercise their basic rights. I'm afraid of that government in Iran also puts the lives and livelihoods of the families of these workers at risk of hunger and destitution when it acts that way. Behalf of Finnish Food Workers' Union (SEL) I
am urging you immediately and unconditionally drop the charges against
the accused workers. Yours sincerely, Ritva Savtschenko The Finnish Food Workers' Union (SEL) is the general Union of the workers in the food industry. SEL negotiates collective bargains for the cured meats and provisions industry, dairies, bakeries, and the staple food industry. Founded by six bakers' clubs in Tampere in 1905, the Union developed in the course of decades into a strong organization with more than 100 local unions and a good 43000 individual members. ------------------------------------------- We fully support the ICFTU to report these
violations to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association -------------------------------------- ä We concider that these sentences show that your government utterly disregards fundamental trade union rights, such as freedom of association. The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) has already issued recommendations to your government to drop the charges made against the ۷ labour leaders in connection with the celebration of ۱st May ۲۰۰۴ in Saqez. äOur Union look forward to your immediate and
decisive action in these matters. RAKENNUSLIITTO- The Construction Trade Union
of Finland Respectable Mr. President Ahmadinejad MAHMOUD SALEHI have received ۲ to ۵ year imprisonments.
Celebrating May Day is a fundamental right of workers troughout the
world. Sincerely, Helena Lipponen Leo R. Hertzberg ------------------------------------ Monday, November 21, 2005 Dear Ambassador, The Maritime Union condemns in the most strident way your Government’s continual harassment, beating, and torture of workers in Iran who continue to demonstrate for democratic reform and decent conditions of pay and work. We note that the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has correctly recognized your country as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for activists seeking political reform and trade unionists to live in, and we call for your Government to immediately stop the beatings, imprisonments, and other acts of violence and subjugation against people who have simply determined to pursue justice and a better way of life. Specifically, we demand the following: 1. An immediate annulment of imprisonment and
exile sentences against worker activists of the Irainian province of
Kurdistan We demand that you act immediately to cease with this violence and thuggery that your disgraceful regime is currently sponsoring.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Maritime Union of
Australia – Central NSW (Sydney) Branch | Level 1, 365-375 Sussex
Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2000 From: API Brief Lieber Helmuit, liebe Genossen der API, lieber Harald, habe heute beiligenden Brief im Namen der AG
betrieb & gewerkschaft Solidarische Grüsse Gerald Kemski Der folgende Teil dieser Nachricht enthält
einen Anhang im The following section of this message contains
a file attachment
---------------------------------------------------------- Nazanin Borumand, Mobil-Telefon: 0172-4044323 Der folgende Teil dieser Nachricht enthält
einen Anhang im Sentences in the Saqez trial Av: Internasjonal avdeling Publisert: 16.11.2005 Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad SENTENCES IN THE SAQEZ TRIAL I am writing to express my condemnation of the
repression of labour activists in Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ----------------- Mr. President: I am writing on behalf of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto, Canada to deplore the conduct of the Iranian authorities with regard to trade union members exercising their democratic right to assemble and celebrate International Workers Day on May 1. Mahmood Salehi was been imprisoned for five years (with an additional penalty of exile). Jalal Hosseini faces three years behind bars and Boorhan Divargar, Mohsen Hakimi and Mohhamad Abdipoor each face two years. The imposition of such jail terms for the 'crime' of struggling for a better life for workers can only give rise to a sense of outrage and disgust in any decent minded person. This is not just injustice. It is a mockery of any concept of justice. In one sense, it seems futile to speak of fairness and decency to those capable of such gross violations of basic human rights but there is one comment I must address to you that may register in your thinking. The Iranian Regime has tried, of late, to present itself as moving to meet acceptable standards of behaviour on the international stage. In this regard, your persecution of these fine and courageous men has been a blunder. Far from removing them from sight, their names are now known across the world. Working people everywhere know of them and the injustice you have inflicted on them. They and their struggle are all the stronger for this just as your Government is covered in shame and is disgraced in the eyes of all who stand for workers' rights and justice. Your repression will fail and May Day will be celebrated in Iran long after your regime has become an ugly mark in History. Yours truly, John Clarke, Organizer Ontario Coalition Against Poverty ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mr. Mahmoud Ahmaninejad |
