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Iranian union leader faces court hearing
8 March 2007
The Iranian trade union leader, Mansour Osanloo, who has been persecuted by the regime, was in court at the end of February to face trumped up charges.
President of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company, who has been imprisoned twice over the past year as a result of his trade union activities, is being charged with “propaganda against the system and taking action against national security”. Osanloo’s lawyers defended their client during the hearing and have provided the court with a written statement in his defence. A verdict is expected imminently.
The hearing was conducted in Tehran behind closed doors - family members and union colleagues ere excluded. Union members and other supporters staged a protest rally outside the court.
Meanwhile, 10 out of the 54 workers who were dismissed for supporting union action in January and February last year were ordered back to work by the disputes board of the East Tehran labour office. The remaining 44 are appealing the decision to prevent them from returning to work. The Vahed Company has protested against the decision to reinstate the ten dismissed workers.
Over the past year, the ITF and the International Trade Union Confederation have organised an international campaign protesting against the treatment of Osanloo and other union members and made a formal complaint to the International Labour Organization. The ITF is also calling on transport unions to back a petition supporting the bus workers’ union.
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