The International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI) has called for an international campaign on behalf of several labor activists in Iran who have been sentenced to public whipping, prison terms and even death—mostly for participating in a May Day march in Sanandaj, and protests against the march's repression. The sentences were announced earlier this month. IASWI [2] provides the following list of persecuted activists:
* Sousan Razani, 36 years old, a resident of the city of Sandandaj, sentenced to 9 months imprisonment and 70 lashes, for participation in the 2008 May Day rally in Sanandaj; charged with "the breach of public order—participation in an illegal assembly in front of the Social Security building."
* Shiva Kheirabadi, 25 years old, a resident of the city of Sanandaj, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment and 15 lashes, for participation in the 2008 May Day rally in Sanandaj; charged with the "breach of public order"—participation in an illegal assembly in front of the Social Security building.
* Seyed Qaleb Hosseini, 46 years old, a resident of the city of Sanandaj, was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and 50 lashes, for participation in the 2008 May Day rally in Sanandaj; charged with the "breach of public order"—participation in an illegal assembly in front of the Social Security building.
* Abdullah Khani, 49 years old, a resident of the city of Sanandaj, sentenced to 91 days prison and 40 lashes, for participation at the 2008 May Day rally in Sanandaj; charged with the "breach of public order"—participation in an illegal assembly in front of the Social Security building.
* Seyed Khaled Hosseini, 49 years old, a resident of the city of Sanandaj, sentenced to three months and one additional day in jail and 30 lashes, sentences suspended for two years; charged with the "breach of public order"—participation in a rally outside Sanandaj prison in support of Mahmoud Salehi on March 23, 2008.
* Afshin Shams, a labor activist, a member of Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers' Organizations, a member of Committee in Defense of Mahmoud Salehi and also a member of Caricaturist Society; incarcerated since July 04, 2008 without trial.
* Farzad Kamangar is a 33 year old teacher, journalist and a human rights activist from Kurdistan, Iran. Farzad Kamangar has been sentenced to death, found guilty of "risking national security and being a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party." Mr. Kamangar has been subjected to brutal torture and lengthy imprisonment.
* Mansour Osanloo, President of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. Mr. Osanloo has been jailed numerous times. The last time, he was abducted on July 10, 2007 and later was transferred to the Evin Prison and never released since. He has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. There have been numerous international campaigns for his freedom.
See our last posts on Iran [3] and the labor struggle [4].
