As reported earlier, on June 15, a security forces raid on the sixth convention of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers Organizations in Iran resulted in the arrest of more than sixty delegates to the convention.
Most delegates were released in the next day while nine of them remained arrested. Six of the detainees were transferred to Lacan prison in the city of Rasht and three of them, Jalil Mohammadi, Reihaneh Ansari, and Alireza Asgari remained in Karaj prison.
On March 5, the Coordinating Committee had requested the workers and employer organizations office of Labor, Welfare, and Social Security Ministry to provide a meeting hall for them to hold their sixth convention. On March 7, the Committee was informed orally that “No, no space will be provided for you.”
The activists still arrested have been subsequently released on bail. On July 2, Massoud Salimpour and July 3 and 4, Cyrus Fathi, Saeed Marzban, Faramarz Fetratnejad and Mitra Homayouni were released. On July 5, Reyhaneh Ansari and Maziar Mehrparvar were relased.
Jalil Mohammadi and Alireza Asgari are the only two activists who still remain in jail.
On July 2, the Coordinating Committee released the following statement:
Arrested Workers Should Be Released Unconditionally!
Workers, Workers Organizations and Human Rights Associations!
Nobel and Freedom Loving People!
More than two weeks has passed since the wide-spread and organized assault on the sixth general convention of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers Organizations in Iran by tens of security and intelligence agents. An assault in which the attendants at the labor meeting were attacked severely and taken to Karaj prison subsequently. While many of those arrested have been released, yet a number of our friends are still incarcerated at Karaj and Rasht prisons.
In recent years, suppression of workers and worker leaders by the judicial and security officials in Iran has become a norm and a number of labor activists have been jailed under false pretexts. The massacre of Kerman Khatoon Abad workers in 2003, the attack on May Day celebrations in Saghez in 2004, massive attacks on Vahed Syndicalists in Tehran in 2005, arrests of more than 100 in May Day event at Laleh Park in Tehran in 2009 and sentencing members of workers organizations in Tehran, Tabriz, Haft Tapeh, Sanandaj are among the notable of these wide spread assaults in the last ten years. Undoubtedly, the attack on the sixth general convention of the Coordinating Committee on June 15 is part of the full scale offensive by the Capitalist Iranian leadership on the labor movement. A leadership which has no response but suppression of the workers protests for their demands.
More than seven years ago, on the eve of the May Day 2005, Coordinating Committee was formed through a call by its founding committee and more than six thousand workers signatures when no independent and workers self organizations had permission to operate. Based on the tasks noted in the Coordinating Committee’s charter we find it our natural and inalienable right to support workers and our own rights and demands and encourage workers to form independent workers organizations. Furthermore, international labor conventions 89 and 98 on labor organizations and articles 131, 126, and 127 in the Iranian constitution are testament to our rightfulness in continuing efforts in educating workers. In addition, in 2009, based on the votes taken at the fifth general convention of the Coordinating Committee, we sought official registration at the labor office.
Now, we should ask the officials why they do not adhere to the international labor conventions they have signed. Why a government always claiming defending rights of the oppressed from horn of Africa to Latin America is not accountable for sub poverty wages, lay offs and tens of other calamities of her own workers? Is the response to Coordinating Committee members for requesting a meeting hall to hold its convention severe beating, assault and incarceration? Why, the Iranian government being engaged in numerous negotiations on various disputes does not tolerate discussions among a group of labor activists and workers representatives?
Therefore, we members of the Coordinating Committee declare that if defending unmet rights and unjust and miniscule wages, exposing anti-labor policies of capitalists and defending the right to organize are crimes, then we are all guilty! If defending human dignity and honor and social character of workers is a crime, why don’t you declare it clearly?! If the Coordinating Committee on the eyes of the security officials is unlawful, why no judicial institution and official court has declared this organization outlawed?
We the members of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers Organizations once again condemn the assault on our sixth general convention and call for the unconditional release of the members of the Coordinating Committee and other workers in prison. We also see it our right to try to free our friends and all imprisoned workers by every means possible.
Source: Iran Labor Report