From: The Free Union of Iranian WorkersTo:The International Trade Union Confederation

3 June 2008
Greetings friends and colleagues,
As you are aware, on May 1st of this year, Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi, members of the executive board of the Free Union of Iranian Workers were arrested in Asalouyeh for participating in May Day activities. They have spent the last 34 days in custody. Over the course of their imprisonment:1. With the exception of the first days of custody, the Security Forces have concealed the location of the detention of Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi from their families, thus causing great psychological harm on these workers’ wives and children. 2. Security Forces have denied Javanmir Moradi his antipsychotics and kept the hands of both Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi tied from behind.3. On May 12, 2008, Security Forces coerced Javanmir Moradi into contacting his wife to inform her that they are being transferred to Kermanshah. However, upon the arrival of these workers’ families at the Kermanshah Intelligence Ministry’s Office, the Ministry denied having knowledge about the whereabouts of the workers and violently beat and abused Fouzieh Khalesi [the wife of Javanmir Moradi] and those accompanying her.4. Fouzieh Khalesi managed to visit her husband two days ago, on June 2nd, in the Central Prison in Boushehr. Throughout this visit, Javanmir Moradi had been unable to sit down as a result of the physical pain he has endured at the Boushehr Intelligence Ministry’s office, and there were marks from beatings on several areas of his body. Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi have been subject to severe and recurring physical assault over the course of their custody under the Boushehr Intelligence Ministry, while their eyes have been covered and their hands tied up. The likelihood of a rib fracture for Javanmir Moradi is quite high, while Taha Azadi has broken one of his teeth. In addition, the Intelligence unit has made no efforts to provide any treatment for these workers. Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi are currently under custody in the Central Prison in Boushehr and, despite the official complaints of the workers’ families, Iran’s Head of Judiciary and the case judge in Asalouyeh have prevented the transfer of Javanmir and Taha to court. In our opinion, the unusual detention of these workers in Boushehr Central Prison and the impeding of their appearance in court is so that the traces of torture on the bodies of these workers will vanish. Dear friends and colleagues, Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi have committed no crime but to participate in May Day celebrations. The only criminal evidence presented to the families of workers by the Asalouyeh Intelligence Ministry has been the placards they had held in protest of their low and unpaid wages. While our Union is grateful for the actions you have taken in regards to the rights of Iranian workers so far, we hope that you will intensify your protests at the Annual General Meeting of the ILO. Mansour Osanloo, executive director of the Syndicate of Bus Workers (Sherkat-e Vahed) and Bakhtiar Rahimi, another workers’ rights activist, continue to remain in prison, and the workers of Haft Tappeh’s sugar factory protesting the deferments in their wage payments have faced clampdowns and are subject to surveillance. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a member of the ILO. However, because of its violation of the most basic and fundamental rights of workers, Iran, from our perspective, does not have the necessary qualifications for maintaining its membership in the organization. Warm Regards,
The Free Union of Workers in Iran,
June 4, 2008
www.ettehade.ne
tk.ekhraji@gmail.com
Fax: 02144514795CC:
The International Labour Organization (Juan Somavia), Union Global, and Amnesty International

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