Mr. Mansoor Osanloo, Chairperson of the Union of Bus Drivers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (“Sherkat-e Vahed Syndicate”), which is an affiliate of the International Transport Federation, is once again imprisoned in Evin prison in Iran for trade union activities.
Mr. Mansoor Osanloo was first detained in Evin prison from 22 December 2005 to 09 August 2006. He was only released upon a conditional bail of 150 million toman (~156 000 CAD), which was paid by his colleagues, friends and family.
On 08 November 2006 Mr. Osanloo was once again detained for several hours by the Tabriz police, along with nine representatives of Sherkat-e Vahed. At the time, they were on their way to Tabriz for a workshop organized by the International Labour Organization.
On 19 November 2006, Mr. Osanloo and Mr. Ebrahim Madadi were on their way to the Ministry of Labour in Tehran when they were arrested on the street by policemen in plain clothes who refused to show their police cards or an arrest warrant. They were allegedly physically and verbally assaulted by the policemen, with one of the officers pointing a gun towards Mr. Madadi before firing in the air. The officers forced Mr. Osanloo to get into their car and left. He was again placed in detention at Evin prison.
On 26 November 2006 Mr. Osanloo appeared before the court along with 17 other trade unionists to answer the pending charges against him, the exact nature of which was not known. A few days later, the Minister of Justice and the spokesperson for the Ministry reportedly declared that Mr. Osanloo had been arrested again for not reporting to the penitentiary authorities. However, his lawyer certified that Mr. Osanloo never received a warrant or summons requiring him to return to prison after the trial.
On 05 December 2006 the judge set an additional bail of 30 million toman (31 000 CAD) for his release, stating that only his wife was authorized to pay it.
Mr. Osanloo was finally released on 19 December 2006 after only having paid the original bail of 150 million toman related to his prior detention.
On 10 July 2007 Mr. Mansour Osanloo was severely beaten and abducted by unidentified assailants. After two days of denying all knowledge of his whereabouts, Iranian authorities admitted that he was again detained in Evin prison, where he still remains.
Ms. Parvaneh Osanloo, the wife of Mr. Mansour Osanloo, and her sister were also briefly detained in Tehran on 03 September 2007 after they attempted to meet with Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. After Ms. Shirin Ebadi, a 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was also due to meet with Ms. Louise Arbour vehemently protested, they were allowed to leave.
LRWC ACTION
Letter by Tina Parbhakar sent on July 16, 2007.
