Brussels, 19 October 2007: Mansour Osanloo, the President of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed) who has been detained in the notorious Evin prison in Teheran since July this year has lost the sight of one eye after being denied the urgent medical treatment he needed.
Mansour Osanloo has faced repeated harassment by the Iranian authorities because of his independent trade union activities. He was imprisoned for eight months from December 2005 to August 2006, and also for a month from November to December 2006 and was due to appear in court again. He visited to Europe recently, to rally international support for Iran’s independent trade unions and had addressed the ITUC General Council in Brussels on 21 June 2007. On 10 July, shortly after his return to Iran, he was arrested and has been held in solitary confinement.
The ITUC strongly condemns this denial of medical treatment, and recalls that Mansour Osanloo’s eye injuries were the result of an assault by the Iranian security forces in 2005.
In a letter sent to the authorities, the ITUC call upon President Ahmadjinejad to order the immediate and unconditional release of Mansour Osanloo and to ensure that he is able to receive all the medical treatment he needs.
“Iran has again failed to comply with its international obligations” declared Guy Ryder. “We hold the Iranian authorities responsible for the loss of Mansour Osanloo’s sight in one eye.” He again urged the government to fully respect workers’ rights and to release all those held in prison for carrying out legitimate trade union activities “before any further harm is done”.
Amnesty UK action on Mansour osanloo
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