Iran: Abduction of trade union leader and human rights defender
Human rights defender, Mansour OsanlooHuman rights defender and President of Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkat-e Vahed (Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company), Mansour Osanloo abducted on 10 July 2007 by unknown assailants is now been held in Evin Prison, Front Line has learned.
According to reports, he was severely beaten by the assailants before being bundled into an unmarked car, which had been following him at various stages throughout the day. Mansour Osanloo is being detained at an unknown location. A few days prior to Mansour Osanloo's abduction, Ebrahim Madadi, Vice-President of the union, was detained by police following global trade union protests in Tehran. He was released a short time later.
Mansour Olansoo has been the subject of ongoing harassment since 2005, and has been arrested and detained on various occasions. On 22 December 2005, he was arrested because of his trade union activities as well as his contacts with international organizations such as ILO, UN and international labour organizations. He was detained incommunicado at Evin prison, Tehran, for a period of 7 months before being released on 22 August 2006. On 8 November 2006, Mansour Osanloo was again arrested by the Tabriz police, and detained for several hours along with nine representatives from Sherkat-e Vahed.
At the time, the group were on their way to Tabriz for a workshop organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Similarly, on 19 November 2006, he was arrested along with his colleague Ebrahim Madadi on their way to the Ministry of Labour in Tehran, by plain-clothed policemen. No reason was given for the arrests and both men were allegedly physically and verbally assaulted, before Mansour Osanloo was forced into a car and subsequently placed in detention in section 209 of Evin prison. He was denied access to his lawyer until December 2006.
On 26 November 2006, Mansour Osanloo appeared before the 14th Chamber of the Revolutionary Court along with 17 other trade unionists to answer the pending charges against him, the exact nature of which are not known. According to reports, the Minister of Justice and the spokesperson of the Ministry declared that Mr Osanloo had been arrested for failing to report to the authorities after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. However, his lawyer certified that Mansour Osanloo had only been requested to present himself in Court on 20 November 2006. An additional bail request of 30 million toman was set by the Court on 5 December 2006 for his release (his bail then amounting to about 150,000 euros), stating that only his wife was authorised to pay it. Mansoor Osanloo was released on 19 December 2006.
Front Line believes the abduction and detention of Mansour Osanloo, along with the ongoing intimidation and harassment he has been subjected to, is intended to discourage him from carrying out his legitimate peaceful activities in defence of human rights in Iran, in particular the rights of freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of assembly and freedom of association.
Front Line is deeply concerned for his safety and calls on the Iranian authorities to immediatly release him and conduct an independent investigation into the abduction, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice. Front Line also calls on the authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mansour Olansoo whilst in detention.