november 5: international day of solidarity with workers in iran

Thousands of workers across Iran have gone months without wages, are forced to work under exploitative contracts, and have none of the benefits that legally belong to them. Many of these workers are children. Labor activists in Iran are organizing to demand and claim their rights as workers, and defend the rights of children. But these demands for rights are seen as crimes in the eyes of the brutal Islamic regime in Iran. The regime in Iran systematically persecutes labor activists through arbitrary arrests and detentions; long prison terms; violent interrogations, beatings and torture; denial of medical care; constant harassment in the form of court summons, heavy bails and daily threats issued against the workers and their families; and cutting workers off from their livelihoods by having them fired. The crimes of labor activists in Iran include: - Fighting for workers rights, including the right to engage in union activities without fear of persecution - Demanding to be paid their wage for the work they have done - Demanding the right to strike and freedom of expression - Establishing labor organizations - Organizing May Day Labor leaders currently imprisoned for standing up for workers rights include: - Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, sentenced to 6 years in prison for being a labor activist - Reza Shahabi, in prison since June 2010 for being a board member of Tehrans bus drivers union - Rasoul Bodaghi, sentenced to 6 years in prison for being a teachers unionist - Mohammad Jarahi, sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in jail - Shahrokh Zamani, sentenced to 11 years in jail for defending the rights of workers and creating a union - Pedram Nasrollahi, sentenced to 19 months in prison for trying to organize a labor union The attacks on workers and labour activists in Iran must be stopped! We demand: 1) Immediate and unconditional release of all jailed workers and other political prisoners in Iran 2) Expulsion of delegates of the Islamic regime of Iran from the International Labor Organization (ILO) We ask you to take action in solidarity with workers in Iran by sending a letter to the ILO asking that organization to advocate for the release of jailed workers. A sample letter appears on the reverse of this flyer. MISSION FREE IRAN http://www.missionfreeiran.org

Please take action in support of workers in Iran by using or modifying to your preference this sample letter to the ILO:

Sample Letter to the International Labor Organization to Request Their Advocacy for the Release of Jailed Labor Activists in Iran:
Email to: ilo@ilo.org To Whom It May Concern: I am writing with regard to the cases of Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, Reza Shahabi, Rasoul Bodaghi, Mohammad Jarahi, Shahrokh Zamani, and Pedram Nasrollahi, leading Iranian worker activists who have been illegally detained as a result of their activism in support of workers rights. These activists have been subjected to mistreatment and abuse, including physical and psychological torture. Shahabi urgently needs medical care, which is being withheld as a form of torture. I request that the International Labor Organization urgently advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of these and all jailed workers, as well as all political prisoners in Iran. The ILO must exert continuous pressure on the Islamic Republic until all labor activists currently arbitrarily detained by the anti-worker regime in Iran are released, and the rights of workers in Iran are respected in full. Sincerely, [Your Name]

TESTIMONY OF LABOR ACTIVIST & POLITICAL PRISONER SHAHROKH ZAMANI I am Shahrokh Zamani, member of the Painters Union of Tehran and the Follow-up Committee to Set up Free Labour Organisations in Iran. I have been a resident of Tehran for 30 years. On June 5, 2011, upon entry to the city of Tabriz to visit my parents, I was unlawfully arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence without any charges, evidence or documents. After 40 days of harsh psychological and physical torture, I was taken to the Central Prison of Tabriz. In those 40 days of my unlawful and illegal detention, I engaged in a hunger strike to protest my situation. I lost 60 lbs and I never gave a confession. Despite the fact that there was not a shred of evidence against me, the First Branch of Revolutionary Court of Tabriz charged me with spreading propaganda against the regime and forming socialist groups, which carries a mandatory 11 year prison sentence. I asked the presiding judge for the evidence against me, and for his justification for giving me such a long sentence, to which he answered: Who do you think I am Sir? I am nothing more than a subordinate in a hierarchical system.

Tabriz prison is one of the most notorious prisons, known for its violent and murderous guards. The guards are infamous for their inhumane, murderous and unlawful ways. The prisoners have no rights such as furloughs, day passes and/or conditional releases. Even the borrowing of library books is completely under M I the SSI O N F of RE E I Rofficials AN h t t p of : / the / w absolute w w . m iworse ssion f r e e iand ran.org control prison who put the prisoners through a myriad physical psychological tortures. One of the worst of these tortures is the unleashing of the violent inmates (common criminals) upon the political prisoners.