Iran

· THE WORKING CLASS AND EMANCIPATORY STRUGGLES OF PEOPLE IN IRAN
· Stop killings and torture!

· Farzad Kamangar in danger of execution!

· Free Haft Tapeh labour leaders!

From Workers Iran:

· Free Osanloo and Madadi now!

· The last of May Day 2009 detainees still in jail! Free Mehdi Farahi Shandiz now!

· Free Majid Hamidi now!

· Please use the Sample Protest letter and act now!

2010 must herald a new dawn

Hello and Happy New Year!

2010 looks to be a very promising year indeed.

The escalation and radicalisation of protests in Iran against the Islamic Republic bring with it the hope for a very different world to the one we live in. Don’t forget, the suppression of the 1979 Iranian revolution by the Islamists changed the world we knew for the worse. This time round, the fall of the Islamists via a people’s revolution will change things for the better.

· An update by the IASWI; and Current situation and progressive practices:
· The launch of “Kargar (Worker) TV”

· A call for support and solidarity with Haft Tapeh workers (English translation of Ali Nejati’s second Open letter to all workers-Dated November 7, 2009)

· Open letter to International Labour Organization from The Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company

June 14 2009
Support for the mass protests against Ahmadinejad’s re-election! But we should have no illusions that Massouvi would have been any better

Yassamine Mather, chair of Hands Off the People of Iran, assesses the highly fluid situation in Iran (from http://hopoi.org):

31 still in jail amid reports of torture

Following the release of nine more detainees in recent days, 31 workers and activists arrested on May Day in Tehran continue to be detained at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Most of the detainees have been transferred to Ward 7 of the Prison, while five are being held in Ward 209, which is the special interrogation ward run by the Intelligence Ministry. The five are Jafar Azim-Zadeh, Saeed Yuzi, Mohammad Ashrafi, Alireza Saghafi and Mohsen Saghafi.

[The following is the translation of a statement issued on Thursday 14th May by the Free Union of Iranian Workers]:

So far none of those arrested at Laleh Park rally, who are being held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, has been able to meet their families or even contact them by phone. Those detained are said to be in the custody of the Intelligence Ministry and subjected to lengthy interrogations and all kinds of pressures. On Wednesday, the mother of one of those arrested, who lives in Esfahan’s Zarrin Shahr district, said that after 12 days and much searching she had found out that her son Hamid Malak Zadeh, who was a student in Tehran, had been arrested on May Day at Laleh Park. She said no-one was giving her any straight answers.

Many women and men from various age range have been arrested and are now in prison

On the occasion of 1st of May, the International Workers’ Day, and in response to the call by the independent Iranian labour and activist organizations at 5pm on Friday 1 May, a large group of Iranian workers, labour activists and their families gathered at Laleh Park in Tehran to celebrate the May Day and promote their demands.

Workers demand freedom for Ali Nejati and payment of unpaid wages

April 7, 2009-According to the Committee in Defence of Haft Tapeh Workers, workers in Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company went on strike, today, April 7th, in protest to non-payment of their wages for the past two months and the reduction of over-time work, the arrest and detention of Mr. Ali Nejati, the president of the board of director of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company and also for the implementation of job classification plan.

Hands Off the People of Iran held a speaking tour with Iranian students last year.

Torab Saleth (Workers Left Unity Iran) and Behrooz Karimizadeh and Kaveh Abbasian (Students for Freedom and Equality in Iran) addressed a meeting organised by the Kings’ College student society of ‘Hands Off the People of Iran’.

This short video should give you some background on the struggles and experiences of the students in Iran.

No News of Nejati’s whereabouts!

March 14, 2009 - According to the latest news from Iran, Mr. Ali Nejati is still incarcerated and even his family members have not been able to meet with him. His wife has gone to a number of different authorities, including the intelligence office of the city of Shoush and the Islamic Revolution Court in city of Dezful, but they all refused to provide her with any information about Mr. Nejati’s whereabouts.

Labour activists fear more arrests

February 28, 2009 - According to the latest news form Iran, Mr. Ali Nejati, president of the board of directors of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Workers’ Syndicate, and Reza Rakhshan, the Public Relations director of the Syndicate and a board member, were arrested on February 28, 2009.

On Wednesday 18th February, two women workers were flogged, following their conviction by a court in Sanandaj for taking part in last year’s May Day celebrations. Susan Razani received a 9 months’ suspended sentence and 70 lashes and Shiva Kheir Abadi 3 years’ suspended sentence and 15 lashes.

· Three labour activists in Marivan arrested
· The Continued Imprisonment of Mohsen Hakimi
· Bijan Amiri Freed on Bail
· Taha Azadi Summoned to court again
· Workers of Ahwaz Pipe Mills protest non-payment of wages
· Workers of Khameneh Textile have not been paid for the past 19 months
· Slain workers of “Khatoon Abad” are never forgotten!
· Protest against the repression of labour activists in Iran!(Sample Protest Letter- updated February 11, 2009
· Solidarity with the general strike of workers in France
· Solidarity message to workers' organizations in Palestine
· CUPW Condemns arrests and repression of labour activists in Iran
· CGT protest Letter
· CGT Transport’s Protest Letter to the IRI’s Ambassador in Paris
· Protest Message by: APTUF/WWO
· Protest Letter by Ken Loach
· LabourStart Act Now! Iran: Save the life of Farzad Kamangar

On 24 November, prison guards entered Farzad Kamangar's cell in Section 209 of Tehran's Evin prison. It is reported that the prison guards beat Farzad Kamangar, threatened him with execution, and took him out of the cell, along with some of his personal belongings.

From the Worker Communist Party of Iran:

Shush, Iran – Monday, May 19, 2008

Thousands of Haft Tapeh sugar cane workers marched again on Sunday and Monday through the town of Shush ahead of the sham trial of five of their colleagues tomorrow, which the workers are fighting to revoke. As in the last few days, the people of the town also joined the march today. At one point the workers blocked the main highway in the area.

Workers in a number of cities in Iran held, or attempted to hold, May Day rallies despite a heavy clampdown by the government. Rallies were held in the western cities of Sanandaj, Kermanshah and Saqez. However, the planned rally in the industrial zone of Asalooye was broken up when the security forces moved in to arrest the organisers and remove placards. Those arrested include Javanmir Moradi and Taha Azadi, from the leadership of the newly formed Free Union of Iranian Workers.

This is how the TUC today reported the release of Mahmoud Salehi from an Iranian jail.

Court appearance of Mahmoud Salehi and referral of his case to prosecutor’s office:

According to news we have received, on Saturday 29 March 2008 Mahmoud Salehi appeared in court, where he made his final defence in front of the judge.

Read on for mor eon this case and to take email action to demand his release.

Union complains to the ILO
21 Feb 2008

A further two workers, who were arrested at last year’s May Day ceremonies in the city of Sanandaj, have been fined and whipped, according to a report by the National Union of Dismissed and Unemployed Workers in Iran - www.ettehade.net

Info and the first Bulletin from HOPOI.

E-Bulletin No:1, November 10 2007

An open letter from the Worker Communist Party of Iran, protesting the arrest, harrassment and even stoning to death of worker activists including Mansoor Ossanlou and Mahmoud Salehi.

Iranian workers' leader Mansour Osanloo has been detained again...

The "Millionairre Mullahs" have hiked the prices of fuel in an effort to hike the profits that they filter into their bank accounts. But this has hit hard on the poor in a country that is far from the homogeneous, religious culture of obedience often portrayed by the media. And the opponents of the regime are hitting back...