Iranian Union Leader Kidnapped

The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center reports that Mansour Osanloo, president of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Drivers Union (Vahed), was kidnapped by what appears to be Iranian security forces—and urges us all to take action to demand his release. 

The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center joins the global labor movement in a solidarity campaign to release the kidnapped union leader. On July 10, plainclothes assailants kidnapped Osanloo, president of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs (Vahed) Bus Co.

(Take action now by sending a protest letter or signing a petition to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanding that Osanloo be released unharmed immediately.)

Osanloo had just returned from the annual meetings of the International Transport Workers’ Federation in London and the International Trade Union Confederation in Brussels, where his speeches about the struggles of the Iranian labor movement received standing ovations. Speaking to a cheering crowd, Osanloo said:

I feel confident and empowered, as I know that the international trade union movement is behind us. The Iranian authorities know that, too. In return, we shall certainly be a part of the international trade union movement to promote peace, justice and a fair world for all.

Osanloo described the difficult circumstances his members endure in their day-to-day lives, due not only to their poor economic and working conditions but also to a campaign of savage and illegal victimization carried out by Iran’s government, police and security services.  This has involved mass arrests, beatings, firings, imprisonment and death threats. Osanloo has been attacked and arrested repeatedly. Osanloo and other union members have been beaten many times by the authorities, and he has spent most of the past two years behind bars for his union activity. In response, Iranian unions have called strikes, and the global trade union movement has mounted worldwide solidarity actions. (For background, go here, here and here.

Despite the pressures, Osanloo and other union members maintain their struggle for trade union rights in Iran. The global labor movement and human rights organizations closely monitored Osanloo’s return to Iran to ensure his safe return after attending the labor conference.

Two weeks after the meetings, the bus on which Osanloo was riding home from work was blocked by an unmarked metallic-grey Peugeot, characteristic of Iranian security forces, that had been following him all day long. The assailants grabbed Osanloo as he was getting off the bus and started beating him, yelling at passengers to stay away because Osanloo was a “hoodlum and a thug.” Osanloo shouted back to the passengers that he was the president of the Vahed Bus Drivers Syndicate. The men forced Osanloo into the unmarked car, where they continued to beat him as they sped off to an undisclosed location. 

The AFL-CIO and global labor community are deeply concerned for the safety of Osanloo. The Iranian government has a track record of beating, kidnapping and imprisoning union leaders for their trade union activities. Just last week, they arrested Vahed Vice President Ebrahim Madadi and detained him for two days before global trade union protests led to his release. 

The AFL-CIO, the British Trades Union Congress, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and Education International join many others in the global labor movement in demanding his immediate release and respect for worker rights in Iran.

Join millions of other workers worldwide by sending a protest letter or signing a petition to President Ahmadinejad demanding that Osanloo be released unharmed immediately.

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