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Labour Day arrests in Iran: ICFTU lodges formal complaint at ILO

Brussels 3  May 2004 (ICFTU Online): Following the arrests of 40

workers

during a Labour Day march in Saqez, in Iran's Kurdistan Province, on

Saturday 1st May 2004, the International Confederation of Free Trade

Unions (ICFTU) has lodged a formal complaint with the UN's

International

Labour Office on Sunday 2 May. It has also requested that the ILO

intervene urgently with Tehran's authorities to obtain the release of

those arrested. 

According to the ICFTU, hundreds of workers and their families had

staged a peaceful rally and march in the City of Saqez (Kurdistan

province), in order to celebrate Labour Day. The event was organized by

"the First of May Council", an organisation of workers' in Saqez,

consisting of labour activists acting independently from

government-controlled structures.

At about 5:00 p.m., the marchers were attacked by the Governments'

security forces, including plain clothes' agents of the security

service. Over 40 participants were reportedly detained and taken into

custody. Among those arrested were Mr. Mahmoud Salehi, a well-known

labour leader who has previously been arrested and imprisoned for 10

months in 2001, Jalal Hosseini, a local labour leader and Mohsen

Hakimi,

a well-known activist and a member of the Iranian Writers' Association.

The security forces subsequently raided Mahmoud Salehi's home and his

computer and documents were confiscated. Families of the arrested

workers and other citizens are said to have gathered outside the

Security Ministry's offices to demand the release of all those

arrested.

The ICFTU is particularly worried by the fact that MM. Salehi and

Hakimi

had met two days before their arrest by an ICFTU mission which visited

Iran earlier this week. The mission had been closely monitored by the

security service. The ICFTU believes that the search of M.Salehi's

house

and confiscation of his computer are directly related to his contacts

with the ICFTU.

The ICFTU has filed this information as additional information to our

formal complaint against Iran concerning the killing of four striking

workers in the city of Babak, lodged earlier this year with the

Committee on Freedom of Association (case 2323 of the Committee).

The ICFTU represents over 150 million workers in 233 affiliated

organisations in 152 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member

of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32

2

224 0206 or +32 476 621 018.