E-mail Discussion Lists Using Advocacy to Achieve Democratic Reform

DemocracyAlerts

From time to time, the World Movement for Democracy issues alerts concerning participants and other colleagues who are, or may be, facing personal danger due to their work on behalf of democracy and for whom a vigorous response from around the world may be critical.

To see previous alerts go to www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/democracyAlerts.html.

(July 16, 2007)

Democracy Alert: Iranian Bus Drivers Union President Mansour Osanloo Abducted and Held in Prison

The American Center for International Labor Solidarity (Solidarity Center) reports that on July 10, Iranian Bus Drivers Union President Mansour Osanloo was getting off a city bus when he was beaten and abducted by assailants in an unmarked car, and he has not been seen since. Mr. Osanloo was arrested, in December 2005, for orchestrating a protest in which bus drivers in Tehran refused to take passengers' fares. Tehran bus workers were due to strike on January 28, 2006, calling for his release and other demands, but the arrests of several hundred union workers that day resulted in the strike being called off. On May 28, 2007, Mr. Osanloo was sentenced to five years in prison. Prior to his July 10 abduction, he had spoken at meetings of the International Transport Workers Federation and the International Trade Union Confederation in London and Brussels. On July 11, the Solidarity Center issued a press release in which it joined the global labor movement in condemning the kidnapping of Mr. Osanloo. It noted that this latest attack on a union leader appears to be part of an orchestrated crackdown on Iranian unions. The Bus Drivers Union's vice president, Ebrahim Madadi, was arrested on July 3, but was released two days later as a result of international protests. A global solidarity protest calling for Mr. Osanloo's immediate release has been initiated by the International Transport Worker's Association.

Go to: http://solidaritycenter.org

To join the global solidarity protest, go to: www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/osanloo2.cfm