Trade unionist Ali Nejati was arrested on ۸ March by Ministry of Intelligence officers, following a raid on his home on ۲۸ February. He appears to have been taken to a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in the province of Khuzestan. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association.
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE ۱۳/۰۱۹/۲۰۰۹
10March ۲۰۰۹
UA ۶۶/۰۹ Prisoner of conscience
IRAN Ali Nejati (m), trade unionist
Trade unionist Ali Nejati was arrested on ۸ March by Ministry of Intelligence officers, following a raid on his home on ۲۸ February. He appears to have been taken to a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in the province of Khuzestan. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association.
Ali Nejati is one of the leaders of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company (HTSCC) Trade Union. On ۲۰ December ۲۰۰۸ he was reportedly charged with “acting against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the regime”, in connection with interviews he and other trade union leaders gave to foreign journalists about working conditions at the plant. The interviews took place during May Day protests in ۲۰۰۸ against the HTSCC’s repeated failure to pay its workers on time - it sometimes delayed payment for up to five months - and other violations of their employment rights. On ۲۰ May ۲۰۰۸ he was ordered to present himself for questioning at a court in the town of Shoush, Khuzestan. He was subsequently brought to trial in two court hearings on ۱۷ and ۲۳ February ۲۰۰۹, but it is not known whether a verdict has been issued.
Seven other HTSCC trade unionists were arrested and detained between ۲۲ February and ۳ March ۲۰۰۹, but all were subsequently released on bail by ۷ March. Four of them were tried with Ali Nejati on ۱۷ and ۲۳ February, on similar charges. One of them has received a sentence, the details of which are not known to Amnesty International, while the other three, like Ali Nejati, do not know if a verdict has been issued against them. The arrests took place after HTSCC workers had refused to take part in elections on ۲۲ February for the company’s Islamic Labour Council (ILC), a government-sponsored organization that controls and represses independent labour activities in the company.The HTSCC Trade Union was formed on ۲۲ October ۲۰۰۸, when its board members were elected, and is only the second independent union to be formed in Iran since the Islamic Revolution. In the course of ۲۰۰۸, more than ۱,۹۰۰ HTSCC workers had called for the dissolution of the company’s ILC and for the creation of such an independent labour body. HTSCC workers had set up a trade union in ۱۹۷۳, but in the early ۱۹۸۰s the authorities banned it when the creation of free and independent labour organizations was prohibited. The HTSCC Trade Union held elections without the permission of the Ministry of Labour, which, together with the Ministries of Industry and Intelligence, has told the HTSCC that it does not recognize the union. This lack of official status puts the union’s members at risk of prosecution.
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONU
nder Iranian labour legislation, workers are allowed to form Islamic Labour Councils (ILCs) in companies with more than ۵۰ workers. They are not, however, permitted to set up any other labour organization. The ILCs’ objectives, under ۲۰۰۱ legislation, are mainly to “propagate and spread Islamic culture, and defend the achievements of the Islamic Revolution”; set up Friday prayers; recite and pay tribute to religious slogans; “establish meetings for sermons, religious discourse and lectures, on various occasions”; and “endeavour to enrich the times of rest for the workers and their families”. Defending the terms and conditions of their members’ employment does not fall within their remit. Those permitted to stand for leadership positions in the ILCs are vetted and approved by an official selection body.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, French, English or your own language:
- calling on the authorities to release Ali Nejati immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association in connection with his trade union activities;
- urging them to ensure that Ali Nejati is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- urging them to ensure that Ali Nejati is given regular access to his family and legal representation of his choice, and any medical treatment that he may require.
APPEALS TO:
Head of the JudiciaryAyatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran ۱۳۱۶۸۱۴۷۳۷, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: shahroudi@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi
Salutation: Your Excellency
Leader of the Islamic RepublicAyatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + ۹۸ ۲۱ ۶ ۶۴۹ ۵۸۸۰
Email: via website: http://www.president.ir/email/
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after ۲۱ April ۲۰۰۹.
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