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BRUSSELS, 24 January 2005, ICFTU Online: The
ICFTU has protested against the second trial behind
closed doors in the prosecution of seven independent
labour leaders for "organizing an illegal
gathering", a May Day event 2004 in Saqez (Kurdistan
Province) in Iran.
It was no coincidence that the first trial against
Mr. Borhan Divangar took place on 25 December at the
Saqez Revolutionary Court and that the hearings,
initially to be held on the same date, are being
held on separate dates, says the ICFTU. This makes
it more difficult for international observers to
attend all the trials. Mr. Mohsen Hakimi, was put on
trial on 16 January and trials against Mahmoud
Salehi, Mohammad Abdipour and Jalal Hosseini have
been scheduled for 1, 6 and 14 February. The case
against Mr. Esmaeel Khodkam scheduled for 11 January
was postponed.
The ICFTU has repeatedly tried to obtain entry visas
for international observers to attend the trials,
but to no avail. Instead the government of Iran has
allowed the first two trials to take place, and
according to information reaching the ICFTU, without
regard for due process.
According to ICFTU sources Borhan Divangar was not
even given the opportunity to provide a final
defence statement during his trial. Moreover, the
defendants claim that evidence used against them has
been fabricated by the authorities.
In his letter to the Iranian President Khatami Guy
Ryder renewed his call from 29 December 2004 for the
government to stop the trials or at least ensure
fair trials and allow international observers to
monitor the proceedings. He wrote that the ICFTU was
also closely monitoring other cases involving trade
union rights violations in Iran. Only three weeks
ago The ICFTU protested against the harassment and
intimidation of elected workers representatives
during a strike at the Kurdistan Textile Factory in
Sanandaj. Workers managed to force the employer to a
satisfactory agreement. The ICFTU has later learned
that the negotiations were conducted in the presence
of agents from the Intelligence Ministry.
In support of the ICFTU's actions, John Monks,
General Secretary of the European Trade Union
Confederation, raised the situation of workers in
Iran with the European Commission as it resumed
negotiations with Iran on a Trade and Cooperation
Agreement (TCA) on 12 January. He urged that the
respect by Iran of relevant labour standards be
taken into account in the negotiations and expressed
encouragement at the Commission's statement dated 11
January that a deepening of economic and commercial
relations with Iran should be conducted in parallel
with a political dialogue. The Commission was also
asked to intervene with the Iranian Government in
order to facilitate the issuing of entry visas to
international observers for the Saqez trials.
The ICFTU said that it was concerned by the many
reported incidents of Iabour unrest and repression
in Iran, and pointed out that it was now 1 year ago
since workers were killed during a strike in the
Kerman Province in the village of Khatoonabad. The
ICFTU has lodged a complaint against the government
of Iran concerning violation of trade union rights
with the Committee on Freedom of Association of the
United Nations' International Labour Organisation.
The ICFTU represents 148 million workers in 231
affiliated organisations in 150 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 0232 or +32 476 621 018.
http://www.union-network.org
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