Ali Nejati

Ali Nejati Held in Solitary Confinement in the Intelligence Detention Center in Ahwaz

(9 April 2009) The month-long detention and solitary confinement of Ali Nejati, President of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Union, is without legal justification, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Nejati’s whereabouts were finally revealed after his wife visited him at the Intelligence Detention Center in Ahwaz on 6 April 2009. She was allowed to see him for only a few minutes.

Ali Nejati was arrested by Intelligence officials at his home on 8 March 2009. His lawyer, Mohammad Olyaeifard, informed the Campaign that he only learned of his client’s case and whereabouts on 6 April. He was told that Branch Two of the Security Prosecution Court in Shoush (a township in the southeast Iran) filed a case against Nejati and that he was being held in solitary confinement in the Intelligence Detention Center in Ahwaz. Nejati, according to his wife, is being interrogated on charges for which he was previously tried and sentenced. While Nejati’s health condition is satisfactory, his wife says he suffers from high blood pressure.

“Detention, solitary confinement and interrogation of trade unionists for their peaceful activities will not address Iran’s economic and labor crisis. Ill- treatment of Ali Nejati will not solve any problems, and is yet another violation of Iran’s international obligation to support worker’s rights,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Workers of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Complex went on a one-day strike on 7 April 2009, where they called for the immediate release of Ali Nejati as well as recoupment of unpaid wages.

Olyaeifard, Nejati’s lawyer, told the Campaign: “The detention and interrogation of a person who has already been prosecuted for the same charges is illegal.” Olyaeifard is submitting a legal statement to the Judiciary, demonstrating that Nejati’s detention and interrogation are unlawful since he is being interrogated again for past charges, and stating that if Nejati is guilty of a new crime he should be legally arraigned in the presence of his legal representative.

Nejati, along with four other members of the Executive Board of the Union, was previously prosecuted on 17 and 23 February 2009. The attorney for the four board members has yet to be officially informed of the results of their trial.

In recent years, Iranian authorities have implemented highly repressive policies to suppress independent trade-unionist movements in Iran. Two leading members of the Tehran Bus Workers’ Union, Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, are currently in prison serving sentences related to their trade union activities. Mohsen Hakimi, a labor activist and member of the Iranian Writers Association, was detained without charge on 22 December 2008. On 18 February 2009, two female labor activists, Sussan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi, were flogged for celebrating May Day.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called on Iranian authorities to respect national and international labor rights and release all imprisoned trade unionists, including Ali Nejati, Mansour Osanloo, Ebrahim Madadi, Mohsen Hakimi and Farzad Kamangar. The Campaign reminded Iranian authorities of their obligations and commitments to guarantee workers’ rights to establish and join independent trade unions under the International Labor Organization convention.

Concerns for Health and Safety of Ali Nejati

(17 March 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today called upon the Iranian Judiciary to immediately release Ali Nejati, a trade union leader, and end its persecution and prosecution of labor activists.

Intelligence agents detained Nejati at his home on 8 March. He is currently being held in incommunicado detention at an undisclosed location. The authorities have not provided any information to Nejati’s family about the charges against him or where he is currently detained. The Campaign expressed its serious concerns for Nejati’s health and safety.

“Under this information blackout, Nejati may be suffering torture and ill-treatment,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

“With Persian New Year celebrations to begin on 20 March, it is cruel and inhumane to arbitrarily detain activists and deny them access to their families,” he added. “The authorities should release Nejati and respect the rights of trade unionists.”

Nejati is a leading member of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Factory Trade Union, in the southern city of Shoush. After searching his home and confiscating documents relating to the trade union, agents from the Intelligence Ministry detained Nejati on 8 March, taking him to the local Intelligence office. The agents failed to provide a detention order.

On Thursday, 12 March, a judge at Shoush Revolutionary Court issued a temporary detention order. On the same day, Judiciary officials told Nejati’s wife that he has been transferred to the prison in Dezful, a nearby city.

As Nejati’s wife attempted to visit him at Dezful prison, she witnessed his transfer out of that prison in a car. Since then, Nejati’s family has had no information about his whereabouts. When Nejati’s wife requested information from Shoush Revolutionary Court, the authorities told her that the judge who issued the order had left to celebrate the New Year and would not return until 4 April.

“It is completely unacceptable to withhold information about Nejati from his family. The Judiciary is responsible for his health and safety and cannot continue to hold him without charge in a secret location,” Ghaemi said.

Workers at Haft Tapeh factory have been engaged in establishing an independent labor union for the past several years. Last month, seven other members of the Hapt Tapeh Union were detained and subsequently released on bail.

Nejati and three other union members have also been subject to prosecution for trade unionist activities. On 17 and 23 February, their trial was held, although their sentences have not been publicly announced.

The Iranian authorities have implemented highly repressive policies to suppress the independent trade-unionist movement in Iran. On 18 February, two female labor activists, Sussan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi, were flogged for celebrating May Day. Razani was flogged with 70 lashes and Kheirabadi received 15 lashes.

Two leading members of the Tehran Bus Workers’ Union, Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, are currently in prison serving sentences relating to their trade union activists. Mohsen Hakimi, a labor activist and member of the Iranian Writers Association, was detained without charge on 22 December 2008.

The Campaign called on the Iranian authorities to honor their international legal obligation to recognize workers’ fundamental rights to freedom of association and to form unions to protect their interests. These rights are guaranteed by Article 22 of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Iran is a signatory. As a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Iran is obligated to respect and implement these rights.

Protesting labor activists violently attacked

(29 May 2008) Security forces and riot police attacked a peaceful gathering of thousands of workers from the Haft-Tapeh Sugar factory in the southern Iranian city of Shush on 26 May 2008, detaining 12 workers. The workers have been demonstrating for the past 21 days demanding unpaid wages for the past three months as well as the resignation of management and representatives of the Intelligence Ministry, and an end to the prosecution of many workers who have been detained and put on trial.

The ban on independent workers organizations in Iran exposes them to unsafe and dangerous conditions. On 25 May 2008, fires destroyed two chemical factories in Shazand near the city of Arak and took the lives of at least 30 workers while injuring another 50 workers, whose condition is reportedly grave. According to local fire department officials, the factory building was unsafe and operations should have ceased there.“The right to a safe working environment is internationally recognized but unfortunately routinely violated, along with a host of other labor rights, in Iran. Governments are responsible for enforcing these regulations and independent workers organizations are essential to ensuring implementation. The urgency of establishing independent workers organizations in Iran is highlighted by this tragic accident, which could likely have been prevented,” the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said.

The attack on Haft Tapeh workers is the third time the authorities have resorted to violence during the latest round of protests that started on 8 April 2008. Workers’ families led a protest march on 18 May, with workers’ wives holding up their children and chanting, “This child is hungry, promises will not feed him.” According to the wives participating in the protest, security forces attacked them, beating them with batons and using at least 20 tear gas canisters against them. Many workers suffered injury and at least one was hospitalized, eyewitnesses told the Campaign. Subsequently, the authorities detained 26 workers on 21 May, who were planning to join a protest as five of their colleagues were being put on trial. They have since been released but are subject to further prosecution.

The government’s resort to violence to deny workers their internationally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly is coupled with the systematic denial of workers’ demands to form independent organizations by security forces and other authorities. The workers have stated that the only solution to the current crisis is formation of independent workers syndicates.

The Campaign wishes to acknowledge as a positive development the order by the head of Iran’s Judiciary Hashemi Shahroudi to drop sentences against 11 workers in Kurdistan who participated in May Day observances in 2007 and the release of Sheys Amani, an imprisoned worker in Kurdistan.

“It is good that some Iranian officials are aware of the ramifications of gross human rights violations, both for the welfare of the Iranian people and for Iran’s international relations. But this order is not sufficient to address workers’ extensive grievances. The Judiciary should hold accountable the officials who imprisoned Amani for a month,” the Campaign said.

However, the situation of Javanmir Moradi and Tahe Azadi, both imprisoned for May Day 2007 events, remains unresolved. In addition, the authorities have not provided any information regarding the detention of another Kurdish labor activist, Bakhtiar Rahimi who is currently held in Tehran’s Evin prison. Mansour Ossanloo, leader of the Tehran Bus Drivers Union, remains in prison, serving a five- year term for promoting workers’ fundamental rights. Protesting workers of Haft Tapeh factory are regularly attacked and prosecuted.

The Campaign called on the Iranian Judiciary to immediately drop all charges brought against workers in relation to their peaceful gatherings and trade-union activities.

“The situation of Iranian workers is rapidly deteriorating and formation of independent organizations is essential for ending this crisis,” the Campaign said.