URGENT ACTION

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/008/2006
UA 26/06 Fear of torture or ill-treatment/ incommunicado detention/
possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN Ebrahim Madadi (m), Deputy Head of the Union of Workers of the
United Bus Company of Tehran (Sherkat-e Vahed)
Naser Gholami (m), Secretary of Union of Workers of the United Bus Company of
Tehran
Mansour Heyat Gheibi (m)
Seyed Davoud Razavi (m)
Sa'id Torabian (m)
Ali Zade Hossein (m)
Abdolreza Tarazi (m)
Yaghub Salimi (m)
Hossein Shahsavari (m)
Ata Babakhani (m)
Yousef Moradi (m)
and at least 500 other workers of the United Bus Company of Tehran
The 11 men named above, and at least 500 other employees of the United Bus
Company of Tehran (Sherkat-e Vahed), have been arrested since 25 January. They
are believed to be detained incommunicado, mostly at Tehran’s Evin prison, and
are at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Amnesty International believes that
they are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for their peaceful trade
union activities.

The arrests began after the Union of Workers of the United Bus Company of
Tehran issued a call for a strike to be held on 28 January. The purpose of the
strike was to call for the release of Mansour Ossanlu, the head of the Union,
who has been detained since 22 December 2005 (see UA 08/06, MDE 13/002/2006, 09
January 2006), and to call for legal recognition of the union, and a pay
increase.

Leaflets publicizing the strike were reportedly distributed widely in Tehran on
24 January. Hosseini Tabar, a member of the Union's Executive Committee, was
reportedly detained briefly while distributing the leaflets. The following day,
Ebrahim Madadi, Mansour Heyat Ghaybi, Sayed Davoud Razavi, Sa’id Torabian, Ali
Zad Hossein and Gholamreza Mirza’I, all members of the Executive Committee,
were summoned to appear at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran on 26
January. After they refused to obey the Public Prosecutor's order to call off
the strike, they were arrested and taken to Evin Prison. In an interview with
the state news agency IRNA, the Mayor of Tehran reportedly said that the union
was illegal and indicated that the strike would not be allowed to take place.
Managers of the United Bus Company of Tehran threatened Union members that they
would lose their jobs if they participated in the strike.

On 27 January 2006, security forces began mass arrests of union members
planning to participate in the strike. The wives of Executive Committee members
Mansour Hayat Ghaybi, Sayed Davoud Razavi, and Yaghub Salimi, and five children
aged between 2 and 15 years old, were also arrested, though they have now been
released.

On 28 January, the day of the strike, hundreds more Union members were
reportedly arrested. Most of them were taken to Evin Prison. Many bus drivers
protesting on picket lines were reportedly threatened in order to force them to
drive their buses, and were beaten, kicked, and hit with batons by members of
the security forces and members of the Basij, a volunteer security force under
the command of the Revolutionary Guard, who had reportedly been brought in to
drive some of the buses. In some places, the authorities allegedly used tear
gas and fired shots into the air. Scores more were reportedly arrested on 29
and 30 January.

Currently, only 30 to 50 of those detained are reported to have been released,
apparently after they agreed under duress to sign guarantees that they would
not participate in strikes or other protest actions. At least 500 others are
believed to remain in detention, mostly in Evin prison, without access to
family and lawyers. Some are reported to have begun a hunger strike on 29
January to protest their detention. It is not known if they are receiving any
medical treatment. The Union has called for another strike on 2 February.

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
the Iranian government is obliged to guarantee freedom of association,
"including the right to form and join trade unions." Article 26 of the Iranian
Constitution permits "the formation of parties, societies, political or
professional associations." The right to strike is recognized by Iran’s Labour
Law.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130082006

URGETN AVTION
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/006/2006
UA 24/06 Fear of torture and ill-treatment/ incommunicado
detention
IRAN Reza Haidari (m), aged 11
Kazem Sayahi (m), aged 14
Hashem Jassem Sawari (m), aged 18
Hadi Washahi (m), aged 17
Said Manabi (m), aged 20
Saleh ‘Abidawi (m), imam
Sheikh Saleh al-Haydari (m), imam of Da’ira
mosque
and scores of others
The seven people named above and scores of others, all members of Iran’s Arab
minority, were reportedly arrested in the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province
on 11 and 12 January. They may be held incommunicado and are at risk of torture
or ill-treatment.

The arrests took place after clashes in Ahvaz between Iranian security forces
and members of the Arab Ahwazi community. The clashes followed an initially
peaceful demonstration which took place on the Muslim festival of ‘Id al-Adha
on 11 January, led by Sheikh Saleh al-Haydari, imam (prayer leader) of Da’ira
mosque in Ahvaz. Demonstrators were reportedly demanding an end to the
persecution of Arabs, poverty and unemployment among Arabs, and the release of
political prisoners arrested following unrest in Khuzestan province which began
in April 2005. The next day, scores more arrests followed in the city of
Hamidiya, after a demonstration against the arrests which had taken place on
‘Id al-Adha, the previous day. According to reports, at least three men were
killed during the clashes between 11 and 12 January by the security forces in
the Khuzestan region and around 40 others wounded.

According to press reports, Sheikh Saleh al-Haydari has been on hunger strike
since 25 January in protest at his detention. The authorities have reportedly
accused him of threatening national security. Another imam, Saleh ‘Abidawi, and
three boys under the age of 18 are also among those believed to be in
detention.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Iran’s Arab community live mainly in the Khuzestan region, which borders Iraq.
It is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran’s oil
reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from
the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically the Arab community has
been marginalised and discriminated against. Tension has mounted among the Arab
population since April 2005, after it was alleged that the government planned
to disperse the country’s Arab population or to force them to relinquish their
Arab identity. Hundreds have been arrested and there have been reports of
torture. Some have been sentenced to death. Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz
in October, which killed six people, and explosions at oil installations in
September and October, the cycle of violence in Khuzestan province intensified,
leading to reports of scores of arrests and at least two deaths while
demonstrations were broken up. Further bombs exploded on 24 January, killing
six people.

Iran is a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
which states: “No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or
arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in
conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and
for the shortest appropriate period of time.” The CRC also states that “every
child deprived of liberty shall be treated… in a manner which takes into
account the needs of persons of his or her age [and] shall have the right to
maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save
in exceptional circumstances.”

(AKI) - Judicial authorities in the central Iranian city of Isfahan have announced that women state employees who fail to wear the Islamic hijab or head scarf, face lashing as punishment. Isfahan's director general for Judicial Authority, Mohammad Ansari, apparently wants to apply to the letter an article in Iran's penal code stipulating 74 lashes for women who do not dress according to Islamic law including wearing the chador, the black veil that covers women from head to toe.
Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election as Iranian president in June last year, pressure has increased on people to respect Islamic laws and morals. Many clothing shops have been subject to severe controls by the police, while the security staff at public buildings prevent women, who are not deemed to be dressed properly, from entering.
During the eight-year rule of Ahmadinejad's predecessor Mohammad Khatami, Islamic dress codes were not strictly enforced.