– The Truck drivers in Iran are on strike from September 28 to October 9, today. Their strike has expanded to 320 . During this strike 256 drivers have been arrested. Truck drivers are protesting high prices, unemployment, lack of job security, non-payment of salaries, lack of right to form associations and labour unions, and failure to comply with their promises. One of the protests by truck drivers is protesting the road insecurity and disregarding this job as a detrimental one. The driver’s protests are subjects of the protest of all the ordinary people, including workers, teachers and retirees in Iran
-Mohammad Habibi, member of the board of directors of the Teachers’ Association in Tehran, arrested on May 10,2018, is still in prison.
Sentence: Ten and a half years imprisonment and 74 lashes
-Esmail Abdi, a teacher and a member of the executive board of Teachers’ Association of Tehran, arrested on November 9, 2016 and still in prison.
Sentence: 6 years imprisonment
-Mahmoud Beheshti, teacher and a member of the board of directors of the Teachers’ Association, arrested on September12, 2017 and still in prison.
Sentence: 5 years imprisonment
-Rouhollah Mardani, a teacher and student at Tehran University, arrested February 17, 2018 and is still in prison.
Sentence: 6 years imprisonment and 2 years of social exclusion
-Atena Daemi (the children’s and women’s rights, activist) was arrested in November 26, 2016.
Sentence: 7 years imprisonment
– “ Free Them Now” expects all unions around the world specially all the transport unions to support the struggles and demands of the truck drivers in Iran.
-“Free Them Now” calls for condemning these arrests and the threat and repression of the worker’s protests in Iran and calling for the immediate release of detained striking drivers.
-“ Free Them Now” calls for a ban on lashing sentences and the cancellation of Mohammad Habibi’s convictions .
-All charges brought against imprisoned worker- and teacher activists must be dropped.
– Securitizing Workers’, Teachers’, and the General Public’s Protests in Iran should be stopped. Trials of workers and all political activists must be stopped and any kind of fabrication of charges against them must be cancelled.
We expect your broad support and appreciate if you send a copy of your support letters to Free Them Now address.
Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran
Shahla.daneshfar2@gmail.com