The life of imprisoned Iranian labor leader Mahmoud Salehi is in grave danger because the authorities will not allow him to receive medical care.

Salehi, a well-known labor activist and member of the Bakery Workers’ union in Kurdistan, was arrested on April 9, 2007. Authorities gave him no time to retrieve vital medication before shipping him to a maximum-security prison more than 200 miles away from his home. Despite numerous attempts, his family and attorneys have not been allowed to see him. Repeated requests for his temporary release on medical grounds have been denied. Salehi suffers from chronic kidney disease, and his health is failing rapidly. He has only one functioning kidney and requires dialysis to prevent the other from shutting down. Without treatment, he will die.

In Iran’s repressive regime, Salehi has been constantly persecuted for his union activities, recording numerous arrests over nearly three decades. His current incarceration stems from his arrest on May 1, 2004, for organizing a May Day rally in the city of Saqez. After Salehi and his fellow organizers, dubbed the Saqez Seven, went on a hunger strike, they were released on heavy bail, and charges were dropped against three of the men. The Iranian government has pursued a cruel campaign of relentless judicial harassment against the remaining four. On February 14, 2005, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (now the International Trade Union Confederation) filed formal complaints to the International Labor Organization, condemning the Iranian government’s torture of the Saqez Seven as well as the union activists’ “unfair trial on trumped-up charges.” 

On July 5, 2007, the ITUC issued a press release expressing its grave concern for Salehi’s health. ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder wrote an open letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, urging him to release Salehi.

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Join the global labor community in an urgent campaign to demand Salehi’s immediate and unconditional release.

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