Mansour Osanloo, president of the Vahed Bus Drivers Union in Tehran, is in prison following his abduction on July 10, two weeks after attending global labor meetings in London and Brussels. Take action!

The global labor movement has learned that Osanloo is being secretly detained in Evin prison, notorious for its inhumane treatment of inmates. His family, friends, and attorneys believe authorities are holding him without charges. He has not been allowed visits or telephone calls.

Witnesses report that Osanloo was getting off a city bus at about 7:00 p.m. local time when an unmarked metallic gray Peugeot that had followed him all day pulled up and blocked the bus. Plainclothes assailants attacked Osanloo, yelling at passengers to stay away and calling Osanloo a “hoodlum and a thug.” Osanloo shouted back that he was the president of the bus drivers union. He was severely beaten and continued to receive beatings even after he was shoved into the Peugeot, a model characteristic of Iran’s intelligence and security forces. As the car sped away, the bus driver quickly notified Osanloo’s family about the kidnapping.

Osanloo, who was sentenced on May 28 to a five-year prison term, had returned two weeks earlier from a trip to London and Brussels. He was a surprise speaker at meetings of the International Transport Workers Federation, with which Vahed is affiliated, and the International Trade Union Confederation, the umbrella organization for unions worldwide. Osanloo received standing ovations as he passionately described the many challenges that his union and all Iranian workers face. The global labor movement and human rights organizations closely monitored Osanloo's return to Iran so as to ensure his safe arrival.

This latest attack on a union leader appears to be part of an orchestrated and brutal crackdown on Iranian unions. Vahed Vice-President Ebrahim Madadi was arrested on July 3 but released two days later as the result of protests from unions around the world. Imprisoned Mahmoud Salehi of the Bakery Workers Union is near death because his captors deny him crucial medical treatment.

The AFL-CIO, the British Trades Union Congress, the International Transport Workers Federation, and Education International join many others in the global labor movement in demanding Osanloo’s immediate release and respect for worker rights in Iran.

Take Action!

Write a letter or sign a petition to the Iranian government to demand that Osanloo be released immediately and unharmed.

Read the Solidarity Center July 11 press release.

Read letters from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to the Iranian President in English and Farsi.

Learn more about the Solidarity Center’s work with the global labor movement to protect Iranian worker rights.