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April 6, 2005: According to the latest news from Iran, Messrs Mohsen Hakimi, Mahmoud Salehi and Borhan Divangar, 3 of the 7 arrested workers during the 2004 May Day event in the City of Saqez, faced their second trials respectively on April 4^th and 5^th at the Branch one of the Saqez’ Revolution Court.

These labour activists have been charged with sympathizing with an opposition political organization, Komala, attempting to hold an illegal gathering and a number of other allegations. Mr. Salehi was also charged with contacting and meeting an ICFTU mission on 29 April 2004 in Tehran. Lawyers for the three activists opposed all the charges. The legal defence team for these activists had previously requested that a representative of the Intelligence Ministry to attend the hearings for further examination of the allegations; however, no one has yet to present any evidence on behalf of the Intelligence. According to Mr. Mohammad Sharif, the defendants’ lawyer, this could be Salehi’s last court hearing and he might face the verdict soon.

The hearings for 4 other labour activists, which were scheduled for the same days, were postponed because according to the presiding judge their files were not yet complete. The trials of the 7 Iranian labour activists, Mahmoud Salehi, Mohammad Abdipour, Esmaeel Khodkam, Mohsen Hakimi, Hadi Tanoumand, Jalal Hosseini and Borhan Divangar were originally scheduled for September 23^rd, 2004; however, their hearings got postponed several times until last December. The growing pressure by the international labour movement, particularly an extensive campaign by the ICFTU, following the arrest of these labour activists created an unfavourable situation for the government authorities to proceed with the trials at the time. More pressure on the Iranian authorities is urgently needed at this point to ensure the unconditional dismissal of all charges against these fellow workers.

For more information, contact [email protected]

International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran


	Iranian Labour Activists Facing Second Trials April 6, 2005: According to the latest news from Iran, Messrs Mohsen Hakimi, Mahmoud Salehi and Borhan Divangar, 3 of the 7 arrested workers during the 2004 May Day event in the City of Saqez, faced their second trials respectively on April 4^th and 5^th at the Branch one of the Saqez’ Revolution Court. These labour activists have been charged with sympathizing with an opposition political organization, Komala, attempting to hold an illegal gathering and a number of other allegations. Mr. Salehi was also charged with contacting and meeting an ICFTU mission on 29 April 2004 in Tehran. Lawyers for the three activists opposed all the charges. The legal defence team for these activists had previously requested that a representative of the Intelligence Ministry to attend the hearings for further examination of the allegations; however, no one has yet to present any evidence on behalf of the Intelligence. According to Mr. Mohammad Sharif, the defendants’ lawyer, this could be Salehi’s last court hearing and he might face the verdict soon. The hearings for 4 other labour activists, which were scheduled for the same days, were postponed because according to the presiding judge their files were not yet complete. The trials of the 7 Iranian labour activists, Mahmoud Salehi, Mohammad Abdipour, Esmaeel Khodkam, Mohsen Hakimi, Hadi Tanoumand, Jalal Hosseini and Borhan Divangar were originally scheduled for September 23^rd, 2004; however, their hearings got postponed several times until last December. The growing pressure by the international labour movement, particularly an extensive campaign by the ICFTU, following the arrest of these labour activists created an unfavourable situation for the government authorities to proceed with the trials at the time. More pressure on the Iranian authorities is urgently needed at this point to ensure the unconditional dismissal of all charges against these fellow workers. For more information, contact [email protected] International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran