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Iranian Authorities 'Refuse To Release Labor Activist' On Bail


Reza Shahabi
Reza Shahabi
The family of a jailed Iranian trade union activist says authorities continue to hold him some two months after bail was posted, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Reza Shahabi, the treasurer of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union, was arrested in June.

According to statements released by the union, Shahabi was to be released on October 11 after his family posted bail of 60 million tomans ($57,103). The family said it further agreed to pay a surety of 100 million tomans, but that Shahabi remains in prison.

"They say he is not going to be released for certain reasons," but no one has
disclosed those reasons, Shahabi's brother Hassan told Radio Farda on December 9.

"He is just a labor activist and his only activity is to support labor rights. If the demand for labor rights and support of the labor is a crime, they ought to say so," Hassan Shahabi said.

Two other members of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union, Ebrahim Madadi, and Mansur Osanlu, are serving prison terms of three and five years respectively on charges of endangering security.

Amnesty International has condemned the pressures brought to bear on independent trade unions in Iran, saying that the situation has become worse since last year's disputed presidential election.
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