International Confederation of Trade Unions (ITUC) writes to ILO to raise the plight of Civil and Trade Union Activists imprisoned in Iran

As reported by the Iranian news website Akhbar-Rooz, the General Secretary of the ‎International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has called on the International Labour ‎Organization (ILO) to intervene and ask the Iranian government for the immediate and ‎unconditional release of Ms. Haleh Safarzadeh and Mr. Alireza Saghafi, whose labour ‎rights have been violated.‎

According to Akhbar-Rooz, the ITUC petition states that Ms. Safarzadeh and Mr. Saghafi ‎were tried at the revolutionary court of Karaj on 25 July 2019 on the false charge ‎of propaganda against the Iranian regime and sentenced to one year imprisonment.‎

Haleh Safarzadeh, Alireza Saghafi, and others were arrested at a private gathering at Mr. ‎Saghafi’s workplace. Although other activists were released on the same day, Haleh ‎Safarzadeh and Alireza Saghafi remain in one of Iran’s most brutal prisons (Kachuei), ‎where prisoners are being held for serious criminal offenses.‎

The ITUC notes that the Committee for the Freedom of Associations and the ‎Committee on the Application of Standards have repeatedly drawn the attention of the ‎Iranian regime to its failure to respect the basic rights and core conventions of the ‎International Labour Organization (ILO).‎

The Confederation has requested the immediate intervention of the International Labor ‎Organization and has called on the Iranian government to immediately and ‎unconditionally release Haleh Safarzadeh and Alireza Saghafi, return any and all of their ‎confiscated belongings, and drop all charges against them, and stop any further arrests, ‎harassment, or intimidation.