Free Republic

Mansour Osanlou, the leader of Tehran's municipal bus service union, was reportedly assaulted by an inmate in an Iranian prison, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. The trade unionist was not injured in the attack, which occurred at Gohardasht prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, on February 22. Osanlou was arrested in July 2007 after being abducted on the street by security forces. He is serving a five-year prison term for what authorities say was acting against "national security." He had been detained several times between 2005-2007. Canadian-based labor activist Mehdi Kouhestaninejad told RFE/RL that Osanlou has been persecuted in prison by...

Iranian union leader’s wife and sister arrested 6 September 2007 The wife and sister of the imprisoned Iranian bus union leader, Mansour Osanloo, were arrested in Tehran after they attempted to meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights who was visiting Iran. Parvaneh Osanloo, the wife of the leader of the Tehran bus workers’ union, Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkate Vahed, and his sister, visited the United Nations building in Tehran on Monday to meet with High Commissioner Louise Arbour. She was in Tehran to address the issue of detained students. Osanloo’s wife and sister planned to highlight the...