We attended the London rally for Kobane in solidarity with Kurdish (and others) resistance against ISIS on Saturday. At the rally we collected over 150 signatures, including that of Peter Tatchell who has agreed to help publicise the campaign.
Thank you to all of those who helped us gather signatures and to those who signed.
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Thank you to all of you who have signed the petition to free Shahrokh Zamani. We recently heard that Shahrokh’s hunger strike ended after a month last April when he was moved back to Gohardasht prison. He is however weak and suffering illnesses associated with his hunger strike.
Whilst in Rajaie prison Shahrokh was with another imprisoned trade unionist, Reza Shahabi. Reza is the treasurer of the Tehran Bus Workers Union and has been imprisoned on similar charges. Reza has severe health problems from torture yet has been denied access to health care multiple times. He recently got one operation he needs but he is still imprisoned for the crime of being a trade unionist.
We have extended our campaign to include Reza and added new materials to our blog – https://shahrokhzamani.wordpress.com/
Please consider helping us by doing one of the following things:
• Take a petition around your union branch meeting, ask your work colleagues to sign or pass a petition around a university lecture you are in.
• Organise a regular street stall; make banners and placards, ask members of the public to sign the petition.
• Share the online petition – bit.ly/freeshahrokhandreza
• Change your facebook and twitter pictures to support Shahrokh and Reza.
• Write to your MP and ask them to sign the Early Day Motion tabled by John McDonnell.
• Join us outside the Iranian Embassy, London on February 11 to hand in our petition signatures.
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The following motion was passed unanimously at the National Union of Students executive on the 16h September
Shahrokh Zamani and Reza Shahabi solidarity
Proposed by: Daniel Cooper
Seconded by: Shreya Paudel, James Elliot, Vonnie Sandlan, Sal Enghlert
NEC Believes:
1. The ongoing imprisonment and severe mistreatment of Iranian trade unionists Shahrokh Zamani (painters’ union) and Reza Shahabi (Tehran bus workers’ union).
NEC Resolves:
2. To express our solidarity with comrades Shahrokh Zamani and Reza Shahabi, write to the Iranian government and embassy demanding their release, ask Constituent Members to do the same.
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Date:
25 July, 2014 – 18:00 – 19:30
Location:
Iranian Embassy, 16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT
Come to the Iranian Embassy to show solidarity with Shahrokh Zamani and demand that the Iranian authorities release him immediately – trade union activism should not be a crime!
A friend of Shahrokh, Reza Shahabi has also been unjustly imprisoned for working within the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. He has been imprisoned since 2010 for “gathering and colluding against state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system” . His sentence is 4 years in prison, 5 years ban from trade union activities and a 70 million rial fine.
He started his latest hunger strike on the 1st of July and his condition is deteriorating.
Come to the Iranian Embassy to show solidarity with Shahrokh Zamani and Reza Shahabi and demand that the Iranian authorities release them immediately – trade union activism should not be a crime!
Find more information about Reza’s current condition here: https://hra-news.org/en/reza-shahabi-continues-hunger-strike-hospital
For Facebook event click here
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Legendary US rap group Atmosphere, founder-artists of independent label Rhymesayers, have shown their support for the campaign to free Shahrokh by retweeting the petition to their 159,000 followers. Continue reading
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The following is the text of an early day motion that is to be presented to the British Parliament House of Commons in on the 4th of June 2014.
“IMPRISONMENT AND MALTREATMENT OF SHAHROKH ZAMANI AND OTHER TRADE UNIONISTS IN IRAN
That this House notes with great concern that Shahrokh Zamani, a member of the Painters’ Union, was charged with “endangering national security” and “participating in an illegal organisation” following his attempts to build an independent trade union and was then physically and psychologically abused, denied medication, denied access to visitors and has recently been transferred to the notorious Ghezel Hesar prison; notes the recent 47-day hunger strike conducted by Mr Zamani in protest against maltreatment of himself and fellow prisoners; urges the Iranian government to release Mr Zamani unconditionally; and calls upon the UK Government to press the Iranian government to respect trade union rights and International Labour Organisation conventions.”
We thank the office of John McDonnell MP (Labour) for taking up this issue.
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Tagged British Government, Early Day Motion, iran, John McDonnell, MP, Parliament
Numerous students and activists have been taking photos with our Shahrokh Zamani posters to raise awareness of Shahrokh’s imprisonment.
Please feel free to do something similar, and post it to twitter and social media with the hashtag #FreeShahrokh
Workers’ Liberty Members
RMT Comrades
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On May Day prisoners in Karaj’s Rejai Shahr prison gathered to celebrate International Workers’ Day. During the ceremony Shahrokh Zamani, who had recently ended his 47-day hunger strike, made a speech that ended with the following paragraph:
“Workers, activists and labour organisations, we must learn the lessons of the history of our struggles and the struggles of the workers of the world. Together with the workers of the world let us turn this year’s May Day into the day of unity, struggle, empathy and camaraderie of all workers’ movements for organising resistance and struggle to destroy temporary contracts, blank-signed contracts and for establishing permanent jobs, imposing wages in line with inflation and decent living wages, imposing the right to strike, the right to form independent organisations and progressive labour legislation.”
Shahrokh then chanted the following slogans:
“The workers’ way out is unity and organisation!”
“Long live May Day, the day of International Workers’ Solidarity against the capitalist system!”
“Let us create a workers’ party and general workers’ unions!”
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Tagged Amnesty, iran, Prison, Rejai Shahr, Shahrokh Zamani, Trade Unions
On Thursday the 1st of May, the Guardian published a letter signed by student activists pleading with the Iranian Government to release Shahrokh. The letter can be found on the Guardian’s website here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/30/iran-imprisoned-trade-unionist
The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) is supporting the campaign to free jailed Iranian trade unionist Shahrokh Zamani. Just as we support students and workers’ struggles everywhere in the world, we stand in solidarity with those fighting to build independent trade unions and student organisations in Iran – both have faced massive repression from the Iranian state.
The following statement, initiated by NCAFC supporters, has been signed by student officers and activists from across the country, including almost half of the National Union of Students national executive. We’ll be sending it to the press soon as a letter. If you’d like to add your name, emailshreya.paudel2010@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
For the online petition which has been signed by hundreds of students across the country, see here.
***
We the undersigned student union officers and student activists demand the release of imprisoned Iranian trade unionist Shahrokh Zamani, who has just ended a hunger strike of over forty days and whose health is seriously deteriorating. He has been in prison since 2011 for the crime of seeking to build independent unions in Iran.
Shreya Paudel, National Union of Students International Students Officer-elect
Dom Anderson, NUS Vice President Society & Citizenship
Daniel Stevens, NUS International Students Officer
Piers Telemacque, NUS VP Society & Citizenship-elect, Bradford College SU President
Joe Vinson, NUS Vice President (Further Education)
Hannah Paterson, NUS Disabled Students Officer
Sky Yarlett, NUS LGBT Officer (Open Place)
Finn McGoldrick, NUS LGBT Officer (Women’s Place)
Gordon Maloney, NUS Scotland President
Steph Lloyd, NUS Wales President
Megan Dunn, NUS Vice President (Higher Education)-elect
Kelley Temple, NUS Women’s Officer
Shelly Asquith, SUArts President and NUS London Chair
Omar Raii, University College London Union External Affairs and Campaigns Officer-elect
Rachel O’Brien, University of Birmingham Guild of Students
Deborah Hermanns, University of Birmingham Guild of Students
Chantel Le Carpentier, University of Essex SU President-elect and NUS NEC
Tom Flynn, University of Bristol Union VP Education and NUS NEC
James Potter, Essex University SU VP Education
Grace Skelton, Manchester SU General Secretary
Jamie Green, Royal Holloway SU VP Communication and Campaigns
Kelly Rogers, NUS Trustee Board-elect
Edd Bauer, NUS Trustee Board
Beth Redmond, National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts
Tom Rutland, Oxford University SU President
Roshni Joshi, Ruskin College SU
Robert Eagleton, Cardinal Newman College SU
Hamish Yewdall, Northumbria SU Councillor
Elliot Folan, Union of UEA Students
Michael Chessum, University of London Union President
Daniel Cooper, University of London Union Vice President and NUS NEC-elect
Hattie Craig, Birmingham University VP Education
Becca Anderson, Gateshead College SU President
Kirsty Haigh, Edinburgh University Students’ Association VP Services
Emma Barnes, NUS Part-Time Students Representative
Josh Rowlands, NUS Mature Students Representative
Jawanza Ipyana, NUS NEC Disabled Students Member
Rosie Huzzard, NUS National Executive Council
James McAsh, NUS NEC
Charles Barry, NUS NEC
Peter Smallwood, NUS NEC
Rhiannon Durrans, NUS NEC
Jessica Goldstone, NUS NEC
Chris Clements, NUS NEC
Amy Smith, NUS NEC-elect
Robert Foster, NUS NEC Scotland Representative
Afreen Saulat, Bath University SU
Chris Pagett, Bath University SU
Freya Martin, Sheffield Hallam SU
Emma Booth, Kent University Labour Students Chair
Miguel Costa Matos, Warwick SU
Roza Salih, Vice President Diversity & Advocacy at Strathclyde Students’ Association and NUS Trustee Board-elect
Alannah Ainslie, Aberdeen University Students Association
James Elliott, NUS NEC Disabled Students Member-elect.
Xavier Cohen, Environment & Ethics Officer, Oxford University Student Union
Christopher Rawlinson, Harris Manchester College JCR President, University of Oxford
Vonnie Sandlan, NUS SEC and NUS NEC-elect
Hannah Webb, UCLU External Affairs and Campaigns Officer, NCAFC NC
Helena Mika, JCR Secretary, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford
Abdi-aziz Suleiman, NUS NEC-elect
Dario Celaschi, President of Stanmore College Students’ Union and NEC (elect)
Clifford Fleming, Manchester SU Campaigns and Citizenship Officer, NUC NEC (elect) and co-chair of Young Greens
Zarah Sultana, NUS Black Students’ Committee and NUS NEC-elect
Andy Forse, Milton Keynes College SU
Kelly Teeboon, Liverpool Students’ Union Womens’ Campaign Officer
To sign email shreya.paudel2010@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
An NCAFC caucus at the National Union of Students 2014 conference (8-10 April, Liverpool) shows solidarity with Shahrokh Zamani
Via: anticuts.com
Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell. Organiser: Comrade Martin.
Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign 