Organising pickets against the sham trial of the Saghez activists

Comrades,

The Iranian regime has postponed the sham trial of the Saghez activists until 23 September 2004 . This gives the true defenders of the working class more time to organise a robust and international campaign to expose and stop the fraudulent ‘legal proceedings' against the seven activists arrested on May Day. For example, although Mahmood Salehi, Mohammad Abdipoor, Borhan Divangar and Jalal Hosseini, were originally arrested and charged with taking part in an “illegal gathering”, the May Day rally in Saghez, they are now being tried for membership of Komala, a banned Kurdish organisation.

The change in the charges represents a desperate attempt by the regime to recover some of the ground it lost when it had to release the seven labour activists after they went on hunger strike. The regime obviously does not want the May Day victory to set a precedent for the Iranian labour movement and is determined to break the workers' renewed self-confidence.

We therefore have to step up our campaign. This particular case, which is part of the general lack of rights that workers in Iran suffer from, needs to be highlighted so that we stop the regime from regaining any lost ground. We need to gain a further step forward if possible. To make our solidarity work as effective as possible we propose that pickets be held on the same day in several countries.

We therefore need the help of activists throughout the world to picket Iranian diplomatic missions. We propose that a picket be held on Monday 20 September . It should be held at 12:00-14:00 to allow comrades who work to be present and make their contribution.

We hope that comrades can try to involve their workmates and trade unions, their fellow students and students unions, and any activists or other progressive organisation they belong to in supporting the picket and the general campaign for workers' rights in Iran.

In solidarity,

Iranian Workers' Solidarity Network (IWSN)

12 September 2004