Parvaneh Osanloo: Mansour Osanloo’s Family is Defenseless

25 , June , 2010

Parvaneh Osanloo said ” I call upon all International Human Rights Organizations and anyone who cares for innocent people and their basic human rights to do what ever is in their power to help us out. We are defenseless here.”
 RAHANA- On Wednesday June 23rd, 2010 at around 5:30pm Zoya Samadi, Mansour Osanloo’s (Head of the Syndicate of Workers of  Tehran & Suburbs Bus Company) daughter in law was leaving work to go home.  Samadi was brutally accosted by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence at the Tarasht metro station when she stepped out of the metro momentarily in order to allow other passengers to leave the metro.

The Intelligence Ministry agents in plain sight of all those present, pulled off Ms. Samadi’s headscarf from her head and proceeded to beat her and drag her by the hair.

After arresting Samadi, she was taken to an undisclosed location for four hours.  While being tortured, the agents told her ” You must guarantee that if Osanloo is released from prison, he will never remain in Iran and that he will cease all activities.”  It is worth mentioning that in the past few days reports were released alluding to a pardon for Mansour Osanloo and his imminent release from jail. We spoke to Parvaneh Osanloo, Mr. Osanloo’s wife, regarding the possible news of her husband’s release from jail and the recent arrest of her daugher in law.  The content of our conversation is as follows:

Mrs. Osanloo describes her daughter in law Zoya Samadi’s arrest as follows: ” On Wednesday afternoon when Zoya was returning home from work, she was attacked by Intelligence Ministry agents at the Tarasht metro station. They began beating her from the moment she was arrested.  She was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location.”

While being arrested, Samadi tried to cry out for help. Her cries were however in vain as the agents proceeded with great speed and did not allow anyone to intervene. They then transferred her to a location she is unable to identify as a result of her blindfolds.

Parvaneh Osanloo made the following statement regarding Samadi’s current condition ” The extent of  Ms. Samadi’s  brutal beatings   are  clearly evident by the marks on her body today.  She is currently in a state of shock. Nose bleeding, nausea,  and a severe back pain are only some of the complications she is suffering due to this severe and brutal beating.”

Osanloo continued: ” I have no idea why they did such a thing.  My daughter in law has done nothing wrong and the fact that Mr. Osanloo is in prison has nothing to do with her.  My husband saw Zoya only one time on the night of her engagement to our son.  I am ashamed and humiliated in front of my daughter in law and her family. What has she done to deserve to be treated this way? They arrested her and continuously beat her for three to four hours. They then let left her injured under Seyed Khandan bridge.”

Upon finding out about this incident, the Osanloo family rushed to Zoya Samadi’s help and transferred her to a hospital where she was treated overnight.  The intelligence agents warned her ” You are not to inform anyone about this incident, nor are you allowed to file any form of complaint.”

In reference to this demand, Osanloo’s wife said ” What kind of behavior is this?  Why are they not asking Mr. Osanloo himself for guarantees to leave the country and to cease all his activities? How can his daughter in law give any guarantees on his behalf ? Mr. Osanloo is fully aware of what he must and must not do.  They think that by putting pressure on my husband, he will change into some one else.  He has already endured extreme hardship under the worst of circumstances. Why won’t they leave his family alone?”

“They removed the headscarf of an innocent woman who is a stranger to them [referencing Islamic rule that women should cover their hair in the company of those that are not a member of their family] and wrapped it around her neck to suffocate her.  They threatened her that if she says a word they will kill her and much more.  Is this Islam? Is this the rule of the law? Does our country not have any laws? Who are these individuals? Where do they come from? How do they dare commit such crimes in broad daylight?”

It is worth mentioning, that a few days ago, the International Labor Organization, ILO in its annual report on the Iranian Judiciary, announced that the Islamic Republic had agreed to pardon Mansour Osanloo the imprisoned head of the Syndicate of Workers of  Tehran & Suburbs Bus Company.

The news by the ILO lead to the kidnapping and torture of Osanloo’s daughter in law. Parvaneh Osanloo’s remarks regarding this matter were as follows: ” We had heard about this news. However, neither we nor Mr. Osanloo have been informed directly. The only thing they have done so far is inform my daughter in law that they plan to release my husband and if they do she must promise that he will leave Iran and cease all his activities.”

She continued: “The activities of Mr. Osanloo are nobody’s business. What kind of freedom is this? What is the value of a freedom associated with these types of threats and behavior? If this is the case, then we don’t want him to be freed.  This is not freedom. This is yet another form of imprisonment.  Why should we have to leave our country by force? Even though we are deprived of all security, Iran is still our country.  We feel a sense of insecurity and threat to our lives, even when we leave the house just to go shopping.”

Mansour Osanloo is enduring his fourth year in the section 3, ward 8 at Rajai Shahr prison.  Parvaneh Osanloo added “We have endured four years. When Mr. Osanloo was told of this incident he was deeply affected.  He has a five year sentence, with only one year remaining. We don’t want this type of freedom.  This is not freedom.  If need be, we will wait one more year until he is freed from prison.  They have brought so much pain to our family.  We have compliantly endured all of it with out a word. Is that not enough? They imprisoned him. They fired him from his job. How much injustice can they throw at one person?  In this country, does any one else other than them[referencing the current government of Iran] have any rights?”

In closing, Parvaneh Osanloo called upon all Human Rights Organizations to support the “defenseless” Osanloo family and said “I call upon all International Human Rights Organizations and anyone who cares for innocent people and their basic human rights to do what ever is in their power to help us out.  We are defenseless here.  They have damaged our family and continue to do so.”

Mansour Osanloo, the head of the Syndicate of Workers of  Tehran & Suburbs Bus Company, was first arrested in January 2006 when he spent 8 months in jail.  He was once again arrested in November 2006 and released a month later on bail. In the summer of 2007 Osanloo attended an annual meeting of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) in London where he was also a speaker. He was arrested for the 3rd time on 10 July 2007 when he returned back to Iran.  At the time of his arrest he was attacked by Intelligence Ministry agents on the street and first taken to Evin prison.  Osanloo was later transferred to Rajai Shahr prison where he still remains.