Reza Shahabi, a board member and Treasurer of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Vahed Syndicate) was arrested last Saturday, according to Street Journalist website.

Mr. Shahbi was on a sick leave for the past few days; when he returned to work this morning he was told to report to the Tehran Bus Company headquarter. After reporting to the headquarter he was arrested by four intelligence agents. Following his arrest, Mr. Shahabi was taken to his home where they searched his belongings and personal information including his computer and afterwards transferred him to an unknown location. His whereabouts has not been reported to his family.

As of this time, four leaders and elected representatives of Vahed Syndicate are in prison. Mansour Osanloo, Syndicate’s president of the board of director, Ebrahim Madadi, Vice-President; Saeed Torabian, Public relations director and Reza Shahabi, Treasurer.

In addition some other members of the Vahed syndicate have been harassed at work by the Vahed Company and there are fear of more arrests of Vahed Syndicate members and other labour activists. In recent weeks, Mr. Osanloo has been subject to harassment and threats of new charges by prison officials and other agents of the Islamic Republic in prison. While in prison, Mr. Osanloo has recently been interrogated and accused of relationship with opposition groups as well as insulting Khamanei and Ahmadinejad. These allegations have been denied by Osanloo. Both Torabian and Shahabi had been suspended without pay from work for about four years following the 2005 strike. After years of inquiries they were finally reinstated in their job and were returned to work but now they are arrested as a part of an obvious scheme orchestrated jointly by intelligence officials and the Tehran Bus Company. We need to stand up against this new wave of attacks against on bus workers of Tehran and their union.