by Our Foreign Desk

CAMPAIGNERS for Iranian people’s human rights cautioned yesterday against complacency in pressing the Tehran government on its record in this area.

The Committee for Iranian People’s Rights (Codir) welcomed the opportunities that the lifting of sanctions will bring for the beleaguered Iranian economy and the country’s impoverished workforce, but it expressed concern that there was still much work to do on the human and democratic rights agenda.

Codir assistant general secretary Jamshid Ahmadi stressed the significance of the international community continuing to support the campaign for human and democratic rights in Iran.

“The detention of hundreds of trade unionists and political activists remains a reality of life in Iran today,” he said.

“Trade union rights are basic human rights and international pressure upon the Iranian government is vital if we are to achieve the release of those unjustly imprisoned.”

An end to international sanctions against Iran was signalled by the International Atomic Energy Agency report this weekend that Tehran has complied with the agency’s inspection regime in relation to its domestic nuclear energy programme.

It followed US-Iranian agreement on a mutual prisoner release, with four US-Iranian prisoners being released from jail in Iran and the US pardoning seven Iranians — six of whom have dual citizenship — who were accused or convicted of violating US sanctions.

Codir welcomed the prisoner releases as evidence of reduced bilateral tension and suggested that Tehran should make similar concessions in the domestic arena.

This would mean freeing political prisoners, including trade unionists, women’s rights campaigners and leaders of the Green Movement protests that erupted in the wake of the 2009 presidential election.