3 December, 2008On the night of Thursday November 13th 2008 Alexei Etmanov, the leader of the Ford-Vsevelozhsk trade union and co-chairman of Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an affiliate of IMF, was assaulted once again.
RUSSIA: On the night of Thursday November 13th 2008 Alexei Etmanov, the leader of the Ford-Vsevelozhsk trade union and co-chairman of Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an affiliate of IMF, was assaulted once again.
This latest attack on Alexei Etmanov happened late at night when a stranger armed with a metal rod was waiting for Alexei on the stairs of his apartment building. The fact that Alexei and his wife escaped what would have been a brutal assault was a mere miracle.
Thanks to brave actions of Etmanov himself and his comrades from the local trade unions' committee who were accompanying him to his house as security guards the attacker was blocked in the building and later arrested by the police.
However, just a day later the arrested attacker, who turned out to be inhabitant of Volgograd, was released "for the lack of proof of guilt" and the investigation of the case is effectively suspended.
This is not the first attack on Etmanov, on the night of November 8th three unidentified attackers assaulted him on his way from the parking lot to his apartment building. The next day Etmanov's deputy, Vladimir Lesik - a member of the trade union's committee - was telephoned by a stranger who threatened to kill the union's leaders. Other members of ITUA have been assaulted too including the leaders of the local trade union organisation of Taganrog automobile plant, Alexei Gramm and Sergei Brizgalov. Those incidents were not investigated either.
The International Metalworkers Federation is carrying out a campaign to protect the leaders of ITUA, demanding that the Russian authorities conduct a complete investigation of all cases of the assaults and to punish the guilty ones - both those that too part and those who ordered the crimes to be committed.
The general secretary of the IMF, Marcello Malentacci, has sent a letter with these demands to the government of Russian Federation and has called on all IMF affiliates to send letters of protest to the ITUA in support of the campaign and the call to defend trade union rights in Russia.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Join the LabourStart campaign to protest the violence against ITUA leaders.