Some good news: two trade union leaders who were unjustly jailed have at long last been freed. The International Union of Food workers has announced that Basile Mahan Gahé, general secretary of the national trade union centre Dignité in the Ivory Coast, was finally freed from prison and has resumed his union duties. According to the IUF, “Basile warmly thanked all those in the international labour movement who fought for his release.” Meanwhile, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has reported on the release of jailed Russian trade union leader Valentin Urusov. According to the ITUC, “in early 2008 Urusov, a miner and trade union leader, was detained by the authorities, alleging narcotics possession. However, his arrest coincided suspiciously with preparations for a protest rally by workers at the state-owned Alrosa diamond mining company – a rally which Urusov helped organise. He was sentenced to six years in a penal colony.” In June 2012 LabourStart ran an online campaign that generated over 1,800 messages of support for Urusov’s release. In May 2011 shortly after Basile’s arrest, we publicized the IUF campaign in our email newsletter, helping to bring in thousands more supporters.
