Mohammad-Taghi Fallahi, Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers Trade Association, Arrested and Transferred to Evin Prison
Mohammad-Taghi Fallahi, Secretary General of the Teachers Trade Association of Iran (Tehran), was arrested on Wednesday morning, December 29, and transferred to Evin Prison to serve his six-month sentence.
According to Human Rights in Iran, Mr. Fallahi’s arrest occurred “without sending a notice for the enforcement of the sentence” and through “a raid by security forces on his personal residence.”
The Coordination Council of Teachers’ Trade Associations has condemned “any arrest, imprisonment, and issuance of judicial rulings against labor activists” and called for the “immediate release” of Mohammad-Taghi Fallahi.
This teachers’ labor activist was arrested on February 9, 2020, due to his professional activities, including participation in teachers’ protest gatherings, and was transferred to “solitary confinement” in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Mr. Fallahi was released on bail after the completion of interrogation by the Ministry of Intelligence security forces until the end of legal proceedings.
However, he was later sentenced to two years of imprisonment for “gathering and conspiracy through membership in an illegal organization” by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court.
The first instance court ruling was confirmed in September 2020 by Branch 36 of Tehran Province’s Court of Appeal, headed by Judge Ahmad Zargar. This ruling was ultimately reduced to a “six-month sentence” by Iran’s Administrative Justice Court.
Previously, a number of retired and active teachers protested the conviction of this labor activist by issuing a joint statement. The statement stated that prison is not the place for Mohammad-Taghi Fallahi, but rather for those who “trample on the people’s rights” and “for judges who close their eyes to the constitution when issuing verdicts.”
The statement added: “For years, participation in trade union gatherings has been subject to Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code, and many labor activists have been sentenced to suspended and punitive imprisonment on this charge and based on this legal article.”
According to Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code, “whenever two or more persons gather and conspire to commit crimes against the internal or external security of the country or provide the means for committing them, provided that the title of mohareb does not apply to them, they shall be sentenced to two to five years imprisonment.”
Teachers’ protest gatherings in recent months, particularly in major cities, have sometimes been accompanied by intense security atmosphere, violence against protesters, and the arrest of some of them.
The most important demands of active and retired teachers in recent protest gatherings are the full implementation of ranking at 80 percent of the university faculty level for active teachers and the implementation of salary equalization for retired teachers.
After approximately ten years of uncertainty and an increase in teachers’ protest gatherings in recent months, the teachers’ ranking bill was finally passed by the Iranian parliament on December 15 this year.
In response to how this bill was passed, the spokesperson of the Teachers Trade Association stated that the approved bill does not have the approval of teachers and teachers’ professional associations, and said that “nationwide teachers’ gatherings will continue until the desired demand is met.”
Source: Radio Farda
