Criticism of the widespread wave of summons, intimidation, and arrests of teachers in Iran
The Secretary General of the Iranian Teachers Organization announced on Tuesday, May 10, that the wave of summons, intimidation, and arrests of educators has become more widespread.
In an interview with a news-analytical website, Tahereh Naghiei called the continuation of the promises made by Islamic Republic officials regarding teachers' demands "absurd and impractical."
The Secretary General of the Iranian Teachers' Organization says that the government is trying, as always, to prevent gatherings by intimidating, threatening, summoning, and arresting protesters.
Tahereh Naghiei, pointing out that the continuation of this security approach will increase the number of protesters, described the threat of teachers being fired from education as "pouring gasoline on the fire of dissatisfaction."
On May 5, Education Minister Yousef Nouri threatened that "based on Article 23 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations, the Violations Board can fire teachers who participate in these gatherings."
The new wave of summons and arrests of educators, which began a few days before Teacher's Day in Iran, continues.
On Monday, May 9, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network also announced the arrest of Farhad Mirzaei, a member of the Supreme Council of Teachers' Union Activists, in the city of Islamabad.
This is while Mohammad Habibi, the spokesman for the Iranian Teachers' Union, has also been imprisoned since May 1, and Nasser Shah Karami, Ali Akbar Baghani, Jafar Ebrahimi, Rasoul Badaghi, Eskandar Lotfi, and Masoud Nikkhah are also among the teachers who remain in detention.
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions warned in a statement three days ago that if the imprisoned teachers are not released in the coming days, they will hold a nationwide protest rally on Thursday, May 12.
Human Rights Watch also issued a statement on Thursday, May 5, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of teachers detained during peaceful protests.
The organization announced the number of teachers arrested at least 38, but some sources have reported an increase in the number of detainees to 70.
A number of Iranian political and civil activists issued a statement last week protesting the arrest of teachers' union activists in various cities.
Thousands of working and retired teachers have held several nationwide rallies in dozens of cities across Iran in recent months.
Their demands include the full implementation of the ranking plan, equalization of pensioners' rights, an end to security pressures on educators, and the release of imprisoned teachers. The teacher ranking bill was approved in the Islamic Consultative Assembly in December of last year, but teachers describe the bill as a "combination" and say that the approved plan is miles away from their demands.
The livelihood crisis and rampant inflation in Iran in recent years have led to protests from various segments of society, including workers and retirees.
Source: Voice of America
