Mohammad Taghi Fallahi, Secretary General of the Iranian Teachers' Union, was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison.

Mohammad Taghi Fallahi, Secretary General of the Iranian Teachers' Union (Tehran), was arrested on Wednesday morning, January 19, and transferred to Evin Prison to serve his six-month sentence.

According to the Human Rights in Iran report, Mr. Fallahi's arrest occurred "without sending a notification to enforce the sentence" and "security officers raided his private home."

The Coordination Council of Teachers' Unions has condemned "any arrest, imprisonment, and issuance of judicial sentences against union activists" and called for the "immediate release" of Mohammad Taqi Fallahi.

This teachers' union activist was arrested on February 9, 2019, for his union activities, including participating in teachers' protest rallies, and transferred to "solitary cell" in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. After completing his interrogation by the Ministry of Intelligence security forces, Mr. Fallahi was released from prison on bail pending the completion of the trial.

However, he was later sentenced to two years in prison by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of "gathering and colluding through membership in an illegal organization."

The verdict of the lower court was confirmed in October 2020 by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal, headed by Judge Ahmad Zargar Aina. This verdict was ultimately reduced to a final "six months' imprisonment" by the Iranian Administrative Court of Justice.

Previously, a number of retired and working teachers in the country had issued a joint statement protesting the conviction of this union activist. The statement stated that prison is not the place for Mohammad Taqi Fallahi, but for those who “violate the rights of the nation” and “for judges who turn a blind eye to the constitution when (issuing) their verdicts.”

The statement added: "For years, participating in trade union gatherings has been subject to Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code, and many trade union activists have been sentenced to suspended and penal servitude on this charge and invoking this legal article."

According to Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code, "If two or more people gather and conspire to commit crimes against internal or external security of the country or provide the means to commit them, they will be sentenced to two to five years in prison if the title of warlord does not apply to them."

Protest rallies by teachers in recent months, especially in large cities, have sometimes been accompanied by a tight security environment, violence against protesters, and the arrest of some of them.

The most important demand of working and retired teachers in recent protest rallies is the full implementation of the ranking of 80% of university faculty for working teachers and the implementation of equalization of salaries for retired teachers.

After about ten years of uncertainty and an increase in teacher protest rallies in recent months, the teacher ranking bill was finally approved by the Iranian parliament on December 14 of this year.

In response to the passage of this bill, the spokesperson for the Teachers' Union announced that the approved bill was not approved by teachers and educators' unions and said that "nationwide teacher rallies will continue until the desired demands are met."

Source: Radio Farda