Security forces ‘raid’ homes of active teachers; number of detainees reaches dozens
Following the release of a public call for teachers to hold protest gatherings on Sunday, May 1st, a wave of arrests of teachers and educational activists began as security forces raided several cities across Iran.
According to reports from educational sector media channels in Iran, at least 23 people have been arrested so far in raids by security forces on teachers’ homes or gatherings, though some sources report the number of detainees has risen to 70.
Meanwhile, various news sources report that dozens of teachers have been summoned in different cities across Iran.
The names of 23 detained teachers and educational activists have been released, including Safar Ramezani and Dr. Asadi in Langarud, Salah Sorkhi in Sanandaj, Mansoure Erfanian in Mashhad, Ali Haji in Jolfa, Dr. Mahmoudi in Aligoodarz, Reza Mosalemi in Hamadan, Mohammad Khajeh and Yousef Seyadi, Hamid Khajesteh, Ardeshir Seyadi, Faridon Shafiei, Mahmoud Malaki, Mohsen Omrani and Dr. Amanifar in Bushehr.
It has also been reported that in Marivan, Shaban Mohammadi, Masoud Nikkhah and Eskander (Soran) Lotfi were arrested at their homes at 4 a.m.
Earlier in Tehran, Ali Akbar Baghani, Rasoul Badaqi, Mohammad Habibi and Jafar Ebrahimi had also been arrested.
Fatema Bahmani, a teacher and educational activist in Shahreza in Central Province, is one of those detained. On Sunday, May 1st, she was arrested when security forces raided her home.
The “Human Rights in Iran” account on Twitter, while announcing this news, said that security forces also searched Bahmani’s house during the raid, confiscated some of her personal belongings, and took her to an unknown location.
Ms. Bahmani and her husband, Mohammad Kurd, had previously been arrested for their union activities. Ms. Bahmani was arrested by security forces on December 24th last year and released after a few hours.
This activist was also arrested in 2018 along with her husband during a teachers’ sit-in in Arak and was transferred to the city’s prison.
Ultimately, this couple was convicted in two separate cases by two courts to a total of two years suspended imprisonment for three years and payment of 8 million tomans in fines.
Based on this public call, Iranian teachers held gatherings on Sunday, May 1st across the country to pursue their demands.
Following the release of this call in recent days, arrests of educators and activists began before Sunday in various cities across Iran. Meanwhile, gatherings in many cities on Sunday were accompanied by heavy police presence and in some cities, including Bushehr, by violence.
The main demand of Iran’s employed and retired teachers in recent months’ protests has been the full implementation of the ranking plan at 80 percent of the university faculty level for employed teachers and the implementation of salary equalization for retired teachers.
Source: Radio Farda
