Teachers gathered in various Iranian cities; attack on Tehran gathering and arrest of several teachers

Retired and active teachers held protest gatherings on Thursday, April 9, in various cities across Iran at the call of the Coordination Council of Professional Associations of Educators.

At the Tehran gathering in front of the Budget and Planning Organization, teachers held placards protesting the privatization of education and teachers’ wages below the poverty line, but this peaceful demonstration turned violent with the intervention of security forces and plainclothes officers.

According to reports, at least 15 people were arrested in the security forces’ attack.

Mohammad Habibi, a member of the board of directors of the Tehran Teachers’ Professional Association, Mohammad Taghi Fallahi, secretary general of the Tehran Teachers’ Professional Association, Rasoul Badaqi, inspector of the Tehran Teachers’ Professional Association, Ali Zolfi, Mohammad Hassan Poureh, Ismail Gerami, and Alieh Eqdamdoost are among those arrested.

The Coordination Council of Professional Associations of Educators of Iran described the attack on the teachers’ gathering in a statement as “a bitter incident” in which “not only were the civil rights of the country’s teachers trampled underfoot by uncivil and inhumane decisions, but it also clearly demonstrated that the rule of law and democracy that some officials claim in various forums is nothing but a mirage of illusion.”

Source: Voice of America