Request for conditional release of imprisoned teacher Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi rejected
The Tehran Prosecutor's Office has opposed the request for conditional release of Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, a teachers' union activist and spokesperson for the Teachers' Union.
Hossein Taj, the defense lawyer of Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, said in an interview with the ILNA news agency, Iran's labor news agency, that Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi's request for conditional release, which was sent to the prosecutor's office with the approval of prison officials and bailiffs, was rejected by the Tehran prosecutor's office.
This opposition has taken place despite the fact that, according to available information, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi has already served nearly three years of his five-year sentence in prison, and according to Article 58 of the Islamic Penal Code, this teachers' union activist is eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence.
Hossein Taj, Mr. Beheshti Langroodi's lawyer, referring to the resubmission of this request to the prosecutor's office, expressed hope that "the prosecutor will agree to it, considering the client's situation."
Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi was first arrested in 2004 as the teachers' movement spread and spent 31 days in detention. He was arrested again on March 13, 2006, during a teachers' rally in front of the parliament, and was sentenced to 4 years in prison by Judge Salavati.
This teacher union activist was arrested again in the spring of 2010 after a hunger strike to protest the treatment of imprisoned union activists by security agencies and sentenced to 5 years in prison. He was also arrested in the summer of 2015 after widespread protests by teachers and sentenced to 5 years in prison by a court ruled by Judge Moghiseh.
He has currently been sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison, which, according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, means that his total enforceable sentence is 5 years.
Abuzar Beheshti Langroudi, the son of Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, previously told VOA that despite serving a third of his father's sentence, authorities have not yet approved his request for parole.
Previously, five French labor unions wrote an open letter to the Leader of the Islamic Republic calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned male and female activists, including imprisoned teachers Ismail Abdi and Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi.
Currently, Mohammad Habibi, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, and Ismail Abdi are among the teachers' union activists who are in prison.
The handling of protesting teachers and their arrest by security forces had previously been met with protests from human rights and trade union organizations, who had called on Iran to release these teachers from prison.
The US State Department has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens, including labor and trade union activists, by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
