Security response to union demands: Summoning a number of teachers for participating in a two-day strike

A teachers' union activist told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that in addition to the arrest of Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh on October 12, and coinciding with the teachers' strike across the country, several teachers in the cities of Tehran, Qazvin, Bojnourd, Saqqez, Marivan, Kermanshah, and Aligudarz have also been summoned to the Intelligence Department and must present themselves on Saturday, October 18.

Iranian teachers refused to attend classes in most cities of Iran on October 12 and 13, 2018, in protest of teachers’ living conditions, the monetization and commodification of education, and the security crackdown on teachers. A teachers’ union activist who did not want to be named told the Campaign on October 16 that in addition to the arrest of Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, secretary of the Coordination Council of Teachers’ Unions, a number of teachers have also been summoned to the Intelligence Department.

The source told the campaign that seven teachers have been summoned to the intelligence department in the city of Saqqez alone, but summonses have also been reported in other cities such as Tehran, Qazvin, Bojnourd, Marivan, Kermanshah, and Aligudarz: "Among the cities where teachers were summoned, only the number from Saqqez has been announced, which is seven. The exact number in other cities is not yet known. These people must introduce themselves on Saturday, October 18. If it is serious or if they intend to arrest them, their names will be announced."

Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, the secretary of the North Khorasan Teachers’ Association, was arrested on his way home to Bojnourd on August 12 after a sit-in. The Teachers’ Association’s channel wrote that the Ministry of Intelligence forces had taken over the teachers’ Telegram accounts: “Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, the secretary of the North Khorasan Teachers’ Association, who is the periodic chairman of the Coordination Council, was arrested on his way home, and for many hours his family and those around him were unaware of his fate. He was arrested by government intelligence, and by taking control of his Telegram account, the intelligence took over the council’s channel and the sit-in supergroup, and tried as hard as they could to divert the sit-in.”

Abdolreza Ghanbari, a teacher and poet, was also arrested on October 13 and transferred to Evin Prison. A member of the Teachers’ Association told the Campaign that Mr. Ghanbari’s arrest was related to his prison sentence in 2009 and had nothing to do with the teachers’ rally. Abdolreza Ghanbari was arrested on January 29, 2009, after the famous Ashura rally of 2009. Mr. Ghanbari was initially sentenced to death on charges of Moharebeh and ties to the Mojahedin Organization, but after the Moharebeh law was changed and the trial was reopened, his sentence was reduced to 15 years. He was arrested on October 13, 2018 after going to the prosecutor’s office and transferred to Evin Prison to serve his sentence.

A member of the Teachers' Association also reported the arrest of a teacher in Saqqez. Mohammad Saleh Shokri, a member of the Saqqez Teachers' Association, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on October 5. According to this source, Mr. Shokri has not yet been charged and has not been able to meet with his lawyer and family since his arrest, and only announced his arrest by the Ministry of Intelligence in a short phone call.

Abbas Vahedian, a teacher and member of the Mashhad Teachers' Association, was also arrested on October 9, on the eve of the teachers' sit-in. According to the Teachers' Association, officers searched his home and confiscated his belongings before transferring him to an unknown location. With the addition of the recent arrests, at least eight teachers are now in prison or detention. Esmail Abdi, Mohammad Habibi, Mahmoud Beheshti, and Ruhollah Mardani have previously been imprisoned in Evin, and Mohammad Saleh Shokri, Abbas Vahedian, Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, and Abdolreza Ghanbari have also been arrested or imprisoned in the past week.

Security clashes with the activities of teachers, and especially the Teachers' Union, have been repeated in most strikes by imprisoned teachers over the past ten years. Teachers also warned against any security clashes with teachers in the two-day sit-in call on August 12 and 13. Despite all this, security clashes have intensified and the number of imprisoned teachers has increased.

Source: Human Rights Campaign