Human Rights Watch to Iranian Authorities: Release Imprisoned Teachers “Immediately and Unconditionally”
Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Thursday, May 5, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of teachers detained in peaceful demonstrations and labor unions.
Tara Sepehrifar, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, stressed that the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “instead of working with independent associations to ensure respect for the economic and social rights of Iranians, have once again decided to imprison people for trying to organize to achieve collective rights,” saying, “Attempting to silence peaceful gatherings and public protests does not erase the harsh economic reality of Iran.”
The increasing pressure on civil and political activists by the Islamic Republic's authorities comes as UN Special Rapporteur Alena Doohan will travel to Iran on May 7 to investigate the "negative impact of unilateral coercive measures."
Regarding this trip, Prince Reza Pahlavi, referring to the spread of human rights violations in Iran, said that "instead of preparing to travel to Iran to gain political advantage, he should pressure the Islamic Republic to immediately release activists who are on hunger strike in prison and whose health condition is deteriorating, including Manouchehr Bakhtiari, Behnam Mousivand, and the detained teachers."
Previously, Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote to Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, asking her to postpone the visit of the "Special Representative to Review the Harm of Sanctions" to Iran until the Islamic Republic allows Javed Rahman to visit Iran.
Javed Rehman is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, who has not yet been allowed to enter Iran by the Islamic Republic.
Coinciding with International Workers' Day and Teachers' Day in Iran, security pressures on educators' union activists increased, and dozens of teachers were arrested in various parts of the country.
According to Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, vice president of the Teachers' Union, the peak of the use of force against educators occurred during the era of Ebrahim Raisi, solely due to the use of legal capacities such as "field movements and peaceful gatherings, based on Article 27 of the Constitution."
Teachers in these rallies are calling for solving "livelihood issues," "modernizing education," and stopping ideological education.
Source: Voice of America
