Teacher's Day in Iran: Jailed teacher on hunger strike; another teacher punished for singing
On the day that is celebrated as Teacher's Day in Iran, Ismail Abdi, the former secretary general of the Teachers' Union, is on a hunger strike in prison, and a teacher from Gilani has been exiled for singing in art class.
The 12th of May is Iran's official Teachers' Day and the beginning of Teacher's Week. On the eve of this day, Ismail Abdi, the former secretary general of the Teachers' Union, who is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence, announced in a letter that he has begun a hunger strike in protest.
In his letter, Mr. Abdi stated that "in the post-JCPOA atmosphere, the cries of the government for rule of law, democracy, human rights, and civil liberties have fallen on deaf ears," and reported the repeated violations of the rights of teachers' union activists and their "minute-long" arrests and trials.
This union rights activist also stated that he will go on a hunger strike from May 10th "to protest the lack of independence of the judiciary in issuing security warrants for activists of teachers' and workers' unions" and to demand that his case be removed from "normal security."
On the other hand, the Teachers and Workers' Rights website reported that Aziz Qasemzadeh, spokesperson for the Gilan Teachers' Union and an art teacher in Bandar Anzali city, has been sentenced to one year of "exile."
According to this report, the Gilan Provincial Education Department has transferred this art teacher, who works in the field of music and is an activist for teachers' union rights, to Rudbar County on charges of singing a ballad in art class.
On March 9 of last year, following a call published on social media, a group of teachers in various cities in Iran took to the streets, holding signs demanding that their union's demands be addressed.
These rallies were held in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Tehran and in front of education departments in other cities. Reform of the teachers' salary system and health insurance were among the demands of the teachers present at these rallies.
Placards calling for the cancellation of the judicial convictions of teachers' union rights activists are also visible.
Source: Voice of America
