Concern Expressed by the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions Regarding the Health Condition of Hashem Khashtaar

On Wednesday, February 4, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions expressed concern for the health condition of Hashem Khashtaar, a teachers' rights activist imprisoned in Mashhad. The council called for him to be granted medical leave for treatment outside of prison. They stated: "While Hashem Khashtaar has spent most of his retirement in detention centers, courts, and prison, reports indicate that this honorable teacher is in poor health and seriously ill." The council emphasized the necessity of his release and access to medical leave, urging the Islamic Republic officials to immediately create conditions for Mr. Khashtaar to pursue his treatment outside of prison. Hashem Khashtaar, a signatory of a letter calling for the resignation of Ali Khamenei, has been imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for four years. This teachers' rights activist was arrested in August 2019 and sentenced to sixteen years in prison, two years of exile to Nikshahr County in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and a two-year travel ban. Khashtaar, currently serving his sentence without adherence to the principle of separation of crimes, was also sentenced to two years and six months in prison in another case in July 2023. The 70-year-old imprisoned teacher and civil activist was tried again on October 4 on charges of "spreading falsehoods and disturbing public opinion" in the second criminal court of Mashhad. David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International, noted in September this year that the continued imprisonment of teachers violates the fundamental rights of workers to "organize and freedom of expression" and called for the release of imprisoned union members, including Hashem Khashtaar, Jafar Ebrahimi, Ismail Abdi, Asghar Amirzadegan, and Aziz Qasemzadeh, in an open letter addressed to Ali Khamenei. The issuance of prison sentences and confiscation of property for four members of the Teachers' Trade Union in Bushehr Province has occurred. Hashem Khashtaar, the imprisoned teacher, has been tried again. The Iranian Retirees Council stated that educational policies have separated some children from schools. Mehrab Farsad Mokhtari, a teacher, was arrested in Nowshahr. There has been three weeks of uncertainty regarding Aziz Qasemzadeh; a request has been made for the return of this trade union activist to Lakan Prison.