Continued Government Pressure on Labor Activists in Iran; Mokhtar Asadi, a Teacher from Kurdistan, Arrested

In a continuation of pressure on labor activists in Iran, Mokhtar Asadi, a teacher from Kurdistan province, was arrested after referring to the Cyber Police and has been transferred to an unknown location. The human rights organization Hengaw reported on Monday, August 29, citing a source close to Mokhtar Asadi's family, that he went to the Cyber Police at noon on Monday and after two hours of interrogation, was arrested by security forces under a judge's order. According to Hengaw, government forces raided his home in Sanandaj at 6 AM on Sunday, August 28, while this labor activist was not present, and violently searched the house, creating fear and panic for his wife, young child, and neighbors. Mokhtar Asadi is a teacher and labor activist in Sanandaj who has been arrested multiple times by government agencies in recent years and has been sentenced to imprisonment by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Following forced retirement and the cessation of his salary, he has turned to farming for livelihood. The channel 'Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions' reported on May 2 that Mokhtar Asadi and several other teacher activists had been summoned to intelligence agencies. The news agency Hrana reported at that time that government agents had obtained commitments from those summoned not to participate in the teachers' protest gathering on May 2. The intensification of security and judicial actions by the Islamic Republic against teacher labor activists in recent years has faced criticism from international labor and teachers' unions. The summoning of a lawyer to prison and the trial of four teacher labor activists; the six-year prison sentence of Hamid Haji-Abdolpour was confirmed; the sentences of eight teacher labor activists from Gilan province were converted to fines; two teachers were acquitted in the appeals court; exclusive: Koukb Badaghi, a teacher labor activist, was sentenced to four months of suspension from service in Izeh; a teacher labor activist: 'Morad Sahraei' has monetized the quality of education; the family of Rasoul Badaghi is unaware, and the officials of Evin prison do not allow phone contact.