Continued Judicial Actions Against Cultural Union Activists; 2 Teachers Arrested

On Friday, March 8, the Coordination Council of Cultural Teachers' Associations of Iran reported ongoing security and judicial actions by the Islamic Republic against teacher union activists. In this context, the summons of Abdollah Rezaei, a teacher union activist and member of the board of the Teachers' Association of Harsin, to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of this city was mentioned. According to a notice issued for this teacher union activist in Harsin, Kermanshah Province, he has been given five days to defend himself against the charge of 'propaganda against the regime'. The notice specifies the charge as 'holding illegal gatherings'. The Coordination Council of Cultural Teachers' Associations of Iran, while supporting Abdollah Rezaei and other union activists striving for the rights of teachers and other social groups, stated that holding demand-oriented gatherings is a fundamental citizen's right and does not require any permits. This national teachers' organization in Iran emphasized: 'Undoubtedly, the demand-oriented activities of the teachers' movement, alongside other movements such as those of workers, retirees, students, and women, strive to increase the social power of the people of this land.' In another report, the council criticized the arrest of Arzu Jalilzadeh, a teacher in Sardasht, on March 4, who was detained by the security forces of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence without a judicial order. According to this report, there is no information about Ms. Jalilzadeh's fate after being transferred to one of the security detention centers in Urmia, and the reasons for her arrest remain unclear. The Coordination Council condemned 'any security actions, repression, and detention of teachers and cultural union activists' and called for the immediate and unconditional release of Ms. Jalilzadeh. The council also reported that 'Iman Khodari, a freedom-loving citizen who previously wrote the names of four teacher union activists on a cardboard and stood in the street to support them,' was arrested on March 5. According to this report, Mr. Khodari had the names of Koukb Badaghi Pegah, Pirouz Nami, Ali Kouroshat, and Siamak Sadeqi Chehraz, who have been sentenced in the first court to one year for 'propaganda against the regime' and five years for 'gathering and colluding against national security'. In recent years, security and judicial actions against teacher union activists have intensified alongside the expansion of their protests. In this context, hundreds of teachers have been detained, imprisoned, and even dismissed. There have been calls for the release of imprisoned workers and teachers at a protest gathering of retirees in Rasht. The Minister of Education questioned, 'Why do you only ask about teachers' livelihoods?' A human rights organization reported a sharp increase in arrests in Iran. The teachers' organization criticized the ban on selling food in schools during Ramadan. The health condition of Nahid Shirpicheh has worsened following the hunger strike of this imprisoned mother seeking justice.