Continued Security and Judicial Crackdowns on Teachers; Status of Detainees Unclear

The wave of security crackdowns on teachers and labor activists in Iran, which has increased in recent weeks, continues unabated, with at least four teachers, both active and retired, being arrested during nationwide protests on Tuesday, May 9. The status of the detainees remains unclear. According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions, Fatemeh Tadrisi, a civil activist who went to the Baharestan Square in Tehran to participate in the teachers' gathering on Tuesday, was arrested by security forces. She has previously been arrested and imprisoned multiple times and informed her family in a phone call that she is currently in Qarchak Prison in Varamin. It was previously reported that Atekeh Rajabi, a teacher residing in Mashhad, who had been fired from her job for supporting teachers' protests, was also arrested by security forces on Tuesday. There has been no news released about the detaining agency or her place of custody. Simultaneously, Farzad Safikhanpour and Fateh Osmani, two teachers from Sanandaj, were also arrested by security forces during the teachers' gathering in that city and taken to an unknown location. There is no information available about the status of these two teachers. According to a report received by VOA, Mr. Safikhanpour protested against the mistreatment by the officers during his arrest, stating that he is a teacher. The officers reportedly responded that 'teaching is one of the worst professions' and subjected him to further beatings. Meanwhile, the Telegram channel of the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions reported on Wednesday, May 10, the issuance of a 'forced retirement' order for Mohammad Reza Alijani, a veteran teacher and labor activist residing in Chenaran. According to this report, the forced retirement order for Mr. Alijani was issued by the Administrative Violations Review Board of the Ministry of Education, which also included a reduction in his salary and retirement bonuses. The council also reported that a buyout order for Abolfazl Rahimi Shad, a teacher and labor activist, was issued by the Primary Administrative Violations Board. This buyout order was issued despite Mr. Rahimi Shad having 24 years and 8 months of work experience. According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions, like hundreds of other teachers across Iran, this teacher has been deprived of ranking under the ranking law due to interference from the Ministry of Education's security. The union also reported that Jafar Ebrahimi, an inspector of the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions, has been deprived of medical leave for over a year despite being ill and is serving his prison term in Evin Prison. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions has called for the release of all imprisoned teachers. Mohammad Habibi, Ismail Abdi, Mohsen Omrani, Mehdi Fathi, Rasool Badaghi, Masoud Farhikhteh, Farzaneh Nazaranpour, and several other teachers have previously been arrested or are serving prison terms on security charges. Tahereh Naqiei, the Secretary-General of the Iranian Teachers' Organization, also received a summons two weeks ago requiring her to appear at Evin Prosecutor's Office on May 17. This labor activist has been charged with 'gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security' and 'propaganda against the regime' in a recently opened case against her. Despite the increasing security pressures on teachers and labor activists, nationwide teachers' protests were held on Tuesday, May 9, in several cities across Iran. These protests were organized following a call from the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions in 24 cities, including Kermanshah, Arak, Shush, Ahvaz, Torbat Heydarieh, Hamadan, Sanandaj, Islamabad Gharb, Qazvin, and Isfahan. Improving living conditions, proper implementation of the ranking plan, preventing the privatization of schools, and providing suitable and free educational facilities for all are among the demands of protesting teachers in Iran. Following the increase in labor protests, security pressures on civil activists and a wave of summonses and arrests of teachers, workers, and civil activists have also intensified. United Nations reporters and human rights organizations consider such arrests to be 'arbitrary' and have repeatedly called on Iranian officials to respect the right to peaceful assembly.