Dismissal of Ismail Abdi on World Teachers' Day; National Council of Teachers Emphasizes the Creation of New Organizations

The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions issued a statement on the occasion of World Teachers' Day, October 5, emphasizing the need to strengthen existing trade unions and create new ones. Simultaneously, the council announced the dismissal of Ismail Abdi, a board member of the Tehran Teachers' Trade Union, on this day by the Administrative Violations Board of the Education Department of Tehran counties. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions noted the current conditions in Iran, stating that as the government has taken a path of suppressing unions and activists, and all public and national media resources are at the service of the wealthy and powerful, the best way to give importance to teachers' voices is to strengthen existing unions and create new ones. The statement indicated that experience has shown that political movements and the government view teachers as tools, and this structure is incapable of bringing about change in the educational system, improving the status of teachers, and providing free, quality, and equitable education. The council called on all teachers to commemorate World Teachers' Day by utilizing the school's capacity for informing and raising awareness about the demands of the teachers' movement in the workplace and classroom. World Teachers' Day, established by UNESCO in 1994, aims to honor teachers, appreciate them, and examine their problems worldwide. The day arrives in Iran while several teachers and their union activists are serving sentences on security charges, and many others have been dismissed. According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions, Ismail Abdi, with 24 years of experience, was dismissed on World Teachers' Day by the Administrative Violations Board of the Education Department of Tehran counties. The ruling was based on allegations of 'participating in illegal sit-ins, strikes, and demonstrations, inciting illegal sit-ins, strikes, and demonstrations, and applying group pressures for illegal purposes through membership in the Teachers' Trade Union and overseeing national teachers' protests, leading to arrest and conviction.' Mr. Abdi wrote on the social network 'X': 'On World Teachers' Day, by the decision of the Administrative Violations Board of the Education Department of Tehran counties, after 24 years of service, I was dismissed from the teaching profession I love due to union activities within the legal framework and with the same false political-security accusations for which I had been imprisoned for eight years.' Typically, security charges are brought against union activists in Iran by the Islamic Republic's security apparatus, allowing other government bodies to act against them. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions also noted that the Administrative Violations Board of the Education Department of Tehran counties had previously dismissed Rasoul Badaghi, another union activist, and issued dismissal and buyout rulings for Mohammad Habibi and Jafar Ebrahimi, two other union activists. The council condemned the fabrication of cases and the purging of active teachers by the Administrative Violations Boards, calling for the annulment of convictions, closure of cases, and reinstatement of all dismissed teachers. It has been previously reported that from 2022 to the end of 2023, 'at least 80 teachers have been deprived of ranking, 13 have been dismissed or bought out, 23 have been suspended, 32 teachers have faced demotion, and 3 have received compulsory retirement. Additionally, reports from the Iranian Teachers' Union Challenge Channel indicate that Ahmad Derakhshan, a teacher residing in Karaj, reported being summoned to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Karaj. This teacher and writer wrote on his Instagram account that he had also been summoned and interrogated two weeks prior. He stated that he was accused of anti-regime propaganda and spreading falsehoods via computer. The Iranian Writers' Association mentioned that Mr. Derakhshan is a fiction writer, with works including 'Changing the Direction of the Wind is Forbidden' and 'Foggy Night.' Furthermore, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, a teacher and one of the signatories of a statement by 14 political activists calling for the ousting of Ali Khamenei, who is currently in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, was dismissed from the Education Department by the Administrative Justice Court. Ahmad Heydari Nasrat, a union activist in Baharestan County, was also sentenced to compulsory retirement with a two-grade reduction by the Administrative Violations Board. Meanwhile, the last defense session for Kokab Badaghi Pegah, a union activist in Khuzestan Province, was held on October 1 in Branch 13 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Ahvaz. She was released after posting a bail of one billion tomans following the clarification of charges. According to the news agency HRANA, the last interrogation session for Kokab Badaghi Pegah was held in the Ahvaz Prosecutor's Office. An informed source close to this union activist's family told HRANA: 'The charges against Ms. Badaghi are based on her union activities.' The actions against teachers and union activists have drawn widespread criticism from labor and trade unions worldwide. The Administrative Justice Court confirmed the dismissal of Mohammad Hossein Sepehri from the Education Department. Reactions continue regarding the deaths of dozens of workers in Tabas; the Tehran Teachers' Trade Union has called for clear accountability from officials. Criticism of the Minister of Education in the government of Pezeshkian continues; 'Making people religious is not your job.' French unions have called for the release of imprisoned labor and union activists in Iran. The Tehran Bus Workers' Union has called for the release of Davood Rezavi, Ebrahim Madadi, and political prisoners. Media reports highlight the crisis of teacher shortages in primary education. The continued imprisonment of Hashem Khastar and Javad Laleh Mohammadi; the National Council of Teachers states: 'It is painful to be imprisoned for union activities.' The return of retired teachers to schools continues, while the problems of educators persist. Hadi Jalali, a teacher in Kerman, has been accused of 'forming a group to disrupt national security.'