National Teachers' Association: Administrative Violation Committees Continue to Suppress Teachers

The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran warned in a statement on Tuesday, October 16, that the administrative violation committees of the Ministry of Education in various provinces continue to suppress teachers. According to the statement from this trade council, Massoud Pezeshkian, who during his presidential campaign called for an end to the crackdown on protesting teachers, has entrusted the management of education and the violation committees to the same previous individuals. This teachers' council announced that many members of the violation committees who had issued strict rulings against teachers during the previous government remain in their positions. The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran warned that the administrative violation committees of the Ministry of Education in various provinces continue to suppress teachers, including in Gilan province, which has issued the highest number of expulsion and early retirement rulings against teachers, and are still fabricating cases and summoning Gilan teachers. The statement emphasized that "there are many documents and evidence of these rulings that the violation committees have resorted to outdated methods for fabricating cases against teachers." The council added: It has evidence showing that the administrative violation committee of Gilan province, through case fabrication and summoning Gilan teachers in recent weeks, has even questioned teachers who had no union activities and did not participate in gatherings with false accusations. In another part of its statement, this national teachers' organization in Iran expressed concern that the "depth of hatred and animosity" of the violation committees towards the teacher community is "much greater than that of the judiciary" and called for an end to this trend. The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran condemned the continuation of repressive policies against union activists and emphasized that the current government, despite coming to power without the support of the majority of the people, is obliged to fulfill its promises according to the constitution. The statement emphasizes that among the government's duties is to reinstate expelled teachers and revoke the rulings of suspension and exile against teachers who have been accused solely for defending Article 30 of the constitution (free education). The last trial session of Koukb Badaghi, a teachers' union activist, was held without the presence of a chosen lawyer. The expulsion of Ismail Abdi on World Teachers' Day; the National Teachers' Council emphasized the establishment of new organizations. The summoning and interrogation of 14 teachers and union activists in Kurdistan province. Continued reactions to the killing of dozens of workers in Tabas; the Teachers' Union of Tehran demanded clear accountability from officials. The Teachers' Union of Iran called for urgent medical attention and the release of Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb.