Reflection on Police Response to Teachers' Gathering

The newspaper Shargh published a report on the "arrest and release of a group of teachers" during a gathering in front of the parliament, stating: "On Wednesday, a group of teachers intended to hold a protest and professional gathering, but several teachers were arrested on their way to the gathering" and "final news indicates that most of them were released on Wednesday night." The newspaper Arman also noted the "end of the teachers' gathering on Wednesday with the intervention of law enforcement," writing: "A group of educators gathered yesterday morning in protest against the arrest of a union official [Ismail Abdi, Secretary-General of the Teachers' Trade Association] in front of the parliament." Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and legal expert, in a note in the newspaper Qanoon titled "We All Owe It to Teachers," evaluated the teachers' gathering as a "civil" action and wrote: "The most civil act in terms of time, place, and manner of expression is exactly what happened on Wednesday." The newspaper Etemad reported on a proposal by several representatives of the ninth parliament to grant Iranian citizenship to "non-Iranian fighters" and non-Iranian intelligence collaborators, quoting Ahmad Bakhshai Ardestani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the ninth parliament, who stated: "The essence of this proposal is to support the fighters who are interested in protecting Shia interests." The government-aligned newspaper Iran highlighted Abbas Araghchi's remarks about "the possibility of non-nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S.," quoting him: "After the agreement, if the opposing parties fulfill their commitments, the ground will be prepared for negotiations regarding issues of interest, and this possibility exists potentially." However, the newspaper Javan, close to the conservatives, focused on another part of Abbas Araghchi's remarks, quoting him: "Our policies towards the U.S. have not changed." The newspaper Hamshahri reported on its front page that at the request of some conservative representatives, "the case of foreign dollars will be placed on the table of the Court of Audit." The newspaper Jahan San'at published a report on the dimensions of the casualties and damages from the flood in Solqan, emphasizing that "as time goes on, the dimensions of the flood and storm disaster become clearer," addressing the responsible officials: "At least apologize." This newspaper quoted an eyewitness to the Solqan flood as saying: "Based on what I saw here and the events that occurred, I can say at least 100 people were swept away by the water. Several restaurants in the river were also swept away, causing extensive damage." Jahan San'at noted that on Sunday during the flood, "road maintenance and rescue personnel and traffic guidance were not present," quoting one of the restaurant owners in Solqan: "They made a case against me for a simple painting of the restaurant yard walls and gave me many warnings. One of the strong officers was not present to help the people here." The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated a photo of Hassan Rouhani, quoting the President, stating: "In a football match, when we say we won or succeeded, it means we scored three goals and conceded two; now some may say that we could have taken advantage of another opportunity and scored more goals. We must see what team we played against; otherwise, if we sit next to the field and watch, we can make more demands." The newspaper Javan warned about the "strange thirst of the West for the benefits of the Iranian economy" and the "dance of the sanctioners in the post-sanction market," writing: "The sanctioners of yesterday, who prevented countries from cooperating with Iran, now do not even give their allies a chance and want to monopolize Iran's capacious market." The reflection on the police response to the teachers' gathering in front of the "House of the Nation" was highlighted by the newspaper Shargh, which published a report on the "arrest and release of a group of teachers" during the gathering in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: "On Wednesday, a group of teachers intended to hold a protest and professional gathering, but several teachers were arrested on their way to the gathering" and "final news indicates that most of them were released on Wednesday night." According to this newspaper, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior confirmed the news of the teachers' arrests, "referring to the hospitality of law enforcement and providing lunch to the detained teachers and denying any beating of the teachers." Shargh emphasized that the "important point" of the teachers' gathering on Wednesday was the reflection of the news about the disruption of this gathering in the open session of the parliament, and Hossein Dehdashti, a representative from Abadan, and Javad Heravi, a representative from Qaen, were among the representatives who came to follow up on the situation of this gathering in front of the parliament, delivering a letter to Abolhasan Abutorabi-Fard, the first deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which led to the teachers' voices of protest echoing in the parliament's open session, and Abutorabi-Fard asked the Minister of Interior to investigate the matter of the protesting teachers" and even "considered the House of the Nation a refuge and sanctuary for the people and announced the formation of a joint committee with the cooperation of the parliament and the government to follow up on important issues of educators." Karen Khanlari, a representative of the Armenian constituency in Tehran and northern regions, also told Shargh: "The presiding board has followed up on the treatment of the teachers, and I hope the professional rights of teachers to hold a gathering in front of the parliament will be recognized." According to Shargh, Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran, also reacted to the controversies surrounding the teachers' gathering, stating: "It is not necessary and reasonable to show excessive sensitivity towards these gatherings, especially regarding educators. The maximum is that they come, express their views, and leave." Ali Motahari emphasized that "any gathering, as long as it does not lead to chaos, disorder, and destruction, should be free, and Article 27 of the Constitution states that demonstrations are free as long as they do not disrupt the foundations of Islam." He said: "If the sole purpose of the gathering is to express opinions, it is not right to confront it. The parliament should engage in these matters, but unfortunately, it engages less, although Mr. Abutorabi's warning was a good reminder that may lead to follow-up on the issue." Shargh simultaneously reported the different reaction of the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior to the teachers' gathering, stating: "Following the request of the deputy speaker of the parliament from the Minister of Interior to investigate the teachers' gathering in front of the parliament and the manner of dealing with it," Hossein Ali Amiri, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, regarding the reasons for these arrests, said: "The teachers' gathering was professional, not political, and law enforcement dispersed them. The law enforcement arrested several individuals, but they were guests of law enforcement for a few hours and were treated to lunch and released. However, three or four individuals who wanted to give a security direction to this professional gathering were kept for further investigation." According to this newspaper, while the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior denied the publication of some news regarding the beating of the protesters, he stated: "It should be investigated who ordered the confrontation with the teachers and how it was carried out." The newspaper Arman also noted the "end of the teachers' gathering on Wednesday with the intervention of law enforcement," writing: "A group of educators gathered yesterday morning in protest against the arrest of one of the officials of the teachers' union [Ismail Abdi, Secretary-General of the Teachers' Trade Association] in front of the parliament." This newspaper noted that the teachers' gathering "was held based on a call made in the past days and according to the usual process of gatherings in front of the parliament, without permission," and highlighted the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior's reaction to the criticism from Abolhasan Abutorabi-Fard, the deputy speaker of the parliament, regarding the treatment of the teachers, quoting Hossein Ali Amiri: "Mr. Abutorabi's considerations about the manner of dealing with the protesters with tolerance are completely appropriate and correct." Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and legal expert, in a note in the newspaper Qanoon titled "We All Owe It to Teachers," evaluated the teachers' gathering as a "civil" action and wrote: "The most civil act in terms of time, place, and manner of expression is exactly what happened on Wednesday." This legal expert pointed out that "the weapon of a teacher is either the pen or the tongue. The teachers came in front of the parliament with their expression. Education and training are the foundation of the country's development. If you have a proper foundation, you can claim that you are leading a society to its destination safely. The Constitution also allows gatherings to be free as long as there is no weapon present." The writer of the note in the newspaper Qanoon also wrote: "The basic needs of a normal life must be met. Let us not forget that teachers are the spiritual fathers of all of us, and I wish conditions could be created for mediation and arbitration by the government to resolve disputes in this regard.