Teachers' Demands Unanswered; Arrests of Union Activists Continue

Teacher's Day in Iran was held on Tuesday, April 12, amid unaddressed professional and livelihood demands from teachers, while the arrest of cultural activists and civil and union activists has intensified. Fifteen union organizations emphasized in a joint statement on the eve of "Teacher's Day" and "International Workers' Day" that the Islamic Republic is "neither worthy of survival" nor "capable of continuing to exist." In this context, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, a imprisoned teacher, compared the Islamic Republic to a "widespread plague of forty years" in an open letter from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, stressing the need to continue the struggle against it. This imprisoned teacher, who is one of the signatories of the statement calling for Ali Khamenei's resignation, wrote in his letter: "If we do not stop this regime, perhaps in the near future, Iran will no longer exist." Earlier, the Coordinating Council of Cultural Associations reported on Saturday, April 9, the arrest of Mohsen Omrani, a board member of the Teachers' Union in Bushehr. Before that, several teacher and labor activists were arrested after visiting the home of Mohammad Habibi, the imprisoned spokesperson of the Teachers' Union in Tehran, to meet his family. Currently, nine of them are imprisoned. In this context, Masoud Farhikhteh and Farzaneh Nazaranpour, two teacher union activists, were arrested on International Workers' Day and Teacher's Day. Their status is currently unknown. In addition to these two, Mehdi Fathi, Rasoul Badaghi, Jafar Ebrahimi, Mohammad Habibi, Ismail Abdi, Hashem Khastaar, Hossein Ramadanpour, Omid Shahmohammadi, Mahmoud Sedighi Pour, Anoush Adeli, Aziz Qasemzadeh, Mohammad Qanati, Mohsen Omrani, Ahmad Heydari, and Shahnaz Hashemi are imprisoned. Concurrently with Teacher's Day, Zeinab Molaei Rad, a teacher and mother of Kian Pirfalak, published a video from last year's Teacher's Day celebration that Kian had organized for her. Ms. Molaei Rad was banned from working after her criticisms of the government last February. She also shared an Instagram live video from a ceremony at her son's grave on Tuesday, April 12. In this video, a cake was placed on Kian Pirfalak's gravestone with the inscription: "The bravest teacher, happy day to you." Parts of this Instagram live received over 1,900 views. Some social media users also remembered Farzad Kamangar, an executed teacher, by sharing his images. Farzad Kamangar, a Kurdish teacher, was hanged in 2010 at the age of 35 in Evin Prison without the knowledge of his lawyer and family. His body was secretly buried in an unknown location without the presence of his family. Other users shared images of some imprisoned teachers, labeling their charges as "teaching." This is while Ali Khamenei, in his speech on Teacher's Day, made no mention of the arrests of cultural activists or the punishments and reprimands in the form of dismissals and imprisonments. The mother of Kian Pirfalak shared a video from Teacher's Day 2021; a celebration that Kian had organized for her. Teacher's Day in Iran; teachers and the concern of building amid inflation, burning in discrimination. Retirees demanded the resignation of the Minister of Labor on International Workers' Day; a 21 million toman livelihood basket. The statement from 15 union organizations: "The revolutionary movement of the Iranian people" remains "alive and dynamic." Continued security and judicial actions against labor and union activists in Iran. Khamenei on "Teacher's Day" without mentioning the poisonings: Teachers should feel responsible.