Violent Arrest of Mostafa Rabati After Attending Retired Teachers' Protest in Tehran

Mostafa Rabati, a retired teacher and member of the Khorasan Teachers' Union, was arrested by security forces on Sunday, June 9, after participating in a protest of retired teachers in Tehran. He was reportedly returning to Shirvan when he was detained and taken to an unknown location. According to human rights and labor rights reports, his arrest followed his reading of the protesters' statement during the demonstration in front of the Ministry of Education. The website Hrana reported that Rabati was attacked and beaten by security forces during his arrest. Previously, he had faced legal actions and convictions due to his labor activities in Khorasan. The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions reported that nearly 2,000 retired teachers participated in this protest, demanding attention to their grievances, including the payment of retirement bonuses and overdue salaries, as well as the proper and swift implementation of laws regarding retirement calculations. Other demands read by Rabati included the payment of overdue salaries related to retirement, changes in rank during service, and the application of rank changes to retirement salaries. The Coordinating Council had previously described the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi as 'the darkest stains on the sky of the Ministry of Education' in a statement regarding the security and judicial actions against teachers and labor activists. Currently, several teachers and labor activists, such as Rasoul Badaghi, Hashem Khastar, and others, are either detained or serving sentences on security charges. Additionally, Mohammad Habibi, spokesperson for the Tehran Teachers' Union, mentioned that 61 teachers are facing open legal cases, and 10 teachers have been released from prison with electronic ankle bracelets, while some remain incarcerated.