{"id":1601,"date":"2020-05-07T08:08:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T07:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1601"},"modified":"2020-05-07T08:08:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T07:08:24","slug":"solidarity-organisation-calls-for-justice-for-imprisoned-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1601","title":{"rendered":"Solidarity organisation calls for justice for imprisoned teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

7th May 2020 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Press release<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>For immediate use<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People\u2019s Rights (CODIR) has appealed to trade unions in the UK to support the rights of teachers in Iran who have come under further attack by the regime.<\/p>\n

Latest developments include the firing of teachers\u2019 activist, Mohammed Habibi, by the Iranian Education Ministry, nearly two years after his initial arrest and subsequent imprisonment.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Iranian\u00a0Teachers\u2019 Trade Association of Tehran (ITTA-Tehran)\u202fhas protested against\u00a0Habibi\u2019s\u00a0dismissal,\u00a0demanding\u00a0that the\u00a0regime\u00a0stop fabricating cases against teachers\u2019\u00a0rights\u00a0activists\u00a0and that the regime immediately\u00a0and unconditionally free all\u00a0imprisoned teachers.<\/p>\n

Habibi\u00a0was initially sentenced to a total of 10 years and six months in jail, as well as\u00a074 lashes\u00a0and a two-year ban on working with\u00a0political and social groups\u00a0or leaving the country.\u00a0 The prison sentence\u00a0was subsequently reduced\u00a0to seven years and six months.<\/p>\n

The charges against Habibi, of association and collusion against national security, disseminating propaganda against the state\u00a0and disrupting public order, are used widely by the Iranian regime in order to try and silence activists.<\/p>\n

Education International and NASUWT, the Teachers\u2019 Union have also condemned the re-arrest of Tehran education union leader Esmail Abdi.<\/p>\n

Initially released on furlough on 17 March 2020, Mr Abdi had to report to prison on 21 April and was kept in detention.<\/p>\n

Mr Abdi has been held in detention in the Evin prison since June 2015, when he led teacher marches in Tehran and applied for a visa to participate in the Education International World Congress. Teachers and human rights organisations have been campaigning for Abdi\u2019s release ever since his arrest.<\/p>\n

United Nations human rights experts have also called for the permanent release of all prisoners of conscience and those unjustly imprisoned in Iran, stating in a recent press release,<\/p>\n

\u201cSome are at great risk from COVID-19 due to their age or underlying health conditions. We call on the authorities to immediately release them.\u201d<\/p>\n

CODIR Assistant General Secretary, Jamshid Ahmadi, also called for the Iranian regime to release those unjustly imprisoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regime in Iran is playing cat and mouse with people\u2019s lives\u201d, said Mr. Ahmadi, \u201cby releasing prisoners on furlough then re-arresting them.\u00a0 Bearing in mind that these prisoners should not have been imprisoned in the first place, as their only crime is to call for democracy and social justice in Iran, we want all trade unionists to back our call for their freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dangers to prisoners in Iran are exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, as Iran\u2019s prisons are notorious for their hygiene, overcrowding and healthcare problems.<\/p>\n

CODIR is calling upon trade unionists in the UK to support their demands for<\/p>\n