Prominent Iranian teachers\u2019 rights campaigner Mahmoud Beheshti\u00a0has been on hunger strike in Tehran\u2019s Evin Prison since July 10, 2018, to protest the judiciary\u2019s refusal to review his case and the mistreatment of political prisoners.<\/p>\n
In a letter announcing the strike on July 12 Beheshti said he would only consume liquids and minerals during his hunger strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter combining the convictions in separate cases, my 14-year prison sentence has been reduced to five years but I believe the verdicts were unjust and flawed because they were issued by the courts under questionable circumstances in a matter of a few minutes,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven that I have no legal options to dispute my convictions or seek a review\u2026 I will refuse to eat or drink anything other than water, tea, sugar and salt until further notice,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Continued Beheshti: \u201cAfter [Iran\u2019s December 2017\/January 2018 protests], \u201cthe judiciary appointed an assistant by the name of Rostami to supervise the affairs of security [political] prisoners but he has not been behaving appropriately towards the prisoners, their families or even their lawyers. He has put limits or blocked the right to go on prison leave, even for medical reasons, and increased dissatisfaction among \u2026 prisoners by denying their right to parole under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furlough, temporary leave typically granted to prisoners in Iran for a variety of familial, holiday, and medical reasons, is routinely denied to political prisoners as a form of additional punishment.<\/p>\n
Beheshti, a former spokesman for the Iranian Teachers\u2019 Trade Association (ITTA), has been behind bars\u00a0since September 2017 serving multiple sentences\u00a0for his peaceful trade union activities.<\/p>\n
Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights<\/strong>, which mandates in Articles 21\u00a0and\u00a022\u00a0freedom of association and guarantees the right to form trade unions, and to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights<\/strong>, which guarantees in Article 8 the right of workers to form or join trade unions and protects the right of workers to strike.<\/p>\n Despite this, independent labor unions are banned in Iran, strikers are often fired and risk being detained, and labor leaders face long prison sentences on trumped-up national security charges.<\/p>\n At least two other trade unionist teachers are currently incarcerated in Iran.<\/p>\n Esmail Abdi<\/strong>. the 44-year-old high school teacher and former secretary general of the ITTA, has been serving a six-year prison sentence since 2016 for the charges of \u201cpropaganda against the state\u201d and \u201ccollusion against national security.\u201d<\/p>\n ITTA member Mohammad Habibi<\/strong>, 29,\u00a0has been detained since March 2018 after he was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).<\/p>\n In his letter from Evin Prison addressed to the Iranian nation, Beheshti warned officials that their repressive policies and refusal to address the people\u2019s demands could lead to more than just protests.<\/p>\n \u201cThe peaceful and calm protests carried out by teachers, workers and other classes of people could have been an appropriate way to send a message to the officials but instead were met with either indifference or suppression,\u201d wrote Beheshti.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt has gotten to a point that today we are seeing a chain of protests\u2026 protests that have a different smell and color compared to before, indicating that protesters have gotten tired of all the political factions within the ruling establishment and their promises and are thinking about more serious changes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n