The Persecution of Teacher Activists in Iran: A Report on Sacking and Disciplinary Actions, Including the Forced Exile of Esmail Abdi

A recent report by prominent labour union the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) has drawn attention to the continuing disturbing, indeed escalating, trend of teachers and education workers being targeted for persecution by the authorities in Iran […]

Fire at Rajaee Quay; Completely Charred Bodies Retrieved

CODIR: Thousands of port workers were victims of a catastrophe waiting to happen… Last week, CODIR published a detailed account of the catastrophe that hit Rajaee Quay, the Iran’s principal national seaport for international trade in the vicinity of Bandar […]

Labour activists have been arrested! Prison is Not a Place for Labour Activists!

CODIR has received verified reports and information from inside Iran that May Day and events to mark International Workers’ Day have yet again served as the precursor to the arrest of scores of labour activists and a wider clampdown by […]

CODIR demands justice for Iranian workers following the deadly blast at Bandar Abbas!

On this International Workers’ Memorial Day, Iran is reeling in the immediate aftermath of the latest in an all too long line of disasters to have befallen its long-beleaguered working people. Over the weekend just passed, international news outlets have […]

CODIR welcomes initial signals from US/Iran talks

23rd April 2025 Press release The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) has welcomed the progress made so far in talks between the United States and Iran as a step towards limiting the possibility of a military […]

 

Iran Is Next On Trump’s Regime-Change Agenda

Recent soundbites from Washington give cause for concern about the prospects for peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Middle East, says JANE GREEN On May 21 Donald Trump, during his first international trip as President, delivered from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, […]

Maryam Mirzakhani: Iranian newspapers break hijab taboo in tributes

The Guardian, 16 July 2017 Tehran front pages run photographs of mathematician without head covering, showing her prominence overrode rules Iran’s state-run newspapers on Sunday broke with the country’s strict rules on female dress to show the mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani […]

Haft Tapeh sugar workers in Iran are fighting for their wages, pensions and rights!

Workers at the giant Haft Tapeh sugar cane plantation and mill complex in the southern city of Shush have always had to fight for their wages and their rights. In 2008, workers formed an independent union – affiliated to the […]

REVEAL WHEREABOUTS OF FOUR KURDISH MEN

AI-Index: MDE 13/6734/2017 Four men from Iran’s Kurdish minority have been subjected to enforced disappearance since their arrests on 23 and 24 June. The authorities have refused to provide any information to their families about their fate or whereabouts. The men, […]

IMPRISONED IRANIAN ACTIVIST MUST BE RELEASED

URGENT ACTION IMPRISONED IRANIAN ACTIVIST MUST BE RELEASED Iranian human rights defender Omid Alishenas has been detained in Tehran’s Evin prison in poor conditions for more than six months. He is serving a seven-year prison sentence for his peaceful human […]

UNISON, Britain’s largest trade union for public sector workers, supports human and democratic rights in Iran

On the occasion of UNISON’s annual National Conference, 18 to 23 June, activists of the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR)  organised a colourful and informative stall complete with a diverse range of CODIR’s publications and […]

Solidarity group condemns Tehran terror attacks

7th June 2017 Press Release For Immediate Use Solidarity organisation, the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR), has strongly condemned today’s terrorist attack and the killing of innocent Iranian citizens in Tehran, for which Islamic terrorist […]

Iran: Desecrating mass grave site would destroy crucial forensic evidence

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE The desecration of a mass grave site in Ahvaz, southern Iran that contains the remains of at least 44 people who were extrajudicially executed would destroy vital forensic evidence and scupper opportunities for justice for the […]

International Campaign for the Release of Esmail Abdi, Iran’a Teacher Trade Union Leader

CAUT seeks release of Esmail Abdi The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has written to Iranian leader Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei to ask for immediate release of Mr. Esmail Abdi, General Secretary of the Tehran Teacher Trade Association. “The […]

Solidarity group expresses concern for imprisoned teacher

30th May 2017 Press Release For Immediate Use Solidarity organisation, the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR), has expressed concern for jailed trade unionist,Esmail Abdi, whose health has deteriorated following a hunger strike he started on […]