Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – Thousands of Iranians, including active and retired teachers and cultural figures, have added their signatures to an online petition critical of the government and calling for the release of scores of educators who have been imprisoned in recent months for their support of protesters demanding more freedoms.
The campaign, initiated by cultural figures across the country, is characterized as a “civil action” and a “small yet vital step” toward liberating the more than 230 teachers and their union activists to have been detained by security agents .
It said that as of July 17, more than 13,000 signatures had been received and that several teachers union associations, including those from Tehran, Markazi, North Khorasan, Kurdistan, and Islamshahr, have voiced their support for the campaign as well.
According to the campaign’s official statement, the government’s engagement with educators has been marked by “violence and oppressive measures.”
It criticizes prison sentences handed to protesting teachers in various provinces, and chides the government for initiating legal proceedings that have resulted in dismissals, forced retirements, and expulsions for hundreds more teachers nationwide.
Unrest — including several protests by teachers — has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody in September for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly breathed new life into the unrest, which officials across the country have tried to quell with harsh — and sometimes deadly — measures. Universities and other educational and cultural centers have been the sites for many of the protests.
The campaign initially started with 1,200 teachers penning a letter to the head of the judiciary calling for the immediate release of imprisoned teachers and trade union activists and demanded an end to the security confrontations with teachers.
When the judiciary and the presidential office reportedly declined to acknowledge the letter, the campaign was widened by taking it public.
According to activists, more than 11 teacher trade union rights leaders, including notable figures such as Esmail Abdi, Rasol Badaghi, Farzaneh Nazaranpour, and Jafar Ebrahimi, are currently serving prison sentences or under temporary arrest.
The activist HRANA news agency says that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences — including the death penalty — to protesters.
