Mohammad Ramezanzadeh, head of the Secretariat of the Council for the Coordination of Teachers’ Trade Unions in Mashhad, and Abdolreza Ghanbari, teacher and writer in Tehran, were arrested by security forces.
On Sunday, October 14TH, 2018, a teachers’ sit-in in Teheran schools offices began in respond to a call issued by the Coordinating Council of Cultural Professionals’ Organizations.
Before the teachers’ sitting protest, Mohammadreza Ramezanzadeh was arrested in Mashhad on October 13th, 2018, and the channel and the telegram group of teachers were taken over by security agencies.
The Teachers’ Association Telegram Channel announced Mohammad Ramezanzadeh arrest and wrote, after security forces controlled the teachers’ media, they start posting threats.
On October 14th, 2018, Abdolreza Ghanbari, a political activist and a teacher was arrested in Tehran. Teachers stated that their sit-in protest would not be depend on one or more people, and the arrest of activists and coordinators would not prevent protest: ” Ramezanzadeh be arrested or not, this sit-in protest will take shape. These protests are not in the hands of a person, many of those who sit today do not know Ramezanzadeh. “
Previously, Abdolreza Ghanbari was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison, Section 209, before and after the events of Ashura in December 2009, and was transferred to section 240 of the prison after being interrogated.
This teacher and political activist was transferred from solitary confinement to the Revolutionary Court on January 30th, 2010, and was tried in the Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Abu-ol-Qasim Salivati on charges of modaraba through participation in the Ashoora street gathering and communicating with the prosecuted groups. Without the slightest opportunity to defend himself, he was sentenced to death.
After sentenced to death, this political prisoner spent about 4 years in Evin Prison ward 350. His death sentence was canceled on March 2014. He was once again sentenced to 15 years in exile in Borazjan prisons by the revolutionary court after being tried.
The verdict was dropped in the appeal court to 10 years’ imprisonment, and this jailed teacher was released from Rajaee Shahr Prison on March 16th, 2016.
According to news agencies and on the basis of images published on social networks, on Sunday October 14th, 2018, the teachers’ sit-in protest was started in various cities of the country. It is said that this sit-in protest has been extended to more than 50 cities. Teachers in Jolfa, Shahin Shahr, Mahabad, Khorramabad, Firoozabad, Zarrin Shahr, Bojnourd, Javanrood, Sari, Karaj, Ivan Gharb, Tehran, Isfahan, Hamedan, Kazeroun, Babol, Qazvin, Paveh, Islamabad Gharb, Yazd, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Marivan, Mashhad, Ilam, Gonabad, Torbat Heydarieh, Tabriz, Amol, Garmeh, Lamard, Sanandaj, Saghez, Paveh, Ravansar, Shahrak GodsTehran, Zivah, Divandareh Takestan, Torbat-e-Jam, Sarva-Abad, Roushkan-Lorestan and other cities in Iran refused to go to classrooms.
The Coordinating Council had previously warned against a police and security intervention.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Unions instructed the teachers to refrain from attending classrooms on Sunday October 14th, Monday, October 15th, 2018.
In this call, retired teachers and teachers who do not teach during these two days were also asked to explain the reasons for their strike by attending schools at the same time as their colleague’s strike.
The Council for the Coordination of Teachers’ Trade Unions, the failure to implement the Law on the Administration of National Services, the failure to create different level for teachers, the failure to raise teachers’ wages and theft of the Educational Reserve Fund, are announced as reason for protest.