Over 2000 Teachers Protest Outside Iranian Regime’s “Parliament”

On July 22 over 2000 teachers protested outside the Iranian regime’s “parliament” on Baharestan Square. Over 100 were arrested after they were beaten by police.

The teachers were protesting for improved pay and conditions as well as the release of their representatives who were arrested in the spring.

Mohammad Rezakhah, a member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, told ILNA that they had been planning the protest for two weeks and that “the teachers had gathered from across the country, including Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Hamedan, Esfahan, Gilan, Mazandaran and Mashhad” to take part in this “silent rally”.

The police, however, prevented the teachers from holding a protest – even a “silent rally” – in front of the Iranian regime’s “parliament”. “From the first hours of parliament’s open session, teachers came to the venue of the rally, that the police prevented the demonstration from taking place,” Mr Rezakhah added.

The pressure of labour protests has been building up over the past few months and has forced some of the regime’s so-called “MPs” to offer some words of sympathy for the teachers. For example, Esmail Abdi said that Article 27 of the Constitution recognised the right to protest.

The Iranian regime claims that all of the over 100 teachers who were arrested after the police beat and abused them have now been released.

Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network