Iranian Teachers Association call for release of imprisoned teachers

Kamangar, Vakili, Eslamian, Alam Holi, Heydarian

Iranian Teachers Association issued a statement to condemn the execution of their peer, Farzad Kamangar along with four other political prisoners last Sunday in Tehran’s Evin Prison and to call for the release of their detained peers.

They described the execution of Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam Holi, Ali Heydarian and Mehdi Eslamian as an “inhuman” and “unpatriotic” act.

These political prisoners were accused of membership in “anti-Revolutionary” organizations and Mehdi Eslamian was also accused of “bombing Hoseinieh of Shiraz.”

The Teachers Association maintains that “the execution of these five individuals was carried out under a news blackout and in the absence of the most basic legal procedures.” They express concern that these executions could become “a prologue to another widespread wave of execution of freedom seekers as well as political and civil activists.”

The statement goes on to say that “the execution of these prisoners at the threshold of June 12, bring back memories of the widespread executions of the 1980s.”

In the 1980s, the Islamic Republic executed thousands of political prisoners, many of which were accused of membership in “anti-Revolutionary” organizations.

Iranian Teachers Association stresses that the silence of people, as well as political, civil, university and student bodies will result in “exacerbation of the execution trend in the future and in other regions of Iran.”

The Teachers Association calls for the release of all political, civil and labour prisoners, especially teachers rights activists such as Abdolreza Ghanbari, Hashem Khastar, Rasoul Bedaghi, Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi, Ali Akbar Baghani, Mohammad Davari, Alireza Hashemi, Hosein Bastani-Nejad and Ghorban Ahmadi.

Abdolreza Ghanbari has been accused of connection with the dissident group, People’s Mojahedin of Iran Organization.

The execution of the five political prisoners on May 9 in Tehran has been condemned by human rights groups, political organizations, as well as Iranian opposition leaders, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.