Ei-iE

Sajad Khaksari, the 25-year-old son of one of Iran’s leading teacher trade unionists, was arrested on 26 April in Tehran and remains in detention in Ward 10 of the Evin prison.

Sajad Khaksari, son of Mohamad Khaksari and Soraya Darabi, both leaders of the Iran Teacher Trade Association (ITTA), was arrested during a teachers' gathering in front of the Parliament, which was organized by teachers from Lorestan and Kermanshah requesting permanent contracts.

After he was transferred to the Baharestan Security Police Station, the Revolutionary Court charged him with "disturbing the public's opinion" and ordered US$50,000 bail for his release.

Sajad Khaksari has already experienced harassment by the authorities. In 2006, he was detained for having reported on the plight of teachers in the union publication, "Teachers’ Pen." Earlier in January this year, he was charged with having attended an "illegal" teachers' gathering. On 28 January, he was arrested for taking photographs of a government building. Although he was released on condition after a few days each time, because of the suspended imprisonment sentence he was sent to jail every time the authorities arrested him.

This time around, the 25-year old Sajad remains in prison longer than usual.

To find out more about the arrest, which is clearly an attempt to intimidate the teacher union leaders, EI wrote to the Iranian Embassy in Belgium. On 7 May, EI addressed a letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting the immediate and unconditional release of Sajad Khaksari and the withdrawal of all charges against him.

The other teachers who were arrested alongside Sajad Khaksari were more fortunate.

Rasoul Bodaghi, ITTA member from Tehran, was released after 26 hours' detention. Khatoun Badpar, a female teacher from Tehran, and Ali Aalami, a male teacher from Islamshahr, were both released the following day after being kept overnight in a police station. All three of them were arrested in front of the Education Ministry building on 4 May. Bodaghi informed EI that both the judge and the police officers treated them respectfully.

EI was also informed that the teachers' gatherings in front of the Education departments in the different provinces on the occasion of the National Teachers' Day on 4 May were not interrupted or dispersed by the police.