Ei-iE

Sajad Khaksari, the 25-year-old son of one of Iran’s leading teacher trade unionists, was arrested on 28 January in Tehran and remains in custody.

Sajad’s father, Mohamad Khaksari, has faced years of intimidation and court charges due to his role at the head of the Iranian Teacher Trade Association, which has been banned by the Iranian government. EI has reason to believe that Sajad’s arrest is connected to his father’s union activism, and family members fear he could be ill-treated in custody. His mother was able to see him briefly only after repeated visits to the prison.

Sajad Khaksari has already experienced harassment by the authorities. In 2006, he was detained for having reported on the plight of teachers in a union publication entitled Teachers’ Pen. Earlier in January he was charged with having attended a so-called “illegal teachers’ gathering.” Now he faces trial again, apparently for having done nothing more than take photographs of a government building.

In many letters to the Iranian authorities, EI has deplored the fact that teachers are deprived of freedom of association guaranteed under Convention 87 of the International Labour Organisation. As long as the Iranian authorities maintain their ban on the ITTA and the imprisonment of trade unionists such as Farzad Kamangar, Mansour Osanloo and others, and as long as the harassment of teachers participating in union meetings continues, EI and the trade union movement worldwide will continue to advocate for the full respect of trade union rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.