The National Education Union (NEU) strongly condemns the brutal repression of peaceful protestors in Iran by the country’s security forces with thousands killed and hundreds arrested.
The Iranian regime has intensified its crackdown on human rights and on trade union activists. We stand in solidarity with all human rights defenders, with Iranian trade unionists, and with our brothers and sisters in the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA), an affiliate of Education International (EI).
The NEU calls for an end to the violence and killings, the release of all those arrested in the latest wave of protests, and an end to the repression of teachers and teacher trade unionists.
We call on the UK Government and the international community to:
- Demand the immediate and full restoration of internet access in Iran and an end to all shutdowns and communication restrictions used as tools of repression, concealment, and human rights violations.
- Demand the immediate and unconditional release of Abdollah Rezaei, Reza Moslemi, and all detained teachers, students, children, and trade union activists.
- Call for the immediate cancellation of all death sentences and an end to all political and show trials against civil society groups, including students, teachers, and labour activists.
- Demand full protection of detainees’ fundamental rights, including access to legal counsel, adequate medical care, and regular communication with their families.
- Exert immediate and effective international pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran, including demands for access by independent human rights and labour observers.