Concerns Grow Over Fate Of Detained Iranian Teachers’ Leader

Fears are growing for Iranian Teachers Trade Association spokesperson Mohammed Habibi with no news on his whereabouts almost two weeks since his arrest.

His wife Khadijeh Pak-Zamir told Sharq daily on Sunday: “We have no information about his case and have not been notified of any charges. We have not been allowed to meet him and all this has made us worried about his health.

“I don't know if my husband is still in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, or if he has been transferred to another place or solitary confinement.”

Prisoners in Ward 209 are subject to torture by the Ministry of Intelligence, according to human rights campaigners.

Habibi is one of a number of activist teachers who have been targeted by the regime for protesting for political freedom and against economic hardship.

Hei was arrested on April 5 at the school where he teaches, just outside Tehran, less than two months since he had been released from prison.

In the arrest warrant, the human rights defender was charged with "gathering and collusion" and "propaganda against the government", his wife said.

He had been released from the notorious Evin prison on February 8 as part of a so-called general amnesty announced by the Iranian judiciary on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Habibi had twice lost his job teaching under the pretext of “unjustified leave of absence” while he was behind bars.

In August 2018 he was jailed for “collusion against national security”, and “propaganda against the regime” for his peaceful activities in the teachers’ association. He was released from prison in November 2020 but jailed again last year.