Regarding Ali Saremi: Open Letter to International Education, in Support of Committee of Free Teachers in Iran’s Call

To:
Fred van Leeuwen
General Secretary,
Education International
Internationale de l’Education
Internacional de la Educación
Bildungsinternationale
headoffice@ei-ie.org

Dear General Secretary van Leeuwen,

We are writing to you to thank you and all of Education International once again for your earlier steadfast support for beloved Iranian teacher Farzad Kamangar. Together we struggled for his freedom and his life, and together we mourned the brutal injustice that took Farzad’s life.

We are now writing to you with a request for your continued support of teachers who continue to pay the highest price under the repressive regime in Iran. On December 28, 2010, the Islamic Republic executed another schoolteacher, Ali Saremi. He was 63 years old, and had spent 23 of those years in prison under political persecution.

The Committee of Free Teachers in Iran has condemned the execution of their colleague, Mr. Saremi, and have requested that teachers worldwide condemn his execution and help to prevent the execution of other jailed political prisoners including jailed teachers.

Through this email, we would like to convey to you their statement. We hope that you will be able to continue your support for teachers facing injustice in Iran. Your support for the struggle of teachers in Iran lends moral encouragement and solace in this time of great need.

With best wishes for the new year,
Maria Rohaly
Mission Free Iran
December 29, 2010

The Committee of Free Teachers in Iran Condemns the Execution of Political Prisoner Mr. Ali Saremi
We were informed that political prisoner Mr. Ali Saremi, who was a 63 year old teacher in Tehran’s Nazi Abad region and was loved by his students, was executed on Tuesday, December 28, by the government ruling Iran. He was also a political prisoner under the rule of the Shah and spent 23 years of his life in prison for freedom of expression and freedom of thought.

Compatriots,

The Iranian government has committed this crime at a time of widespread public discontent because of the implementation of the plan to cut subsidies and a rise in the price of all goods, including bread and fuel, which are the minimum needs of all sectors of Iranian society.

This dictatorship thinks it can prevent discontent and social protests by executing the children of the Iranian people. However, historical experience has shown that such measures will only fuel public discontent.

The Committee of Free Teachers in Iran supports political prisoners and condemns the execution of political prisoner and teacher Mr. Ali Saremi, and requests all teachers, the freedom loving people of Iran, and international human rights organizations to condemn his execution and prevent the execution of other jailed political prisoners including jailed teachers.

Committee of Free Teachers in Iran
December 28, 2010

(translation to English by Iran Committee (http://irancommittee.wordpress.com))

دسامبر 28, 2010

معلمان و هموطنان آزاده

مطلع شديم زندانى سياسى آقاى على صارمى 63 ساله و معلم محبوب دانش آموزان نازى آباد تهران كه درزمان شاه نيز زندانى بوده و 23 سال ازعمرش را براى آزادى انديشه و بيان در زندانها گذرانده بود امروز صبح سه شنبه هفتم ديماه توسط نظام حاكم برايران اعدام شده ا ست .

بيانيه بخشی از معلمان در اعتراض به اعدام معلم نازی آباد علی صارمی

هموطنان

حكومت ايران در شرايطى به چنين جنايتى دست زده كه بدليل اجراى يارانه ها و افزايش سرسام آور تمامى كالاها از نان گرفته تا نفت و..كه پايه اى ترين نيازهاى كليه اقشار جامعه است با نا رضايتى گسترده ى اجتماعى روبرو شده است .

نظام ديكتاتورى فكر ميكند با اعدام فرزندان آگاه و مبارز مردم ايران ميتواند از بروز نارضايتى ها و اعتراضات اجتماعى جلوگيرى كند . اما تجربه تاريخ نشان داده كه چنين عملكرد هايى نه تنها مانع حركت هاى اجتماعى نميشود بلكه باعث گسترش فزاينده ى آنها خواهد شد

كميته معلمان آزاد ايران ضمن حمايت از زندانيان سياسى و محكوم كردن اعدام زندانى سياسى , معلم آزاده ميهن آقاى على صارمى از تمامى فرهنگيان , معلمان ومردم آزاده ايران وكليه سازمانهاى حقوق بشرى درجهان ميخواهد با محكوم كردن اعدام زندانى سياسى آقاى على صارمى مانع اعدام ساير زندانيان سياسى از جمله معلمان دربند در زندانها شوند .

كميته معلمان آزاد ايران