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Jailed Members Of Iran’s Teachers Union Face Security Charges

February 6, 2023
Akhtar Safi
1 min read
The Revolutionary Court in the southern city of Bushehr issued the indictment against Mahmoud Melaki, Abulreza Amanifar, Mohsen Emrani and Asghar Hajeb on February 6
The Revolutionary Court in the southern city of Bushehr issued the indictment against Mahmoud Melaki, Abulreza Amanifar, Mohsen Emrani and Asghar Hajeb on February 6

Iranian authorities are accusing four jailed members of the country’s Teachers Union of "acting against internal security," "disturbing public order and peace" and "disobeying an officer while on duty," as the Islamic Republic continues to clamp down on protests that have rocked the country for more than four months.

The Revolutionary Court in the southern city of Bushehr issued the indictment against Mahmoud Melaki, Abulreza Amanifar, Mohsen Emrani and Asghar Hajeb on February 6.

They are members of the Board of Directors of the Teachers Union in Bushehr province.

While rejecting the accusations against the four, the provincial branch of the Teachers Union issued a statement calling for their unconditional release from detention.

"Unfortunately, instead of listening to the compassionate voice of the teachers, the government intends to take revenge on the teachers' movement after the protests started," the statement reads.

Young Iranians have been at the forefront of the nationwide demonstrations triggered by the September death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody of morality police. Some schoolteachers, university professors and lecturers have expressed solidarity with the protest movement.

The Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on the demonstrations, which pose one of the most serious challenges to the theocracy installed by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Security forces have killed more than 520 people, including dozens of children, and detained over 18,000, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

More than 490 Iranian teachers have been prosecuted during the recent unrest.

Earlier this year, the Union Council of Iranian Students said 11 professors at Ferdowsi University in the northeastern city of Mashhad were dismissed for "accompanying, supporting, and defending the rights of students."

The activist HRANA news agency has said that at least 700 university students have been arrested.

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