Teachers’ Union Denounces “Unjust” Sentencing of Protesting Educators

The Teachers’ Union of Iran urged the Iranian authorities to immediately stop summoning and imposing heavy sentences on its members, after eight protesting teachers were sentenced to a total of 34 years behind bars amid a government crackdown on dissent.

The Shiraz Revolutionary Court sentenced Abdolrazaq Amiri and Zahra Esfandiari to two years in prison each. Iraj Rahnama, Afshin Razmjoui, Mozhgan Bagheri, Gholamreza Gholami, Mohammad Ali Zahmtkesh, and Asghar Amirzadegan each face five years of imprisonment.

They are all members of the Fars Union of Teachers.

Calling the verdicts “unjust,” the Teachers’ Union said in a June 26 statement that the eight teachers were punished solely for demanding teachers’ rights be respected.

The statement calls on the judicial officials and security forces of the Islamic Republic to refrain from fabricating cases against teachers and issuing unfair verdicts.

Over the past few days, at least 11 teachers in Khuzestan province and five others in Yazd province have been summoned to revolutionary courts for trials.

Unrest has rattled the country since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears and a lack of welfare support amid the Islamic Republic’s increasing isolation and a worsening economic situation partly triggered by years of sanctions. 

The September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody breathed new life into the protests.

The authorities have cracked down hard on months-long nationwide demonstrations sparked by Amini’s death. More than 520 people were killed during protests and over 20,000 others were unlawfully detained, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.