The Revolutionary Court of Shiraz sentenced the teachers of Shiraz and Fars province, including Mojgan Bagheri and Zahra Esfandiari, to 34 years of imprisonment.
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations reported that the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz issued its preliminary verdict for eight teachers of Shiraz and Fars province on Saturday, June 17, 2023.
According to the verdict, Mojgan Bagheri, Iraj Rahnama, Afshin Razmjouii, Gholamreza Gholami, Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, and Asghar Amirzadegan were each sentenced to five years in prison. Zahra Esfandiari and Abdul Razzaq Amiri were also sentenced to two years imprisonment with leg tags.
The trial for the teachers of Shiraz and Fars province convened on June 10, 2023. According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, the verdicts were issued under the security services’ pressure.
Eleven members of the Educators’ Guild in Khuzestan on trial
The Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz held the trial for 11 members of the Educators’ Guild in Khuzestan on Saturday, June 17, 2023.
The 11 teachers, Kowkab Badaghi, Zohreh Bakhtiari, Pirooz Nami, Siamak Sadeghi Chehrazi, Shahriar Shirvani Nia, Emad Rafii-nejad, Ali Karoushati, Moein Zargani, Sadegh Naseri, Eqbal Tamoradi, and Behnia Bahmaei-nejad, are accused of “engaging in propaganda activities against the regime and membership in groups aiming at undermining national security.”
Teachers summoned in Yazd and North Khorasan Provinces
In Yazd Province, the Revolutionary Court of Yazd summoned five activist teachers.
On Saturday, June 17, 2023, Ms. Hamideh Zare’e Cheshmeh, Ahmad Changizi, Mansour Mirzaii, Mohammad Fakhr-ol Hosseini, and Mehdi Kalantari were summoned to the Revolutionary Court of Yazd. The reason for their summons is not known yet.
Ms. Hamideh Zare’e Cheshmeh, Ahmad Changizi, and Mehdi Kalantari were arrested last year in April during the teachers’ nationwide protests. They were later released.
In North Khorasan Province, Ms. Zahra Avaz-zadeh Moghaddam, an activist teacher and a member of this province’s Educators’ Guild, received a summons to appear before the court. This is her third consecutive summons this year.
During the current academic year, Ms. Avaz-zadeh Moghaddam has faced two separate cases opened by the Board Investigation Violations in North Khorasan Province.
She has previous records of encounters with the judiciary due to her activities.
Teachers suppressed to silence their voice
Security services in Iran have been actively targeting and suppressing teachers’ associations and cultural guilds since last April to silence teachers’ voices under baseless accusations by any means.
During this period, over 250 activist teachers across the country have been detained, imprisoned, expelled, or exiled based on “bogus charges.” Numerous cases have been filed against teachers.
Iranian media report that the government has utilized the tactics of “eliminating the ranking system” and “demoting teachers” to combat trade union gatherings.
The state-run Etemad newspaper reported that over 80 teachers in Tehran Province, more than 48 teachers in Kurdistan Province, and 20 teachers in Kermanshah Province had been removed from the ranking list due to their pursuit of trade union demands and involvement in civil associations.
In recent years, Iranian teachers have repeatedly held protest gatherings to demand the fulfillment of their rights, including implementing the Ranking Law.
