Four Teacher Union Activists in Khuzestan Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison

The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of Ahvaz has sentenced four teacher union activists to a total of 24 years in prison following a complaint by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Khuzestan province. According to the Telegram channel 'Iranian Teacher Union Challenge', Kokab Badaghi Pegah, Peyman Namai, Ali Koroushat, and Siamak Sadeghi Chehraz were summoned and tried in a joint case on November 7 of this year. On Tuesday, January 8, they were sentenced to one year for 'propaganda against the regime' and five years for 'collusion and conspiracy against national security' (totaling 24 years of punitive imprisonment). The crackdown on teachers and teacher union activists in Iran has intensified since May 2022, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of teachers and activists, many of whom remain imprisoned. Additionally, several teachers are still under bail, and many have been dismissed from their jobs or have not been included in the ranking law. In this context, the Coordination Council of Teacher Union Organizations reported that Branch 103 of the Criminal Court 2 in Mamassani issued sentences of 'three months of punitive imprisonment' along with 'a fine of 80 million tomans and payment of educational assistance for five students from elementary to secondary school up to 5 million tomans' for four cultural union activists, including Shakrollah Ahmadi, spokesperson for the Teacher Union Association of Fars province, as well as Rouhollah Gharghosha, Jan Mohammad Ahmadi, and Ali Ahmadi. Recently, Parviz Ehsani, Hiva Gharishi, Kaveh Mohammadzadeh, and Omid Shah Mohammadi were expelled and sentenced to five years of exile in Divandareh. The Kurdistan Teacher Union Association emphasized that these actions are the result of poor management and the presence of unqualified individuals at the head of education in this province. The Coordination Council of Teacher Union Organizations of Iran described the issuance of these sentences as 'an open attack on the dignity of teaching and the deliberate destruction of public education,' stressing that these actions are not only an individual suppression of teachers but also an organized effort to undermine independent and justice-oriented education. The issuance of prison sentences for four teachers in Mamassani and the summoning of seven union activists in Sanandaj, along with the continued temporary detention of a teacher from Ahvaz despite the 'end of investigations,' raises concerns about the government's claim of changing the 'selection' process for teachers.