National Association of Educators in Iran: Two Teacher Activists from Gilan Granted Leave Linked to Freedom

On Thursday, March 15, the Coordination Council of the National Associations of Educators in Iran announced that Anoush Adeli and Mahmoud Sediqi Pour, members of the Gilan association's board, were granted leave linked to freedom from Lakan Prison in Rasht. Mr. Adeli and Mr. Sediqi Pour had been sentenced to one year of imprisonment on security charges. According to the report, Aziz Qasemzadeh, another teacher activist from Gilan, was also released for leave from Lakan Prison in Rasht. Qasemzadeh's three-week leave comes under circumstances where he should have been released after serving one year in prison, considering his temporary detention in October 2021 and June 2022. However, despite the family and lawyers of this activist approaching the judiciary in Rudsar and the fifth branch of the public and revolutionary court in Rasht, the consolidation of his case has not yet been completed. The Coordination Council of the National Associations of Educators in Iran emphasized that no activist should experience even a single day in prison due to their activities. Currently, several teacher activists, such as Rasoul Badaghi, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Hashem Khastaar, are serving prison sentences on security charges. The security and judicial actions against teachers and their activists, which have intensified since last year, have faced severe criticism from teachers' and workers' unions worldwide.