Rasht Revolutionary Court Sentences 9 Members of Gilan Teachers' Union to Prison

On Wednesday, March 7, the Coordination Council of Cultural Associations of Iran announced that the third branch of the Revolutionary Court in Gilan sentenced 9 members of the Gilan Teachers' Union and board members of this organization to a total of 18 years and 9 days in prison along with supplementary punishments. According to a report published by the council's Telegram channel, the defense lawyer for these teacher activists announced the Revolutionary Court's ruling in Rasht as two years and one day of imprisonment for each of them. Ramin Zafernia also mentioned that Mahmoud Sedighi-Pour, Aziz Qasemzadeh, Ali Nahali, Timour Bagheri Koodakani, Javad Saeidi, Tahmasb Sohrabi, Anoush Adeli, Jahangir Lajevardi, and Gholamreza Akbarzadeh have each been banned from membership in political and social parties and groups for two years following the execution of the sentence. These activists were accused of 'disrupting public order by holding and participating in union gatherings' and 'rebellion' and were summoned to the third branch of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht on February 12. Tahmasb Sohrabi, a poet, retired teacher, and one of the convicted activists, previously wrote in a note about his summons and that of eight other teacher activists to the Revolutionary Court: 'We do not accept the charge of disrupting public order and consider it an insult to our human and teaching dignity.' Reports indicate that security and judicial pressures and the government's efforts to suppress teachers and union activists have intensified in recent years, with many teachers being summoned and arrested. Pressure on union and cultural activists has increased since the beginning of 2022, and as a result, dozens of teachers have been suspended or permanently dismissed by the Administrative Violations Review Board of the Ministry of Education. These actions have faced widespread protests from teachers' and workers' unions worldwide.