The National Union of Iranian Educators Condemns Continued Suppression of Teacher Activists Under the Pezeshkian Government

On Wednesday, October 25, the Coordination Council of Iranian Educators' Trade Unions condemned the ongoing suppression of union activists with the start of the new school year. The statement noted that with the beginning of the new academic year, there is an increasing trend of repression against teachers and union activists. The Fourth Branch of the Court of Appeals sentenced Mohsen Omrani, Asghar Hajeb, Mahmoud Malaki, and Abdolreza Amanifar, board members of the Teachers' Trade Union of Bushehr Province, to pay 960 million rials in exchange for prison sentences previously issued by the Revolutionary Court of Bushehr Province. In this context, the Court of Appeals confirmed Mr. Omrani's one-year prison sentence, reducing it to six months. The council further stated that with the start of October, the Administrative Violations Committee of the Education Department of Tehran Province sentenced Ahmad Heydari Nasrat, a district secretary in Baharestan and a cultural union activist, to retirement based on his years of public service with a reduction of two grades. According to the statement, in another repressive action, Koukbad Badaghi Pegah, a cultural union activist in Izeh, Khuzestan, was summoned to Branch 13 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Ahvaz for his final defense, and two weeks later, his last defense session was held in Branch 13 of the Revolutionary Court of Khuzestan. The council added that in Mashhad, Branch 25 of the Administrative Justice Court rejected the objection of Mohammad Hossein Sepahri, confirming the expulsion of this imprisoned teacher from the education system after 26 years of teaching experience, and Hossein Vahedi, a union activist in North Khorasan, was summoned to the Revolutionary Court. The report also noted that in Kurdistan, the Ministry of Education's Appeals Committee expelled Somayeh Akhtarmar, a union activist from Marivan. Accordingly, teachers in Alborz Province were not spared from the repression of the Pezeshkian government, as Mehdi Moaref, a consultant for schools in District 4 of Alborz Province, was bought out and expelled from work. Additionally, in Sanandaj, intelligence agents attacked the home of Reza Sharifeh, a teachers' union activist, and searched his residence. The national teachers' organization pointed out that coinciding with World Teachers' Day, Ismail Abdi, a board member of the Teachers' Trade Union of Tehran, was bought out and expelled from work by the Education Department's Disciplinary Committee after 24 years of service. His charges included 'participating in illegal sit-ins, strikes, and protests, inciting illegal sit-ins, strikes, and protests, and engaging in group actions for illegal purposes through membership in the teachers' union and leading national teachers' protests, which led to his arrest and conviction.' The council emphasized that the aim of these sentences is to send a clear message to teachers that the regime, alongside imprisonment, exile, and expulsion, is also targeting the livelihoods of families, and there is no difference in this repression between the Raisi and Pezeshkian governments. Such actions continue, and among the latest repressive measures, the conviction of Mohammad Habibi was confirmed in Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals. This conviction relates to Mr. Habibi's protest against the serial poisoning of schools in Esfand 1401. The council noted that a significant point regarding the finalization of the sentence against the spokesperson of the Teachers' Trade Union of Tehran was the attempt to discredit him by accounts linked to fascist and security movements before the verdict was communicated to his lawyer, and this action was carried out by accounts that had previously attempted to undermine the teachers' movement through virtual programs in Esfand 1400. This national teachers' organization in Iran indicated that the statistics of repression are not limited to these cases, as some teachers still fear media exposure of their news. Additionally, a significant number of students at the Teacher Training University have been deprived of education. The Coordination Council of Iranian Educators' Trade Unions strongly condemned all summons, expulsions, arrests, and imprisonments and any form of confrontation with active and retired teachers and students, warning the regime that if this trend continues, teachers will resort to widespread and nationwide gatherings to defend their colleagues.