Trial Session of Mohammad Habibi, Spokesperson for Tehran Teachers' Trade Association, Held

Ramin Safarnia Kheshtavani, the lawyer for Mohammad Habibi, spokesperson for the Tehran Teachers' Trade Association, announced that his trial session was held at the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar. On Wednesday, January 10, he mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that the charge against his client in this case is 'conspiracy and collusion.' According to this lawyer, the instances of this charge against Mohammad Habibi include his tweets regarding protests against the poisoning of schools and his defense of students' rights. Mohammad Habibi has been dismissed from his job due to his union activities and has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times. According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations, after receiving three dismissal and retirement orders, Mohammad Habibi has permanently lost the ability to work as a teacher. Among the issues raised by this civil activist is the ongoing trend of 'monetizing' and 'commodifying education' in Iran, which he argues contradicts the principle of providing free education and Article 30 of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Constitution. Following the nationwide protests of 2022, the Islamic Republic has intensified security and judicial crackdowns against political, civil, and union activists. These actions have faced criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations. A new case has been formed against the spokesperson of the Tehran Teachers' Trade Association, who has once again been 'dismissed' and 'retired.' The Iranian Pensioners' Council stated that educational policies have separated some children from schools. Reyhaneh Ansari Nejad, a labor activist, has been summoned to serve a four-year prison sentence.