Teachers’ union activists face new prison terms, while a 19-year-old Afghan prisoner remains hospitalized after another suicide attempt in Evin.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations has condemned a new wave of prison sentences against teachers’ union activists, demanding that the sentences be overturned, imprisoned teachers released, and security crackdowns on union activity brought to an end.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 14, the council condemned the intensifying judicial and security pressure on teachers’ union activists. It said that at a time when society needs dialogue and attention to economic and educational demands more than ever, “the process of fabricating cases, making arrests, and issuing heavy sentences against teachers’ union activists continues.”
The statement identified Shokrallah Ahmadi, an inspector for the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations in Nurabad Mamasani; Reza Moslemi, a teachers’ union activist in Hamadan; and Kokab Badaghi-Pagah, a member of the Khuzestan Teachers’ Trade Association, as the latest activists to receive prison sentences.
According to the council, the sentences are part of the continuing security crackdown on teachers’ peaceful union activities.
Shokrallah Ahmadi was sentenced to three years, seven months, and 15 days in prison.
Reza Moslemi was sentenced to three years, six months, and one day in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security,” as well as an additional seven months and 16 days for “propaganda against the state.”
Kokab Badaghi-Pagah was sentenced to one year in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the state.”
Referring to the situation of other union activists, the council said that Ali Ahmadi, a retired teacher from Nurabad Mamasani, “continues to be denied release and access to medical treatment despite his poor physical condition.”
Jan-Mohammad Ahmadi, head of the Nurabad Mamasani Teachers’ Trade Association, also remains in detention.
The council said these cases demonstrate that “pressure on union activists is not limited to prison sentences. Arrests, the denial of legal rights, and the continued fabrication of cases remain ongoing.”
Emphasising the legitimacy of teachers’ union activity, the council stated:
“Pursuing teachers’ demands, defending public education, protesting discrimination, and working to improve livelihoods and the quality of education are legitimate and lawful rights. They must not be met with security crackdowns, fabricated cases, and criminal punishment.”
The statement continued:
“The experience of recent years has shown that exerting pressure on union activists has neither resolved the problems facing the education system nor eliminated educators’ accumulated demands.”
The council said the continuation of this approach “has only expanded public distrust, weakened social dialogue, and deepened the crises facing the education system.”
The Coordinating Council concluded by condemning the sentences imposed on Shokrallah Ahmadi, Reza Moslemi, and Kokab Badaghi-Pagah.
It demanded “the annulment of these sentences; the immediate and unconditional release of Jan-Mohammad Ahmadi; an end to Ali Ahmadi’s detention and immediate attention to his medical condition; the release of all imprisoned teachers; and an end to the fabrication of cases and security crackdowns against union activists.”
The council also reaffirmed “teachers’ right to organise independently, engage in union activity, exercise freedom of expression, pursue their lawful demands, and participate in decisions concerning education.”
It described respect for these rights as essential to improving the education system and strengthening the country’s social fabric.
A 19-Year-Old Afghan Prisoner Hospitalized After Suicide Attempt
Homaira Sharifi, an Afghan national serving a prison sentence in Evin Prison, was transferred to medical facilities on the evening of Friday, July 10, after attempting suicide. She remains under medical supervision.
According to information obtained by the Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, Sharifi attempted to take her own life by ingesting a corrosive cleaning liquid. Because of the severity of her condition, she was first transferred to Loghman Hospital and subsequently to Taleghani Hospital.
An informed source told HRANA that several prisoners found Sharifi in the ward corridor, bleeding and vomiting a dark liquid. According to the source, she has attempted suicide more than five times since her arrest.
The source said Sharifi had worked in a restaurant before her arrest and had no political affiliation or history of political activity. Her lack of support and particularly vulnerable circumstances have placed her in an extremely difficult position.
In June 2026, Sharifi was informed that she had been sentenced to five years in prison. In addition to serious mental-health difficulties, she has a skin condition, but her physical and psychological health needs have yet to receive effective treatment.
Sharifi, 19, was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2025–26 and initially transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin. She was moved to Evin Prison on February 16, 2026, and has remained there since.
HRANA said its investigation into the charges against Sharifi and the authority that issued her sentence remains ongoing.
The nationwide protests of December 2025 and January 2026 were among the most extensive Iran had witnessed in recent years. During the protests, the Islamic Republic’s security forces killed or injured thousands of people and arrested or summoned tens of thousands more.
HRANA’s monthly report on human rights in Iran for the period between May 22 and June 21, 2026, documents an intensification of violations across multiple areas.
According to the report, at least 127 people were executed during this period, 19 were sentenced to death, and the death sentences of another 12 people were upheld. Several of these cases involved people arrested during the nationwide protests of 2025–26.
The report also documented 809 arrests and prison sentences amounting to a combined total of 4,933 months. Courts additionally issued 24 months of exile, 766 lashes against 80 people, and fines totalling 51 million tomans.
HRANA further recorded 16 summonses, eight trials, eight home searches, and 698 cases involving the confiscation of property and homes during the same period.
