Appeals court upheld the sentence of 25-year in prison for seven trade union activist teachers in North Khorasan
25-May-2020
Category: Uncategorized
Breathing in Confinement, May 20, 2020: The Court of Appeals in North Khorasan, upheld the sentence of 25 years in prison for seven activists and directors of North Khorasan Teachers’ Union.
Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers Trade Associations announced that the Court of Appeals approved the 25-year prison sentence for its board of directors. According to the verdict, Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh was sentenced to 8 years in prison and Hossein Ramezanpour to 4 years. In addition, Saeed Haghparast, Ali Foroutan, Hassan Johari, Mostafa Robati, Hamidreza Rajaei each was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
It should be noted that earlier in the same case, in the criminal court, Mr. Ramezanzadeh was sentenced to 2 years in prison as well as 74 lashes and Mr. Ramezanpour was sentenced to 74 lashes. In the same court Mr. Rajaei also was sentenced to 6 months suspended imprisonment.
“Lawyers for the case have submitted strong evidence to the Court of Appeals on the legality of their clients’ activities,” said Eskandar Lotfi, a spokesman for Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers Trade Associations. “Unfortunately, despite the strong documentary evidence on legality of the activities of the Board of directors of North Khorasan Teachers’ Union, and in spite of the talks of the Coordinating Council with the relevant authorities as well as the formation of supporting campaigns of tens of thousands of teachers and lawyers, the issuance of these horrific sentences confirms that the authorities are not willing to solve the structural problems of the country’s educational system and that they are only trying to impose the current difficult conditions on the teachers and students via intimidating and imprisoning their activists” he added.
The spokesman for the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers Trade Associations continued: “On behalf of the Coordinating Council, we have repeatedly called the country’s executive and judicial officials to respect the union’s activities. We again urge the country’s leaders to stop the violence and to revoke the sentences imposed on the union activists, whose efforts are to reform the country’s structures, and in particular educational structures. So that the trust between the government and people will be no more compromised.”
It should be noted that these 7 teachers and union activists were arrested after a nationwide sit-in by teachers in November and October 2018, and each was later released on bail. According to the initial verdict issued by the Bojnourd Revolutionary Court, on charges of “acting against national security by forming an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the country’s security and propaganda against the regime”, Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, Hossein Ramezanpour and Hamidreza Rajaei had respectively been sentenced to 13 years, 8 years and 4 years in prison as well as 74 lashes”. Concurrently, Ali Forootan, Mostafa Robati, Saeed Haghparast and Hassan Johari had each been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.