Court Of Appeals Upholds Prison Sentence For Jailed Teacher Mohammad Habibi

Court of Appeals upheld 10-and-a-half-year imprisonment sentence for jailed teacher Mohammad Habibi.

The Branch 36 of the Tehran’s Court of Appeals, presided by judge Zargar, sentenced Mr. Habibi to a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for “Gathering and collusion against national security” and for “Propaganda against the State”, sentenced him to 74 lashes and two-year ban on leaving the country, political and social activities.

Mohammad Habibi, 29-year-old member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, was first arrested on 3 March 3, 2018 outside the school in Tehran in front of his students.

Revolutionary Guards agents pepper sprayed and beat him during his arrest and transferred him to an unknown location where he remained in solitary confinement until around 19 March.
During this period, he was repeatedly interrogated while blindfolded and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

He was then transferred to Evin prison and was temporarily released on bail on 15 April.
On 10 May, 2018, while he was out on bail, Mr. Habibi was violently arrested again for participating a peaceful gathering of teachers in Tehran opposing the poor economic circumstances of teachers, both retired and active, and the lack of sufficient funding for public education.

On 23 July, he underwent a trial before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran which lasted only two hours and ignored marks of beatings on his body.

He was not allowed to meet with his lawyer until 10 minutes before his trial.

The Iranian authorities have subjected numerous teacher trade unionists to years of harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy prison sentences following unfair trials, according to Amnesty International.

According to Amnesty, at least six other teachers were given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and a flogging sentence of 74 lashes in September 2018 for their peaceful participation in gatherings on 10 May 2018.

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