Esmail Abdi, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA-Tehran) was sentenced to six years in prison by branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by the notorious Judge Salavati. The verdict was announced on February 22, 2016 to Abdi’s lawyer, Mr. Peyman Haj-Mahmoud Attar.
Esmail Abdi’s court was held on January 31, 2016 in the presence of Abdi and his lawyer and the prosecutor in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which was presided over by Judge Salavati who is infamous for harsh treatment of trade unionists and labour and social activists. .
Mr. Abdi’s charges included “gathering and colluding with intent to harm public order” and “propaganda against the system”; however, the real reasons for these allegations had to do with his trade union activism as the general secretary of the teachers’ trade union in Tehran and for participating in teachers’ gatherings and meetings.
Mr. Abdi was arrested on June 27, 2015 after he was ordered to show up at the prosecutor’s office at Evin prison.
In addition, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, who was temporarily released following his hunger strike in December 2015, was denied an extension of his furlough and forced to return to Evin prison on January 14, 2016. Other imprisoned teachers including Rasoul Bodaghi, Ali Akbar Baghani, Alireza Hashemi and Abolreza Ghanbari continue to be in prison.
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· Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei Twitter: @khamenei_ir (English) or @Khamenei_fa (Persian) Email: [email protected]
Hassan Rouhani
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Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and
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