Arrest, Imprisonment, Dismissal and Employment Sanctions
Pressure on teachers in Iran is not limited to the livelihood crisis. Over the past year, dozens of teachers, retired teachers and trade-union activists have faced summonses, arrest, prosecution, imprisonment or employment-related sanctions. According to documented case files available up to 28 July 2026, at least 60 teachers and trade-union activists had been arrested, prosecuted, tried or imprisoned since the beginning of the January protests. This figure represents the minimum number of recorded cases. Not all of these cases arose solely from trade-union activity; some were connected to broader public protests, political expression or other forms of civic activity.
Alongside imprisonment, teachers have also faced dismissal, suspension or permanent exclusion from public employment, forced retirement, compulsory transfer, demotion, salary deductions and removal from professional responsibilities.
From Trade-Union Demands to Security Cases
Trade-union activity by teachers in Iran takes place in an environment in which security, judicial and administrative bodies may act simultaneously against an individual activist. In some cases, participation in a gathering, publication of a statement, involvement in a teachers’ organization or expression of a critical view has begun with a summons or arrest and then proceeded under charges such as “propaganda against the system”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, “forming a group” or “disrupting public order”. These charges have been recorded in multiple cases involving teachers.
At the same time, disciplinary boards within the Ministry of Education can affect a teacher’s employment and income without imposing a prison sentence. Dismissal, suspension from service, forced retirement, transfer to another city or province, salary deductions and removal from managerial posts are among the sanctions that have been recorded.
As a result, the cost of protest or trade-union activity can be imposed on a teacher at three levels: personal liberty, job security and income.
An Ideological Education System and Restrictions on Professional Independence
These measures take place within a structure in which entry into the teaching profession and continued employment do not depend solely on academic and professional qualifications. Iran’s ideological vetting regulations incorporate religious and political criteria into recruitment and evaluation, and teachers are expected to operate within the official policies and values of the education system.
From a human rights perspective, the concern is not the mere existence of religious education. The concern arises when religious or political belief becomes a criterion for employment, or when the expression of a differing view exposes a teacher to employment, administrative or security consequences.
Hashem Khastar: A Prominent Case of Continuing Repression
Among imprisoned teachers, Hashem Khastar is one of the most prominent examples of sustained pressure on trade-union activists. He is a retired teacher and long-standing advocate for teachers’ rights in Mashhad. Judicial measures against him date back many years: he was arrested in 2009, arrested again in 2018 and transferred to Ibn Sina Psychiatric Hospital, and arrested once more in August 2019 during a gathering outside the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad. In the latter case, charges against him included “forming a group to disrupt national security”, “propaganda against the system” and “spreading falsehoods”.
Imprisonment did not end the proceedings against him. According to the documents reviewed, letters and statements published by Khastar from prison led to four new cases being opened against him.
In one of the most recent cases, he was ordered to pay blood money and medical expenses on a charge of “intentional assault and battery”, while he was not present at the hearing. Sources inside the prison have given a different account of the incident and stated that prison CCTV footage that could have clarified what happened was not made available to the defense. These allegations cannot be independently verified through the judicial case file and must therefore remain attributed to the relevant sources.
Khastar’s case illustrates how a teacher’s activism can lead to prolonged imprisonment, successive prosecutions and continued legal action even while in prison.
Arrests up to the Eve of World Teachers’ Day
According to the latest information that could be verified as of 3 October 2026, at least Masoud Farhikhteh, Abolfazl Khoran, Rasoul Bodaqi, Ghaffar Dindar and Shokrollah Ahmadi were reported to be in prison or detention. These five individuals represent the minimum number of cases whose status could be verified in the days immediately preceding publication of this report.
On 25 September, six teachers and trade-union activists — Shokrollah Ahmadi, Ali Safari, Rasoul Bodaqi, Ghaffar Dindar, Ali Hassan Bahman and Hojjat Sadat — were arrested in Nurabad Mamasani. By the end of the month, three had been released on bail of two billion tomans each, while Rasoul Bodaqi, Ghaffar Dindar and Shokrollah Ahmadi were still reported to be in prison.
These arrests took place only days before World Teachers’ Day and show that security measures against trade-union activists continued up to the eve of 5 October.
Women Teachers: Additional Layers of Pressure
In addition to the general pressures affecting education personnel, women teachers face restrictions and forms of discrimination specifically related to gender. During the period under review, the names of Azadeh Salehi, Kokab Badaghi-Pagah, Fatemeh Zarei, Mastoureh Narimani, Ameneh Bayraqdar and Zahra Arefi-Mehr were recorded among women teachers who had been arrested, convicted or subjected to pressure.
Azadeh Salehi was initially sentenced after her arrest to 10 years’ imprisonment, later reduced on appeal to five years. Kokab Badaghi-Pagah faced a search of her home, seizure of belongings and a one-year prison sentence on a charge of “propaganda against the system”.
The case of Ameneh Bayraqdar also illustrates the impact of pressure on family life. After she was rearrested and transferred to Vakilabad Prison, her husband suffered a stroke, while her child was also facing a serious illness.
These cases indicate that women teachers may face gender-specific restrictions alongside employment pressure and security and judicial measures.
Punishment Without Imprisonment: Exclusion from the Profession
Repression of teachers is not limited to imprisonment. In Kurdistan Province, eight experienced teachers have faced final dismissal decisions: Majid Karimi, Ghias Nemati and Jahangir Bahmani from Sanandaj; Omid Shahmohammadi, Parviz Ahsani, Kaveh Mohammadzadeh and Hiva Qoreishi from Divandarreh; and Somayeh Akhtarshomar from Marivan.
Seven of the eight held master’s degrees and had between 18 and 26 years of teaching experience. Two, in addition to dismissal, were permanently barred from all government employment.
In other cases, recorded sanctions have included suspension from service, forced retirement accompanied by demotion, compulsory transfer to another province, removal from managerial positions and salary deductions.
These sanctions show that punishment of a teacher’s activity can directly target employment, income and future professional prospects.
International Responses
Measures against teachers and trade-union activists in Iran over the past year have also prompted responses from international education bodies, teachers’ unions and human rights mechanisms.
On 3 October 2025, Education International, the global federation of education unions, condemned the escalation of measures against teachers’ trade-union activists in Iran. It referred to the arrest of 18 representatives of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations in Shahreza, action against Masoud Farhikhteh, and decisions involving dismissal, forced retirement and transfer of teachers in Kurdistan. It called for Farhikhteh’s release, the reversal of employment sanctions and an end to the criminalisation of peaceful trade-union activity.
Education International Education International statement, 3 October 2025
In January 2026, Education International also called on the Iranian authorities to end violent measures against protesters and to guarantee the safety of teachers, students and the wider education community. In May 2026, Education International again reported that Iranian teachers continued to face summonses, interrogation, imprisonment and security pressure.
Education International Education International position on Iran, 4 May 2026
On 7 May 2026, the United Kingdom’s National Education Union (NEU) called for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned teachers, an end to the securitization of the education environment, and guarantees for the right to education in Iran. The union specifically expressed concern about imprisoned trade-union activists and described the targeting of teachers’ union activists as an infringement of freedom of association and freedom of expression.
National Education Union، National Education Union statement, 7 May 2026
At the United Nations level, several Special Rapporteurs and other experts raised the cases of Mohammad Habibi, Jafar Ebrahimi and Rasoul Bodaqi in a joint communication to the Government of Iran dated 22 October 2024. The communication referred to their arrests, repeated convictions and dismissal from teaching, and expressed serious concern that these measures might be directly related to their peaceful activities concerning labour rights and education reform, thereby affecting their rights and livelihoods.
UN Human Rights Reports IRN 18/2024
Official communication by United Nations experts
In July 2026, the Center for Human Rights in Iran also documented at least 60 teachers and trade-union activists who had been arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned, and reported that in a number of cases security-related charges, solitary confinement, denial of medical care and restrictions on family contact had been alleged.
Rights Under Pressure
Iran is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 19 protects freedom of expression, while Articles 21 and 22 recognise the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association. The joint UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers also affirms teachers’ right to organise professionally, the participation of teachers’ organizations in determining working conditions, and access to fair procedures in disciplinary matters.
When participation in a peaceful gathering, publication of a statement, trade-union activity or expression of a critical view is met with imprisonment or employment-related sanctions, not only the teacher’s individual liberty but also the possibility of independent collective organization and collective defense of professional rights is restricted.
Conclusion
On the eve of World Teachers’ Day 2026, the available evidence indicates that pressure on teachers in Iran is imposed through several parallel channels: arrest and imprisonment, security-related prosecutions, heavy bail requirements, dismissal, suspension from service, forced retirement, demotion and compulsory transfer.
The case of Hashem Khastar is an example of the long-term continuity of such pressure, while the arrests of trade-union activists in Nurabad only days before World Teachers’ Day show that these measures remain ongoing.
Alongside the livelihood crisis examined in the first part of this report, these facts reveal another dimension of the condition of the teaching profession in Iran: teachers face not only difficulty in securing a decent standard of living, but also the risk that peaceful demands for professional rights or the expression of critical views may carry security, judicial and employment consequences.
