Administrative Court Upholds Expulsion Of Iranian Teacher Activist

An administrative court has upheld the decision to expel Mohammad Saeidi Abou-Es’haqi, an Iranian teacher activist, from his position, amid sustained action to punish dissidents.

Abou-Es’haqi, an active member of the Lordegan Teachers' Union, was initially removed from his job in May 2023.

Abou-Es’haqi's expulsion was attributed to his active involvement in the 2022 anti-government protests, his solidarity with the families of government victims, and his artistic expressions through music and singing in sympathy with the protesters, alongside his participation in teachers' protests.

Iran's hardliners who control the parliament and the executive branch have been systematically replacing professional teachers and university professors with clerics and loyalists in the past one year.

Following the eruption of anti-regime protests in September 2022, security forces have been implicated in the deaths of more than 500 civilians, with hundreds more suffering severe injuries.

Numerous young protesters were also targeted with shotgun pellets, resulting in the loss of one or both eyes. Additionally, the regime detained approximately 22,000, encompassing journalists and hundreds of minors, in a widespread crackdown on dissent.

Iranian teachers have long been advocating for higher wages and pensions, highlighting their status as one of the lowest-paid classes of government employees.