According to a report published by the “Iranian Teachers’ Union Challenge” Telegram channel, Mehdi Fathi, a teachers’ union activist from Fars province and a board member of the Fars Teachers’ Trade Association, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison in a new case on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.” The ruling is reportedly subject to appeal.
Mehdi Fathi, a retired high school teacher from Pasargad, was previously sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case. After serving two years in prison, he is currently serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor.
Based on the report, Fathi had been summoned, arraigned, and released on bail before the outbreak of the war; however, due to the widespread and prolonged internet blackout, the news of his new sentencing was published with a delay.
Teachers’ union activists maintain that the ongoing summonses, case fabrications, imprisonments, and imposition of restrictions such as electronic monitoring against protesting teachers signal a continuous crackdown on labor advocates and a systematic effort to silence civil and educational demands in Iran.
