The Iranian regime’s campaign to suppress teachers has continued following the January 2026 protests. Through arrests, imprisonment, and harsh judicial sentences, the regime has targeted teacher union activists. According to recent reports, at least 60 teachers have so far faced judicial prosecution.
The January 2026 protests, which began over deteriorating living conditions and teachers’ labor demands, quickly expanded beyond economic grievances. Teachers and activists from teachers’ trade associations were among the groups that played an active role in the demonstrations. After the protests subsided, the Iranian regime’s security and judicial institutions began prosecuting these activists.
New Figures on the Arrest and Prosecution of Teachers
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a recent report that from the nationwide January 2026 protests through July 28, at least 60 teachers and teacher union activists were arrested, imprisoned, or subjected to judicial rulings. The human rights organization emphasized that this figure represents the total number of individuals arrested, prosecuted, or imprisoned, and should not be interpreted as the current prison population.
The actual number of arrested teachers is likely higher than the reported figure. According to these reports, many arrests took place during the protests or in the weeks and months after they had subsided.
One focus of the report is the scale of the crackdown in smaller cities. A knowledgeable source in Arak said that a significant number of teachers in the city were arrested, but only a few of their names became public.
Arbitrary Arrests, Solitary Confinement, and Denial of Legal Counsel
According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, many detained teachers were held for extended periods under arbitrary detention and in solitary confinement. They were denied access to legal counsel, communication with the outside world, and medical care. This indicates that the pressure imposed on them extended well beyond their arrests.
According to Akhbar-e Rooz, an independent Persian-language news website, a number of teachers have been prosecuted on vague national security charges such as “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” Some have also been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, flogging, internal exile, travel bans, and the deprivation of social rights.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations also condemned these judicial rulings on July 28, 2026. The organization called for an end to fabricated cases, the overturning of the sentences, and respect for teachers’ legal rights. A weekly report by Zamaneh Tribune, a Persian-language news outlet, also reported the continued issuance of heavy prison and internal exile sentences against January protesters and labor activists.
According to the weekly report, which covers the period from July 25 to July 31, the Iranian regime’s judiciary has used psychological pressure—including prolonged legal delays and denial of medical treatment—alongside the implementation of flogging and execution sentences to pressure prisoners. The situation has created a widespread atmosphere of fear and anxiety among prisoners’ families, including the families of detained teachers.
Specific Cases of Convictions and Internal Exile of Protesting Teachers
Among the recent cases, Arya Norani, a teacher in North Khorasan Province, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Azadeh Saleki, a teacher in the city of Khaf, was sentenced to five years in prison. Ahmad Alizadeh, a retired teacher in Abdanan, was sentenced to two years in prison, a one-year travel ban, passport revocation, and 1,080 hours of unpaid community service. These severe sentences represent only a fraction of the numerous cases reported across different provinces.
The report also states that Jan-Mohammad Ahmadi, head of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Nurabad Mamasani, was recently arrested by security forces. These cases demonstrate that judicial pressure against labor activists is not confined to a single province or city but extends nationwide.
Another example is Iraj Toubihaei Najafabadi, a labor activist and member of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Najafabad. After completing a sentence of two years and one month in prison, he was transferred on Sunday, July 19, to a village in Nehbandan County, South Khorasan Province, to serve a sentence of internal exile.
An Organized Campaign Against Teachers
Taken together, these reports indicate that following the January 2026 protests, the Iranian regime launched a broad and organized campaign to suppress teachers and labor activists. Arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, denial of access to legal counsel and medical care, along with prison sentences, flogging, and internal exile, have all been employed simultaneously against this group.
At least 60 teachers who have been arrested or convicted represent only part of a much broader reality—one that, according to human rights organizations, likely extends well beyond the officially reported figures.
