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Jafar Ebrahimi released from prison

Status: 
Released
About the situation

On 27 April 2024, human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi was released from Qezel Hesar prison in Alborz province after completing his prison term of two years.

On 31 October 2023, human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi was released on two weeks medical furlough.

On 17 August 2023, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) announced that the health condition of human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi, has significantly deteriorated while under detention in Evin prison.

On 24 October 2022, amid the ongoing protests sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran in September 2022, Tehran Court of appeals confirmed the four year prison sentence on the charge of ‘assembly and collusion’ and one year on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’ for the Jafar Ebrahimi.

According to the Telegram channel of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (ITTA), at least fifteen teachers’ rights defenders and members of the ITTA, including human rights defenders Mohmmad Habibi, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Rasoul Bodaghi have remained arbitrarily detained since 30 April 2022. In the early hours of the morning of 30 April 2022, the human rights defenders were arrested, subjected to physical violence, house raids and had their electronic devices confiscated. Arrests, house raids and confiscations of electronic devices continued to be reported during and after the teachers’ gatherings organised on 1 May 2022 in Tehran and other cities in Iran. Several members of the ITTA have reported receiving phone calls or summons to intelligence services offices, summons to revolutionary courts on dormant cases with security charges and being threatened if they decided to participate in the teachers’ gatherings on 1 May 2022. On 30 March 2022, human rights defender, Shaban Mohammadi was arrested twice, physically assaulted by security officers and threatened should he participate in the teachers’ gatherings.

About Jafar Ebrahimi

Jafar Ebrahimi is a teacher, human rights defender and the inspector at the ITTA. In the early hours of 30 March 2022, the house of the human rights defender was raided and he was arrested without an arrest warrant. On 31 January 2022, Branch II of Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years and six months in prison on the charges of “propaganda activities against state” for publishing official statements for the CCITTA, and “gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against the national security” for attending the 40th-day memorial services for those killed in the November 2019 protests at the Sakineh Behesht Cemetery in Karaj on 26 December 2019.

7 Maio 2024
Jafar Ebrahimi released from prison

On 27 April 2024, human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi was released from Qezel Hesar prison in Alborz province after completing his prison term of two years.

On 20 August 2023, Jafar Ebrahimi’s lawyer announced on X (formerly Twitter) that his client’s five-year prison sentence for "gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against national security" had been upheld by Branch 36 of the court of appeals. This appeal followed a request from the human rights defender’s lawyer to consolidate the multiple charges against Jafar Ebrahimi under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code. This law states that if multiple criminal outcomes stem from a single act of criminal conduct and the number of convictions does not exceed three, the most severe sentence is applied. Thus, Branch 36 of the court of appeals confirmed Jafar Ebrahimi's five-year prison sentence for "gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against national security." It also upheld an additional five-year sentence for "inciting people to riot and waging war against each other," and a one-year sentence for "propaganda activities against the state." However, after applying Article 134, only the most severe single sentence of five years was enforced.

Additionally, Jafar Ebrahimi should have been released from prison in March 2024, considering the time he had already served and a by-law ratified in May 2020. This by-law allows for the conditional release of political prisoners after they complete one-third of their sentence. In October 2023, he was granted a two-week medical furlough due to a severe deterioration in his health in August. However, this furlough did not count toward his sentence. Previously, on 7 June 2022, the human rights defender was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for "inciting people to riot and waging war against each other," and one year for "propaganda activities against the state."

On 31 January 2022, Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years and six months in prison for "propaganda activities against the state," relating to the publication of official statements for the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations (CCITTA), and for "gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against national security" for attending a memorial service for those killed in the November 2019 fuel price protests, during which hundreds of protesters were killed over several days.

13 Novembro 2023
Jafar Ebrahimi released on medical furlough

On 31 October 2023, the human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi was released on two weeks medical furlough. This furlough was granted after the human rights defender’s health deteriorated drastically back in August.

The human rights defender has been given two weeks furlough to follow-up on his medical tests after he complained of inflammatory bowel disease and a reported weight loss of eight kilograms between June and August 2023. Additionally, at the time his furlough was granted, he had developed pains in his hands, feet, and mouth and had been diagnosed with diabetes.

18 Agosto 2023
Health conditions of the HRD Jafar Ebrahimi deteroriates significantly under detention

On 17 August 2023, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) announced that the health condition of human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi, has significantly deteriorated while under detention in Evin prison. The human rights defender has been complaining about inflammatory bowel disease and and has reported a loss of eight kilograms of weight in the course of last two months. Additionally, he has developed pains in his hands, feet, and mouth and diagnosed with diabetes. Despite multiple transfers to Evin clinic and being prescribed medical treatments that requires isolation for effectiveness, the human rights defender is held in public of Evin prison.

Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned by the failure of prison authorities in Evin prison to respond efficiently and effectively to the deterioration of health of the human rights defender Jafar Ebrahimi. Additionally, Front Line Defenders calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that the treatment of Jafar Ebrahimi while in detention adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment', including immediate access to necessary medical treatment.

24 Outubro 2022
Court of appeals confirmed the four year prison sentence of Jafar Ebrahimi

On 24 October 2022, amid the ongoing protests sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran in September 2022, Tehran Court of appeals confirmed the four year prison sentence on the charge of ‘assembly and collusion’ and one year on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’ for the Jafar Ebrahimi.

Previously, on 31 January 2022, Branch II of Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced the human rights defender to four years and six months in prison on the charges of “propaganda against state” for publishing official statements for the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (CCITTA), and “gathering and colluding against the national security” for attending the 40th-day memorial services for those killed in the November 2019 protests at the Sakineh Behesht Cemetery in Karaj on 26 December 2019.

9 Junho 2022
Jafar Ebrahim denied conditional release despite bail order

On 31 May 2022, the family of Jafar Ebrahimi were told a bail order of 7 billion IRR has been issued by the inspector and that the human rights defener can be released conditionally until the court convenes. The family even saw the conditional release warrant, however, after spending several hours outside Evin prison in the province of Tehran, they were informed that the human rights defender would not be released as another dention order for thirty days has been issued. The renewal of the detention order, given a bail order had already been issued by the judicial body, implies extrajudicial interference in proceedings, believed by the family of the human rights defender to be an indication of the intervention of intelligence services.

Jafar Ebrahimi is a teacher, human rights defender and an inspector at the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (ITTA). In the early hours of 30 March 2022, the house of the human rights defender was raided and he was arrested without an arrest warrant. On 31 January 2022, Branch II of Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years and six months in prison on the charges of “propaganda activities against the state” for publishing official statements for the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA), and “gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against national security” for attending the 40th-day memorial services for those killed in the November 2019 protests at the Sakineh Behesht Cemetery in Karaj on 26 December 2019.

30 Abril 2022
Arrests, judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and members of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association

According to the Telegram channel of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (ITTA), at least fifteen teachers’ rights defenders and members of the ITTA, including human rights defenders Mohmmad Habibi, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Rasoul Bodaghi have remained arbitrarily detained since 30 April 2022. In the early hours of the morning of 30 April 2022, the human rights defenders were arrested, subjected to physical violence, house raids and had their electronic devices confiscated. Arrests, house raids and confiscations of electronic devices continued to be reported during and after the teachers’ gatherings organised on 1 May 2022 in Tehran and other cities in Iran. Several members of the ITTA have reported receiving phone calls or summons to intelligence services offices, summons to revolutionary courts on dormant cases with security charges and being threatened if they decided to participate in the teachers’ gatherings on 1 May 2022. On 30 March 2022, human rights defender, Shaban Mohammadi was arrested twice, physically assaulted by security officers and threatened should he participate in the teachers’ gatherings.

Mohammad Habibi is a human rights defender and a Spokesperson of the ITTA. The house of the the human rights defender was raided in the early hours of 30th March, and electronic devices of the defender and his wife were confiscated while he was violently arrested. Previously, he had been terminated twice from his teaching position under the pretext of the “unjustified leave of absence” while he was under detention. In August 2018, he was sentenced by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court to an executable seven and a half years imprisonment on charges of “collusion against national security”, “propaganda against the regime” and “disrupting public order” for his peaceful involvement in trade union activities. In November 2020, the human rights defender was released from the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary after serving 30 months of his sentence after his sentence was reduced based on a new directive issued by the head of the Iranian judiciary.

Rasoul Bodaghi is a member of the board of directors of the ITTA’s Islamshahr branch, and the inspector at the CCITTA. The house of the the human rights defender was raided in the early hours of 30 March 2022, a window was broken and the human rights defender was violently arrested. On 16 April 2022, the lawyer of Rasoul Bodaghi announced that the human rights defender was sentenced by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court to four years in prison on the charge of “gathering and collusion with the intention of disturbing the national security” and one year in prison on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state” for his peaceful engagement with CCITTA. He had previously spent seven years in prison for his activities in organizing teachers’ protests and defending their rights.

Jafar Ebrahimi is a teacher, human rights defender and the inspector at the ITTA. In the early hours of 30 March 2022, the house of the human rights defender was raided and he was arrested without an arrest warrant. On 31 January 2022, Branch II of Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years and six months in prison on the charges of “propaganda activities against state” for publishing official statements for the CCITTA, and “gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against the national security” for attending the 40th-day memorial services for those killed in the November 2019 protests at the Sakineh Behesht Cemetery in Karaj on 26 December 2019.

Shaban Mohammadi is a human rights defender and a member of ITTA, Marivan-Kurdistan Branch, who has advocated for the rights of children to free education, a proper classification of teachers and harmonization of retirees’ pensions. On the evening of 30 March 2022, he was arrested together with two other members of ITTA, Marivan-Kurdistan Branch and detained until 10am the following day. The human rights defender was threatened not to take part in the teachers’ gathering of 1 May 2022. During the teachers’ gathering, he was forcefully taken into a shop, physically assaulted by security forces and detained again from noon to 7pm. Previously in February 2022, Shaban Mohammadi was released on a bail after being arbitrarily detained on 30 January 2022, after taking part in a teachers’ sit-in peaceful protest in Marivan. The human rights defender is currently expecting a court summons for the first hearing.

The arrests of the human rights defenders occurred in the context of nationwide calls for peaceful protests by the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) on the occasion of the Iranian Teacher’s day on 1 May 2022. The main demands of this peaceful protest were for proper classification of teachers, the harmonization of retirees’ pensions, the release of the detained teachers’ rights defenders, the recognition of students’ rights to free education under Article 30, and teachers’ rights to peaceful assembly under Article 27 and their rights to association under Article 26 of the Iranian Constitution. Since the beginning of the new school year in September 2021, teachers have organised several peaceful protests, rallies and sit-in across Iran.

An affiliate of Education International, the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA) is a trade union of educators which concentrates on the union rights of teachers and students since 1998. The board of directors and the members of ITTA have been prosecuted for their defence of the teachers’ rights to peaceful assembly and association.

Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned about the detention of human rights defenders Mohmmad Habibi, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Rasoul Bodaghi and the physical assaults of human rights defender Shaban Mohammadi, as it believes that these acts are directly linked to their peaceful and legitimate human rights work. Front Line Defenders reminds the Iranian authorities of Articles 26 of the Iranian Constitution which provides for freedom of association in terms of “the formation of parties, societies, political or professional associations, as well as religious societies” and that “no one may be prevented from participating in the aforementioned group”; and Article 27 which provides for freedom of assembly, "provided arms are not carried" and provided that the assemblies "are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam".