Imprisoned teacher Jafar Ebrahimi faces new charges of creating a public disturbance and insulting prison authorities, and has been transferred to another prison despite warnings from his lawyer that he should remain in Evin prison because of his "critical" health condition.
Erfan Karamveisi, the lawyer of the jailed spokesman of the Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on September 3 that the new case was announced after Ebrahimi, contrary to "promises made by prison officials," had been transferred along with several other political prisoners to the Ghezel Hesarp prison in Karaj.
"This transfer was illegal," Karamveisi wrote.
Karamveisi had recently expressed concern about the deteriorating physical condition of Ebrahimi, saying he urgently required medical attention due to "intestinal inflammation" and "diabetes." He has also warned about the risk of Ebrahimi losing his eyesight.
Earlier in August, a Tehran appeals court upheld a five-year prison sentence handed to Ebrahimi after he was detained in April 2022 ahead of protests to be held the next day, Teachers' Day in Iran.
Ebrahimi, along with Rasul Bodaghi, Ali Akbar Baghani, and Mohammad Habibi, all union activists, were also accused of coordinating the protests with French teachers' union official Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris.
Iran has attempted to link the French nationals to the protesting Iranian teachers. The arrests were largely seen as an attempt to discredit the rallies and increase pressure on the Iranian Teachers' Union to stop the protests.
Iranian officials have accused the French couple of "entering the country to sow chaos and destabilize society."
Ebrahimi said in a November 2022 letter that after he was transferred from Tehran's infamous Evin prison to a hospital due to illness, he was chained to the hospital bed for 12 days and denied access to his lawyer and family.