The Iranian Teachers' Union Association has issued a statement protesting mass trials and "unjust sentences" handed to teachers, urging the authorities of the Islamic Republic to halt the practice.
Unrest, including several protests by teachers, has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody in September for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly breathed new life into the unrest, which officials across the country have tried to quell with harsh -- and sometimes deadly -- measures.
Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters.
The statement by the Teachers' Union Association was released after eight teachers were sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison for "assembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting internal security."
Their collective trial was held at the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz.
The court sentenced Abdolreza Amiri and Zahra Esfandiari to two years in prison each while Iraj Rahnama, Afshin Razmjooei, Mojgan Bagheri, Gholamreza Gholami, Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, and Asghar Amirzadegan were each sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
The Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council had previously voiced its opposition to mass trials of protesting teachers, saying that the many severe prison sentences for teachers were prompted by "the pressure of security institutions."
In its statement on June 26, the Teachers' Union Association stressed that the verdict of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz amounts to one of the "most unjust sentences" against teachers.
It added that the only crime of these protesting teachers was their demand for rights "within the framework of the current laws of the country."
The statement further highlighted a "new wave of summonses, case fabrications, dismissal sentences, expulsions, and prison sentences" against teachers' unions activists.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says that more than 500 people have been killed during the latest wave of unrest, which started in September, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.