The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, has summoned Hossein Hassan-Khani, a retired teacher and member of the Kurdistan Quran School, on 10 July, and sent him to the city prison to serve his three-month sentence.
The board of directors of the school expressed concern over its member’s health condition. “It’s the responsibility of all relevant officials to maintain the health of this 62-year-old brother of ours, who is under the constant supervision of a specialist doctor due to the replacement of two heart valves, and they would be accounted for not paying attention to this situation at the time of the spread of coronavirus, and the risks on his life and its serious consequences.”
In March, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad had sentenced Hassan-Khani to three months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state”. The verdict was issued in absentia and without the lawyer of the teacher rights activist.
The court considered as “propaganda against the state” his participation in the sit-in protest by teachers in Mahabad in front of the Ministry of Education and holding a placard in which he demanded the release of imprisoned teachers.
Later, the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan province upheld the ruling.
Also, on 22 July 2020, security forces had arrested Hassan-Khani in Mahabad and had released him on bail a few days later.
