Sanandaj: Majid Karimi and Ghias Nemati Sentenced to Forced Buyout of Teaching Service Without Hearing Defenses
August 13, 2026; Over recent days, "Majid Karimi" and "Ghias Nemati", two Kurdish teachers from the city of Sanandaj and trade union activists of Kurdistan teachers, following a one-year administrative violations process and while having faced deprivation of service at various stages, were ultimately sentenced by the Administrative Violations Appeal Board to forced buyout of teaching service without enjoying the right to present an in-person defense and despite the revocation of previous rulings by the High Supervision Board.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations published this news, writing that in August 2025, "Majid Karimi", "Ghias Nemati", and "Jahangir Bahmani" were deprived of service by decision of the Administrative Violations Investigation Board of the Ministry of Education. After months of legal follow-ups, the High Supervision Board on Investigation of Administrative Violations revoked these rulings in July 2026 and remanded the cases to the Administrative Violations Appeal Board of the Ministry of Education for re-examination; based on this decision, these three teachers temporarily returned to the classroom pending the issuance of the final ruling.
Ultimately, the Appeal Board issued a new ruling without inviting the teachers to present an in-person defense and by citing previous records. Accordingly, the permanent dismissal ruling for "Majid Karimi" and the permanent termination ruling for "Ghias Nemati" were converted to "service buyout"; a ruling that in practice means permanent deprivation from the teaching profession, severance of salary and insurance, and deprivation of employment rights, possessing no substantive difference from termination. Additionally, the permanent termination ruling for "Jahangir Bahmani" was reduced to six months of suspension from service.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations considers the issuance of these rulings to be a continuation of administrative and security actions against critical teachers and trade union activists, believing that converting the previous rulings—despite their revocation by the High Supervision Board—is inconsistent with the spirit of that authority's decision and the requirements of fair trial standards. While condemning the deprivation of teachers' right to employment, the council called for the cancellation of the issued rulings, the unconditional return of "Majid Karimi" and "Ghias Nemati" to the classroom, and an end to case-building as well as security and administrative actions against educators' trade union activists.
