Iran sentences teachers’ union activist Zhaleh Rouhzad to eight months in prison

Hengaw — Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Zhaleh Rouhzad, a teachers’ union activist, has been sentenced by Iran’s judiciary to eight months in prison along with additional punitive measures.

According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Rouhzad was convicted by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of “propaganda against the state.” The court imposed an eight-month discretionary prison sentence, with time already served taken into account, and ordered a two-year ban on online activity.

The Teachers’ Trade Association of Iran (Tehran) reported that the ruling is preliminary and may be appealed within 20 days.

Rouhzad’s trial was held before the same branch of the court on December 30, 2025. She had previously been questioned at the Tehran Security Prosecutor’s Office and was released after posting 700 million tomans in bail.

Government forces also searched her family home and confiscated electronic devices belonging to family members on October 7, 2025.

Rouhzad had earlier been arrested along with eight labor and civil activists and transferred to Evin Prison during April–May 2023. She was released after several days in detention.