Hana Human Rights Organization reports that Branch 31 of the Appellate Division of the Court of Administrative Justice, by rejecting the appeal of Somayeh Akhtarshomar—a teacher and trade union activist from Marivan—has upheld her dismissal from employment. The ruling was issued on April 27, 2025, by Branch 31 under the presidency of Mahmoud Faridounifard and advisory judge Mohsen Hedayatmanesh.
Somayeh Akhtarshomar, born in 1987, married, a teacher from the village of Rowar in Sarvabad County, holds a bachelor’s degree and has worked as an English teacher for 17 years within the Ministry of Education.
Previously, on September 16, 2024, Branch One of the Ministry of Education’s Review Board had also approved the dismissal of Ms. Akhtarshomar, who was a tenured public school teacher in Marivan. The original dismissal order was issued in June 2024 by the Preliminary Administrative Violations Board for Government Employees in Kurdistan Province.
According to documents dated January 12, 2024, the Marivan Department of Education accused Ms. Akhtarshomar of multiple violations, including: “publishing offensive content and false information against the Islamic Republic, active membership in unauthorized teachers’ union channels on social media, posting provocative content in Marivan, Sarvabad, and Iranian educators’ union channels, designing English exam questions in support of protesters, naming protesters in comprehension texts and questions, sharing such material online, supporting Kurdish opposition parties and sharing related content, posting unveiled images of herself and students on social media along with divisive slogans, and posting images of her child dressed in Kurdish opposition party clothing with their slogans and flags on her personal page.”
The Preliminary Violations Board, citing the Marivan Department of Education’s letter, officially issued the dismissal order for Ms. Akhtarshomar on March 17, 2024.