According to documentation obtained by the Hana Human Rights Organization, the temporary dismissal order against Salahaddin Haji Mirzaei, an educator and teachers’ union activist in Sanandaj, has been reduced from one year to four months at the appeals stage. Despite this reduction, the issuance and enforcement of such a verdict underscore the ongoing security and administrative crackdown on teachers and union activists in Kurdistan.
Salahaddin Haji Mirzaei, 49, married, holds a master’s degree and has 27 years of service. He was previously sentenced to a one-year temporary dismissal from service by the Preliminary Board for Investigating Administrative Violations of the Kurdistan Department of Education.
Following his objection and the referral of the case to the Court of Administrative Justice, Branch One of the Appeals Board reduced the sentence to four months of temporary dismissal on May 4, 2026, citing Clause 33 of Article 8 of the Administrative Violations Investigation Law.
The charges leveled against this Kurdish teacher are cited as “participation in illegal sit-ins and gatherings” and “activism in the Teachers’ Union Association of Kurdistan.” These allegations, by their very nature, target the exercise of fundamental civic rights including the right to organize, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and the pursuit of labor demands and cannot serve as a legitimate basis for administrative punishment, professional deprivation, or security crackdowns.
The Hana Human Rights Organization previously reported on September 14, 2025, that Mr. Haji Mirzaei had been summoned to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Sanandaj and subjected to prolonged interrogation by security agents. According to that report, the union activist was threatened on the eve of the anniversary of the state killing of Jina Mahsa Amini to refrain from any activity or participation in potential commemorative events.
The case of Salahaddin Haji Mirzaei is part of a broader trend of systematic repression targeting teachers’ union activists in Kurdistan. Over the past two years, the issuance of dismissal orders, forced retirements, expulsions, security summonses, and the fabrication of administrative cases against members of teachers’ unions have increased at an alarming rate. This trend demonstrates that security agencies and the “Herasat” (internal security department) of the Ministry of Education are utilizing administrative mechanisms as tools for punishment, intimidation, and the silencing of educators’ lawful demands.
While condemning the enforcement of the dismissal order against Salahaddin Haji Mirzaei, the Hana Human Rights Organization emphasizes that criminalizing civic and union activities as administrative violations or security cases constitutes a flagrant violation of teachers’ fundamental rights. It stands in direct contradiction to the principles of freedom of association, freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to job security.
Hana further warns that employing administrative penalties to purge union activists from educational environments not only violates the individual rights of teachers but also represents a direct assault on the independence of the educational institution, the right to unionize, and society’s right to free and non-securitized education.