HRANA – Branch 12 of the Alborz Province Court of Appeal has reduced the prison sentence of teachers’ union activist Masoud Farhikhteh to four years, one month, and 17 days, down from the six years previously handed down by the trial court.

According to the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, the appellate court sentenced Farhikhteh to three years, six months, and one day in prison for “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against internal security,” and seven months and 16 days for “propaganda against the regime.”

Under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, only the most severe sentence — three years, six months, and one day — will be enforceable.

Farhikhteh was originally sentenced in January 2025 by Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court, following a trial held in July 2024.

In a separate case, the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him in April 2024 to three months in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” later converting the sentence to an eight-million-toman fine. He was acquitted of this charge in August 2024 by the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeal.

A board member of the Islamshahr Teachers’ Union, Farhikhteh was arrested by security forces at his home in Karaj on May 1, 2023, and transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison. He was released on bail in June of that year.