Zahra Mohammadi a civil activist and Kurdish language teacher from Sanandaj who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for teaching Kurdish literature reacted to her trial and said that teaching mother tongue is a holy crime.
In a live video with her lawyer on her Instagram, Mohammadi said that she only did humanitarian work and teaching Kurdish language.
“The crimes of Zara Mohammadi are: teaching mother tongue, distributing chocolates on Mother Tongue Day, and helping the victims of flooding in Lorestan,” she said, “This is the humanitarian duty of each individual.”
Mohammadi added that if Iranian government assumes teaching mother tongue a crime then it is a holy crime.
Mohammadi also asked the court to provide evidence on her accusations adding that she would appeal to the supreme court.
Mohammadi, director of the Nojin Cultural Association, an organization whose work includes teaching Kurdish language and literature was accused of “establishing a committee and group that is against the stability and security of the national interests,” by Sanandaj’s Revolutionary Court. She was sentenced to 10 years in jail by the court.
Mohammadi was arrested in May 2019, she was initially accused of having tie with Komala and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), two Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. The court later dropped these accusations.
Mohammadi was released on bail in December after her case gained worldwide attention and the support of Amnesty International.
She “has been accused of co-operating with Kurdish opposition groups and charged with national security offences for her peaceful activities empowering members of Iran’s marginalized Kurdish community, including through teaching the Kurdish language,” Amnesty International wrote in their appeal for her release.
