Iranian Education Institute Shuttered over 'Inciting Riots'

Iranian authorities have closed down an educational center accused of "inciting riots" during a Persian literature exam for students last year, an official at the Ministry of Education said on July 16.

"We prepared and issued a warrant for the closure of Gaj center following the directive of the minister of education," Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh, the head of Iran's non-governmental schools, said.

He did not elaborate, but according to some reports, Gaj Educational Institute had cited excerpts from revolutionary poems by prominent dissident Farrokhi Yazdi, including the line: "How long will this captivity last, O helpless nation?"

The institute, founded in 2002, has won multiple awards over the years for its publications.

Its closure follows months of nationwide protests last year sparked by the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

More than 520 people were killed and over 19,000 were unlawfully detained in the authorities’ crackdown on the women-led protest movement. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.