Academic Freedom

Crackdown on Students Ahead of National Student Day

(24 November 2009) Scores of Iranian students have been arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted in recent days, as authorities apparently seek to stifle protests expected on 7 December, National Student Day, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today. Detentions of students have occurred throughout Iran. The Campaign has received information of such detentions in Isfahan, Babol, Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari, Shiraz, Ilam, Kermanshah, Ghazvin, and in Tehran in Azad University, Tehran University, Amirkabir and Elm-o-Sanaat.

“In order to silence the student movement, a wholesale crackdown on Iranian students is underway, which not only violates their rights, but also disrupts their studies and the lives of their families,” stated Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Continuing Persecution of Student Alumni Group

(19 November 2009) Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested another member of the leading student alumni group ADVAR, and sentenced its spokesperson to an eight-year prison term, while other detained members are being mistreated, unfairly tried and sentenced to jail terms, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.

“We deplore the continuing abuse of the human rights of ADVAR members, who are being persecuted in an apparent attempt to prevent a new generation of Iranians from freely thinking and working together,” said Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

New Wave of Arbitrary Detentions Targets Students and Alumni

(5 November 2009) A purge of reform-minded citizens, in particular members of a leading student alumni organization, is ongoing, as Iranian authorities detained dozens of people before public demonstrations on 4 November and during protests that occurred against the government, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“As the authorities arrest more and more socially-engaged students, alumni, and others, the numbers of detained citizens who may face unfair trials and even death sentences for exercising their internationally protected human rights are swelling,” stated Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Detained Students Tortured and Beaten to “Fabricate Evidence”

(26 May 2009) Six students from Amir Kabir University who have been released on bail following a group of student detentions on 5 February and 24 February, have reported being harshly interrogated, beaten over long periods of time, and tortured in an effort to force them to confess to illegal activities.

They were coerced to confess to relations with the United States, Israel, and the Mojahedin (MEK) opposition group, which was formerly an armed group considered a terrorist organization, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Judge Accuses Eight Detained Students of Cooperation with Terrorist Organization Mojahedin-e Khalgh

(29 April 2009) The Deputy of the Security Prosecution Court, Judge Haddad, announced in a 28 April 2009 interview with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that eight detained students have been charged with cooperating with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK), which is considered to be a terrorist group by Iran and numerous Western governments. The eight students, all from Amir Kabir University, include Majid Tavakoli, Hossein Torkashvand, Esmael Salmanpour and Koursh Daneshyar, Ahmad Ghasaban, Nariman Mostafavi, Mehdi Mashayekhi, and Abbas Hakimzadeh.

Student Activist Arrested

(21 April 2009) Masoud Dehgahn, a former member of the Students’ Union (Daftar e Tahkim vahdat) and Amir Kabir University Alumni, was arrested this morning in his home in Karaj, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Reliable resources from Evin prison have also informed the Campaign that Esmaiel Salmanpour, who was arrested on 5 February for participating in a ceremony honoring former Prime Minister Bazargan, had been seen in Evin health unit in an unconscious state.

“We are deeply concerned about the continuing, arbitrary detention of students, often in solitary confinement for long periods, denied access to their families and attorneys, and without even having been charged,” said Hadi Ghaemei, the Campaign spokesperson.

Students Beaten and Prevented from Entering Noushirvan University in Babol

(14 April 2009) Twenty students at Noushirvan University in Babol were prevented from entering the campus, insulted, and beaten by the University Guards and plainclothes security officers who met them in front of the campus on 13 April 2009, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said.

Students at Noushirvan University started an unlimited sit in on 11 April 2009, after they were threatened by university authorities in response to their legitimate requests.

Students Held in Incommunicado Detention Are At Risk of Torture

(4 April 2009) The Iranian government should immediately and unconditionally release all detained students the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The students are being held in incommunicado detention in Tehran, Rejaee Shahr and Isfahan. The Campaign is seriously concerned for their safety and high risk of torture.

On 23 February 2009, the Amir Kabir University campus was violently attacked by government forces. Students were protesting the burial of “unknown martyrs” on their campus. The next day, 24 February, security agents attacked the homes of four students, Ahmad Ghasaban, Nariman Mostafavi, Mehdi Mashayekhi and Abbas Hakimzadeh.

University Campus Violently Attacked

(25 February 2009) Government forces violently attacked hundreds of protesting students at Amir Kabir University in Tehran and arrested dozens of students on 23 February 2009, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign expressed its serious concerns for the health of the detainees and fears that they may be subjected to torture and ill-treatment. It called on the Iranian government to immediately release all Amir Kabir students and to end its persecution and prosecution of students.

The students were protesting the burial of “unknown martyrs” from the Iran-Iraq war on their campus.

Lives of Four Students on Hunger Strike Are at Risk

(21 February 2009) The lives of four Amirkabir University students, Majid Tavakoli, Hossein Torkashvand, Esmaiel Salmanpour and Kourosh Daneshyar, who went on hunger strike to protest their arbitrary detention, are at risk. The students should be released immediately and unconditionally, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The four students are among a group of around twenty people arrested on 5 February 2009, at a ceremony to honor Mehdi Bazargan, the first Iranian prime minister after the revolution of 1979.