Student Activist Ashkan Zahabian Remains in Solitary Confinement

A source close to the case of student activist Ashkan Zahabian told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the prisoner of conscience recently met with his parents while under security supervision. Due to the presence of security forces, Zahabian did not discuss his charges with his parents. Zahabian’s parents surmised from his statements, however, that his interrogations are complete.

Expulsion of Two Student Activists from Mazandaran Universities

An informed student activist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that two Mazandaran Province political student activists were expelled from university. The students are Kaveh Daneshvar, a student at Babol Noshirvani Industrial University, and Behnam Farazmand, a student at Mazandaran University.

High School Student and Blogger in Solitary Confinement for over 30 Days

Blogger and high school student Navid Mohebbi’s remains in solitary confinement thirty-five days after his arrest pending clarification of his case, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Mohebbi’s charges have not yet been determined by Mazandaran Province judicial authorities. His family and lawyer, Mina Jafari, have not been able to visit with him.

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.

Ahmad Ghasaban

On May 3, 2007, security agents arrested Ahmad Ghasaban, editor of the student publication Sahar. He was conditionally released in August 2008 but was again detained on 24 February 2009 after a demonstration at Amir Kabir University.

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.

Release Detainees and Stop Prosecution of Students at Shiraz University

(5 January 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that four students at Shiraz University, Abdoljalil Rezaiee, Kazem Rezaiee, Mohsen Zarinkamar, and Loghman Ghadiri Goltapeh, were arrested following summonses to the Intelligence Office in Shiraz on Saturday, 3 January 2009. The Intelligence Office subsequently informed their families that charges in their children’s cases had not yet been filed and that they would be kept in detention until the investigation ends.

Two Executed by Stoning, as a Third Escapes

(3 January 2009) Three men were subjected to stoning sentences on 25 December 2008, in the Behesht Zahra Cemetery in the City of Mashad, according to local sources, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Two were stoned to death, while a third, an Afghani national, apparently managed to escape from the hole in which he was partially buried. His fate is unknown.

The stonings contradict an official claim that Iranian authorities had put an end to the practice, a form of capital punishment considered barbaric by the international community.

Situation of Academic Rights in Iran Appendices

Lists compiling detained, imprisoned, suspended and released students from March 2007 to December 2008.