Increase in Student Arrests During Iran Protests and Reactions from Domestic and International Bodies
The detention of students under 18 years old during recent protests and possible violations of children’s rights in Iran have triggered reactions from domestic and international organizations.
In recent weeks, as nationwide protests in Iran have expanded over economic and livelihood conditions, multiple reports have emerged about the detention of students and children under 18 years old by security forces. Local sources and civil organizations have reported the arrest of hundreds of children in various provinces, with new names of detained students appearing daily on news channels and social media, suggesting ongoing and widespread detention of minors.
According to reports, approximately 10 high school students around 17 years old have been detained by security forces during nighttime raids in the city of Shushtar, with the identities of some confirmed, though no official reasons for these arrests have been announced. Additionally, in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, at least three children and several teenagers have been arrested during recent protests, including a 17-year-old teenager detained on the streets of Yasuj.
While this wave of arrests has not received widespread official response from Iranian authorities, it has been accompanied by statements. “Abdolvahed Fiyazi,” a member of the Education and Research Commission of Parliament, confirmed the detention of children and teenagers during protests and said: “The judicial authority will deal with them according to the rights of children, teenagers, and young people.”
Domestic human rights organizations have also described the situation as concerning. The Iran Human Rights Center and the Iran Human Rights Organization have reported on the detention of children and families’ lack of information and emphasized that this process contradicts Iran’s commitments under international child rights treaties.
Alongside individual reports, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Professional Associations has also reported the detention of hundreds of children under 18 during recent protests and stated that the scope of these detentions has expanded to several provinces.
Child rights activists and legal experts warned that the detention of children should be a last resort and should only occur under special and short-term circumstances, accompanied by respect for rights of access to lawyers, family notification, and review in specialized courts. These principles are part of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and fair trial procedures that the Islamic Republic of Iran has also acceded to but fails to observe in practice.
Reports also point to the psychological consequences of detention on teenagers; previous experience has shown that detention can lead to dropping out of school, despair, depression, and destruction of the educational environment for students. According to psychologists, such treatment may strengthen feelings of injustice and insecurity in children and isolate them from society.
Human rights activists and international organizations have repeatedly warned in the past about Iran’s violations of its commitments regarding children’s rights and the arbitrary detention of teenagers. Previous reports have shown that Iran’s criminal laws in some cases contradict international standards regarding the non-criminal responsibility of persons under 18 years old, and detention without family notification can be considered “enforced disappearance.”
The issue of child detention during Iran’s protests was seriously raised for the first time in 2022, and at that time official authorities confirmed the detention of students and described it as “preventing the enemy from exploiting educational centers.”
Experience from past years has also shown that security measures against students can have long-term cultural and social consequences in society.
According to legal experts, the right to protest is one of citizens’ fundamental rights that is recognized under Iran’s constitution for all individuals, including children and teenagers, and violation of this right can have legal and juridical consequences.
