Widespread Suppression of Students in Iran; Plain-clothes Officers Arrested Approximately 50 Students at Tehran University with ‘Ambulances’

Reports indicate extensive confrontations and arrests of students in recent protests, with approximately 50 students at Tehran University arrested by “plain-clothes officers” and transported away in “ambulances.”

Student unions across the country reported on their Telegram channel on Tuesday, the 29th of Aban, that on Monday, the 27th of Aban, Tehran University students held a gathering in protest against the tripling of gasoline prices, catastrophic living conditions, and heavy suppression, during which 40 to 50 students were arrested.

According to this report, the gathering continued until 8 p.m. on Monday, and “as darkness fell, several ambulances carrying plain-clothes forces entered the university and arrested a number of students, placing them inside the ambulances.”

Reports indicate that some of these students were transferred to “Fashafuyeh Prison and some to Evin Prison” after their arrest.

While precise information about the identity of the arrested students has not yet been confirmed, the student unions of the country have reported that five of the arrested students were from Allameh Tabatabai University. Additionally, five other students from Allameh University were also arrested outside these gatherings.

Following recent protests, student arrests in Iran have intensified. Among them is “Malika Gorgozlo,” a journalism student at Allameh Tabatabai University, who was arrested on the street on Sunday, the 26th of Aban, and in a brief contact with her family indicated she is in Evin detention facility.

Kamiar Zouqi, a social sciences student at Tehran University and a labor activist at the university, was also arrested at his home on Monday night, the 27th of Aban, and transferred to an unknown location.

Ali Nanoaei is another Tehran University student who, according to student sources, was arrested on the 27th of Aban while leaving the university.

Mohammad Amin Hosseini, former secretary of the student union at Noshirvani University of Babol and a law student at Gorgan University, is among other students arrested in recent protests.

Reports indicate that Soha Mortazaei, a starred student who had conducted a sit-in for more than 10 days at Tehran University in protest of her exclusion from education due to her starred status, was arrested in the student dormitory on the 27th of Aban and transferred to an unknown location.

Student unions also reported that over the past three days, many students and their families have received threatening contact from security institutions stating they will be arrested if seen in the university environment. Additionally, security forces have visited the homes of a number of students for arrest.

Despite all these threats and suppression, reports indicate that a group of students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Allameh University held a gathering on Tuesday, the 28th of Aban, with class boycotts, in solidarity with the people and workers and in protest against gasoline price increases at Allameh University.

Following public protests that began with the increase in gasoline prices from the 24th of Aban, students at various universities, including Tehran, Tabriz, Babol, and Urmia universities, held protest gatherings.

Protest against gasoline price increases began on Friday, the 24th of Aban, and after the sudden announcement of the gasoline price increase, in various Iranian cities including Mashhad, Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Behbahan, gradually spreading across all regions of the country. Over the past two days, various reports and videos of protest gatherings and slogans against the government in different cities have been published. In some cities, protesters set fire to banks and clashed with police.

The United States says the Islamic Republic is spending the nation’s wealth, instead of helping its people, on supporting terrorist groups and destabilizing the Middle East. The United States has also repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by regime affiliates and has identified them as among the principal factors in Iran’s economic and financial problems.

Among recent instances, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted about Islamic Republic officials, saying they are engaged in corruption instead of helping the people.

Source: Voice of America