Further Details on Arrests and Widespread Crackdown on Students in Iran
According to reports published on social media networks, the identities of at least 18 students arrested in recent protests at Tehran University have been confirmed.
The Telegram channel of student unions across the country, by publishing news related to recent arrests, confirmed the identities of at least 18 students who were arrested on Monday, November 18 (Aban 27) during a student protest gathering at Tehran University and Allameh Tabataba’i University.
Previously, this Telegram channel reported on Tuesday, November 20 (Aban 29) that at least 40 to 50 students from Tehran University were arrested during this protest gathering, which continued until 8 p.m. on Monday, and some of these students were transferred to “Fashafuyeh Prison and some others to Evin Prison.”
According to this report, “as night fell, several ambulances carrying plainclothes security forces entered the university and detained a number of students, placing them inside the ambulances.”
According to this Telegram channel, a number of these students, including Ibrahim Granpayeh, a fine arts student at Tehran University, Mehran Ghandi, a literature and humanities student at Tehran University, Amir Farsati, a fine arts student at Tehran University, Narges Bagheri, a student at Tehran University of Art, and Ali Fazel Zadeh, another one of these students, were temporarily released.
Public protests began on Friday, November 15 (Aban 24) following the sudden announcement of gasoline price increases in various Iranian cities including Mashhad, Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Behbahan, and gradually spread to all regions of the country. However, the protesters’ slogans quickly turned toward senior Islamic Republic officials. Over several days, various reports and videos from protest gatherings, people’s slogans against the government, burning of buildings and vehicles, and severe police shootings and crackdowns in various cities were published.
Following the public protests, students at various universities including Tehran, Tabriz, Babol, and Urmia universities also organized protest gatherings.
The United States says that the Islamic Republic spends the nation’s wealth on supporting terrorist groups and destabilizing the Middle East instead of helping its people. The United States has also repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s God-given resources by officials connected to the regime governing the country, considering them among the main causes of Iran’s economic and financial problems.
Among recent statements, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted several times about Islamic Republic officials, saying that instead of helping the people, they have become engaged in corruption.
Source: Voice of America
