Three Kurdistan University Students Arrested on Fourth Day of Anti-Government Protests

Reports indicate that Arshed Atabak, a student activist at Kurdistan University, Moslem Soleimani, secretary of the university’s Islamic Student Association, and Zaniyar Ahmadpour, a member of the Islamic Student Association at Kurdistan University, were arrested on the fourth day of protests against the downing of the Ukrainian passenger aircraft.

According to reports published on various social media platforms, these three Kurdistan University students were arrested on Wednesday, December 25, by security forces accompanied by “physical violence” and transferred to an undisclosed location.

These reports state that the Islamic Student Association of Kurdistan University had sought permission from the university to hold a gathering to commemorate the victims of the Ukrainian aircraft, which was downed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing 176 people on board. However, after obtaining permission, due to what was described as “pressures exerted” on university officials, the authorities withdrew their support for the students’ event. After the permit for the commemoration ceremony was revoked, students at the university spontaneously organized a memorial service without the involvement of various institutions and organizations. Following the conclusion of this ceremony, Arshed Atabak, Moslem Soleimani, and Zaniyar Ahmadpour were arrested.

These reports describe the arrest of these students as follows: at the end of the ceremony, plainclothes security forces attacked the vehicle carrying the students, and after stopping the vehicle and removing the students, they arrested these three students with force.

One of these social media accounts, upon publishing this news, strongly condemned the arrest and the unlawful treatment of these students by security forces, and identified the officials of Kurdistan University as one of the perpetrators of this incident.

Previously, Voice of America reported that Gholamhossein Esmaili said on Tuesday, December 24, that approximately 30 people were arrested during recent protests against the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft by the Guard Corps and the deaths of 176 people.

Amnesty International also stated in its latest statement that it has obtained information about the arrest of a large number of people, including university students and protesters in the cities of Isfahan, Zanjan, Amol, Babol, Bandar Abbas, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Tehran.

Philip Luther, Director of Research for Western Asia and North Africa at Amnesty International, stated that detainees must be protected from torture and other mistreatment, and the authorities of the Islamic Republic must immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily arrested.

On the morning of Wednesday, December 18, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini Airport bound for Kyiv near Parand in Tehran Province with 176 people on board.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, on Saturday, December 21, and after several days of denial, finally admitted under international pressure that the passenger aircraft was downed by the unintentional firing of a missile by the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

One day earlier, on Thursday, December 19, U.S. President Donald Trump, describing the Ukrainian aircraft crash in Iran as a “tragedy,” had said: “I also have doubts and suspicions. It is a very painful incident. There have been expressions of doubt about this crash. Perhaps someone made a mistake there.”

Hours after the Islamic Republic’s admission to downing the passenger aircraft, a new round of protests began in various cities across Iran.

Following these protests, President Trump and U.S. officials, while warning the Iranian regime, called for an end to the suppression of protesters.

Source: Voice of America