Parliament Representative: 150 Students Arrested in Connection with December 2017 Protests

Parvaneh Salehshouri, head of the women’s faction in parliament, stated on Tuesday, July 10th, that 150 students were arrested during and after the December 2017 protests.

According to ILNA, Ms. Salehshouri, referring to the role of the Ministry of Intelligence in issuing judicial sentences for some students, stated that judicial sentences were issued for only 17 students in a few universities, and the figure of five people presented by the Ministry of Science is incorrect.

She also described “the role of the Ministry of Intelligence in many student cases as a judicial officer as undeniable” and said: The Ministry of Intelligence has a role in the judicial cases of some students; therefore, the government and the Ministry of Intelligence should provide clarification on this matter.

Previously, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a parliament representative, had also stated that student sentences were issued based on reports and interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence of Hassan Rouhani’s government.

Protesting students had previously held the Rouhani government’s Ministry of Intelligence responsible for the arrest of students and, in discussions with the Ministry of Science officials, had severely criticized the Rouhani government’s performance in this regard.

“Widespread Scale” of Arrests

Parvaneh Salehshouri emphasized in her continued conversation with ILNA that a list of students arrested after the December 2017 events has been compiled, numbering approximately 150 people.

This parliament representative added: “Although we know that the existing list may not be a definitive, 100 percent accurate, complete and verified list, in any case, it clearly shows that the number of arrested students in recent months was more than 55, 90 people, and so on, which was announced at various times, and unfortunately the issue of student arrests has much broader dimensions.”

Ms. Salehshouri also announced the preparation of a list of 17 students who have been convicted in court.

She added: “Also, a list of details of some students who, since December, have received sentences of imprisonment, flogging, fines, travel bans, or deprivation of certain social rights in primary courts has been prepared.”

Concurrently with nationwide protests in December 2017 in over 100 Iranian cities, dozens of students were arrested, and some parliament representatives, including Farid Mousavi, announced that their arrests were “preventive” in nature.

This comes as the Tehran prosecutor last month stated that the reason for issuing harsh sentences for some of these students was their connection to “specific groups” outside the country.

Source: Radio Farda