Hundreds of Students Protest Judicial Sentences and Imprisonment of Student Activists in Iran

A group of students from Tehran University protested the issuance of judicial sentences against student activists by sending a letter to Mansour Ghlamali, Minister of Science, Research and Technology.

According to the report of Iran’s Student Professional Councils, 500 students from Tehran University sent a letter to Mansour Ghlamali, Minister of Science, Research and Technology, protesting a total of 70 years of prison sentences issued for thirteen students of this university, including “Marzieh Amiri,” “Leila Hosseinzadeh,” “Kasra Nouri,” and “Ruhollah Mardani.”

These students, referring to severe judicial treatment of students since September 2017, exactly from the time of Mansour Ghlamali’s appointment to the ministry, stated that active students in the nationwide student movement and other activists have been sentenced to lengthy imprisonment because of their legitimate protests, and are being sent to prison one after another to endure these unjust sentences.

According to the protesting students, criticism of Mansour Ghlamali’s appointment as Minister of Science, which has been cited as an allegation in the students’ sentences, is undoubtedly more painful than “being beaten at the university.”

In part of this letter, it states: “We, a group of students from Tehran University, while condemning these repressions in the form of arrests, inhumane and illegal sentences and deprivations, based on your legal position, actually hold you and the Ministry of Science responsible for this unfortunate situation at Tehran University and other universities in the country, and hereby demand the immediate release of detained students from this university, the cancellation of all issued sentences, and the removal of all deprivations that have occurred for their education.”

Marzieh Amiri, a graduate student of sociology at Tehran University and one of the students mentioned in this letter, was arrested in May of this year when she went to the Vezarat Police Station to follow up on the status of those detained on International Workers’ Day and was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, and her court hearing was recently held.

Leila Hosseinzadeh, another student mentioned in this letter, was also arrested during the December 2017 protests and was sentenced to six years in prison by the primary court on charges of “propaganda against the system,” “action against national security,” and “disruption of public order and peace through participation in illegal gatherings,” a sentence that was reduced to 30 months in prison by the appeals court.

Ruhollah Mardani was also arrested on February 17, 2018, and was sentenced by the primary court on charges of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against domestic security and propaganda activities against the system” to a total of six years in prison and two years of social deprivation.

Last July, Human Rights Watch issued a statement declaring that Iranian authorities have intensified the suppression of protesting students by issuing prison sentences and imposing restrictions on peaceful activities.

The U.S. State Department has also repeatedly condemned violent conduct and widespread suppression of protesters and opponents of the regime under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and continuous violation of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.

Source: Voice of America