Nationwide Student Strike in Iran in Protest of Arrests and Virtualization of Classes
As nationwide protests continue across Iran, students at several Iranian universities have announced that they will boycott their classes in protest of security measures against students, arrests of protesting students, and the virtualization of education.
Sharif University of Technology, Al-Zahra University, Khajeh Nasir al-Din al-Tusi University, Tehran Rehabilitation Sciences, Kharazmi, Soure, Chamran University of Ahvaz, Sahand University of Tabriz, and Avicenna University of Hamadan are among the universities whose students have announced strikes.
The Student Union Council of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, through a letter to the university’s president, deemed the actions of university officials regarding recent protests insufficient and incorrect, and stated that this council has asked all students of the university to boycott classes in demand for the release of their arrested classmates.
The Student Union Council of Sharif University of Technology also considered the holding of virtual classes unjustified and added: “Even if our classmates are released, we urge students in no way to participate in the university’s virtual classes in protest of this decision.”
This council previously announced that security forces, during the student protest gathering at Sharif University on Saturday evening, carried out “mass arrests of students.”
According to the Student Union Council’s report, the gathering was later drawn to the university’s entrance, but Basij forces and plainclothes officers, with their large numbers, dispersed the gathering and recorded images of the protesting students.
Furthermore, the gathering took place under circumstances where the university was surrounded by security forces and students did not have the right to enter and exit the university.
In addition to students from Sharif University of Technology, a group of students from Chamran University of Ahvaz announced that on Monday morning, October 4th, they will hold a peaceful gathering and sit-in in the courtyard of the engineering faculty to support the protests of the Iranian people and will boycott participation in classes, laboratories, and the library.
These students also requested that professors and university staff join the peaceful strike and protests of university students and close classes and formally declare their position.
The Student Union Council of Sahand University of Technology in Tabriz also reported a hunger strike by students in the dormitory while boycotting virtual classes.
