Hundreds of student activists warn: Putin's voice is heard across the country

More than 500 student publication activists warned in an open letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the security situation in society and universities.

News websites reported that the letter, published on the occasion of Student Day, protested the security crackdown on student gatherings that had supported workers and civil protesters.

The signatories of this letter warned of the consequences of the "widespread suppression of any independent civil society organization and any peaceful, lawful protest" in Iran, and addressed Hassan Rouhani, declaring that the law enforcement forces, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Ministry of Interior "have joined forces in a regrettable competition with parallel security institutions to shut mouths and breathes, and of course you continue to only deny."

The signatories of the letter further criticized the government's indifference to recent civil protests, stating that instead of responding, "the dominance of the atmosphere of repression has become wider day by day; to the point where today the voices of Putin and the military can be heard not only from universities but from across the country."

In another part of the letter, student publications criticized the actions of parallel security institutions and stated that "the news of arrests by IRGC intelligence and widespread summons to the judiciary and the filing of legal cases is so frequent that any simple civic activity now carries the fear of security and judicial action."

The signatories of the letter criticized the government of Hassan Rouhani for not only being "silent and passive" in the face of these measures, but also for "a government whose slogan and claim was not to secure the university, today has not only secured the university but the entire social space."

A day before the publication of this letter, student union councils at 35 Iranian universities had warned in a statement on the occasion of Student Day of increasing security pressures against student activists.

The statement criticized the repression of students following the January 2017 protests, which resulted in the arrest of more than 300 students across the country, followed by the issuance of long prison sentences, flogging, and curfews for students.

Source: Voice of America