The "Committee of Concerned Scientists" expressed concern over the situation of Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, imprisoned elite students.

The Committee of Concerned Scientists, an independent organization comprised of scientists, physicists, engineers, and professors who are concerned about respecting human rights and freedom of knowledge for their colleagues around the world, expressed concern in a letter to Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, about the conditions of Ali Younesi, a 20-year-old Iranian student at Sharif University of Technology who is in the custody of Iranian authorities.

The letter, signed on June 1, states that protecting the human rights of scientists and other academics, including students, is vital, and the "Committee of Concerned Scientists" wants to ensure that the human rights of Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi are respected.

In its letter to the head of the Iranian judiciary, the committee has demanded clarification of the reasons for their arrest, saying that it considers these young students to be its colleagues, and if there is no legitimate legal reason for their arrest, then the Iranian government should release them immediately and unconditionally.

Plainclothes officers arrested Ali Younesi, a computer engineering student, and Amir Hossein Moradi, a physics student, on Friday, April 12, without a warrant and after beating them, at their residence and transferred them to an unknown location.

Amnesty International also issued a statement on Tuesday, May 13, regarding the "arbitrary detention" of Ali Younesi, noting that he is at risk of "torture and other ill-treatment" in prison, and called for the release of the imprisoned student.

Mr. Younesi and Mr. Amiri are both elite Iranian students and holders of medals and top positions in Iranian and international science Olympiads.

Source: Voice of America