Iran: dissident students arrested
From the Polytechnic Free Campaign, support group for dissident students at Amir Kabir University of Technology (formerly Tehran Polytechnic), Dec. 6:
On Tuesday the 4th of December, security police and masked intelligence agents arrested 28 students during a demonstration against the Iranian government. Some of them are detained in solitary confinement in the notorious high security lockup of 209 and some in the small lockup of the intelligence agency in central Tehran called Tracking office (Daftare Peygiri).
The names of the arrested students, which were published by the website of the student base, are as follows. From the University of Mazandaran; Milad Moeeni, Behrang Zandi, Hamed Mohammadi, Arash Pakzad, Nader Ahsani and Hassan Moarefi.
Saeed Habibi whom was a prior member of the central council of solidarity strengthening (Shoraye markaziye daftare tahkime vahdat). From the university of Tehran; Anooshe Azadfar, Behrooz Karimizade, Mehdi Gerayloo, Rouzbeh Safshekan and Rouzbehan Amiri. From the Polytechnic University; Ali Salem and Mohsen Ghamin. From the Al'ame University; Nasim Soltanbeigi and Saeed Agham-Alikhalili.
From the Shahed University; Yasser Pirhayati. From the Industrial university of Sharif; Keyvan Amiri-Alyassi. From the Central Tehran Azad University; Ilnaz Jamshidi, Mahsa Mohabi, Ali Kallayi, Amir Mehrzad, Hadi Salaari, Farshid Farhadi Ahangaran, Amir Aghayi, Milad Omrani.
The widespread arrestment of the students begun when Security forces raided the homes of a majority of the left winged students, whom were planning to initiate a demonstration on "Students Day" inside the Tehran University. Some of the students were arrested at the student day demonstration preparation meeting at the University by the Security forces. Even though it is prohibited for the security forces to enter the university, they crossed the threshold and in a very discussable and vicious attack arrested two students inside the university, and removed them from the complex.
Even in the University of Shiraz, armed security forces brutally attacked Yunes Mirhosseini, a part of the student movement, hit him all bloody and kidnapped him. No information about the whereabouts of the detainment or the conditions of the imprisonment of Mr. Mirhosseini has been specified. However one can clearly see the connection of his arrestment and the involvement in initiating the student meeting.
Besides Nasim Soltanbeigi whom called his family, and told them that he has been arrested, the families of the other students that have been arrested have separately attended the revolutionary court to gain some information about the conditions and the grounds of the arrestments of their children.
In addition to the 28 students whom was recently arrested, so have these students; Ahmad Ghassaban, Ehsan Mansouri, Majid Tavakoli, Ali Nikoonesbaty and Ali Azizi been arrested by the intelligence agency and are detained in Evin prison.
See our last post on Iran and the civil opposition.
More on arrested Iranian students
Kevin Anderson writes from Purdue University:
I received this from an Iranian leftist. Dec. 7 is an historic day for student protest in Iran. In 1957, under the Shah's regime, a student was shot after demonstrations against Richard Nixon's visit. Please circulate widely. Kevin Anderson
Dear Friends,
During the past few days, over 20 independent socialist students from universities at Tehran, Tabriz, Ahvaz and Shiraz have been arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic. A statement of support from the Unity Center of the Free University of Tabriz emphasizes that Iran's young independent socialist activists have been especially targeted because of the links they have forged with labor and women' rights movements. I appeal to you to do whatever you can to publicize these arrests and demand the students' immediate release. Below please find a list of the names of the arrested students and a statement by the Unity Center of the Free University of Tabriz.
Names of students arrested since December 2, who still remain prison:
Anushe Azadfar
Ilnaz Jamshidi
Mehdi Grabloo
Nader Ahsani
Behruz Karimi Zadeh
Keyvan Amiri Eliyasi
Nassim Soltan Beigi
Ali Kalani
Amir Mehrzad
Milad Moini
Behrang Zandi
Hamed Mohamadi
Arash Pakzad
Ali Salem
Mohsen Ghamin
Roozbeh Safshekan
Roozbehan Amiri
Yasir Pir Hayati
Said Aqam Ali Khalili
Protest Against the Mass Arrests of Socialist Students at Tehran's Universities
Statement by the Unity Center of the Free University of Tabriz (Iran)
December 5, 2007
Friends, Students, the Iranian Nation:
The boots of dictatorship cast a heavy shadow on Iranian universities. Even as previously arrested students from Amir Kabir and other Tehran universities endure the most extreme mental and physical tortures, a new round of mass arrests of socialist students at Tehran's universities is being reported.
On Tuesday December 4, just a few days prior to a "Student Day" rally sponsored by socialist students at Tehran University, state security forces arrested over 25 Left activists and pivotal figures of this movement at Tehran University. The slogan of the rally was to be "No To War. The University Is Not a Military Base." These clashes even spread to the University of Mazandaran [near the Caspian Sea]. Despite all these pressures and the continuation of the arrests, students at Tehran University were able to hold their rally under extreme police presence.
The crackdown on student activists and the extensive suppression of socialist students in the past few days indicate important points. A cursory look at the history of student political activism in the last three decades shows that since the so called Cultural Revolution of 1981 and the elimination of all opposition voices at the universities, and after the overcoming of the deep- freeze by the mid 1990s, and the experiences of the past few years, this is the first time that a movement has risen up that is completely independent of state institutions. This movement is projecting its call for freedom and equality with perseverance at the university.
In the not so distant past, student movements hoped for support from certain layers of the rulers or half-heartedly hoped for foreign intervention. But now the movement that is taking shape at the university is not contaminated by any of the above mentioned views. That is because, it cannot tolerate imperialist plunder and also challenges the totality of native state institutions.
If we look back and review the experience of suppression of students in the early 1990s and early 2000s (such as the bitter events of July 1999 and June 2003) we can become aware of the precise consciousness of the current movement and its understanding of the necessity for independence from any power institution (be it the rulers or the critics within the government). It is clear that the most important reason for the suppression of this forward looking movement is this definition of its attitude to political deals and its refusal to be used as a means. Furthermore the link that this movement has established with other social movements (workers' movement, women's movement . . .) is a fine point that should not be overlooked. Much more remains to be said about this which needs more space than the current statement.
As a group of students from the Free University of Tabriz, we support the completely independent student movements and the need for independence of each movement. We also express our strong opposition to the latest attacks on students at Tehran's universities. We are also very sad to see the deliberate silence of many political activists and the news boycott concerning the suppression of socialist students. In expressing our support for the imprisoned students, we strongly demand the unconditional release of all the arrested students.
Unity Center, A Student-Political Organization
December 5, 2007
www.kanoonevahdat.blogfa.com
students arrested
This evening Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) declared that has arrested several people at Tehran University seeking to start an "illegal" demonstration.
The detained students had been called by "anti-regime political groups to create unrest in the university by holding an illegal gathering." The state-run news agency, IRNA quoted the statement by MOIS.
read more
Petition for arrested students in Iran
Click here to sign petition
Iran protest photos