Hengaw Organization's Report on the Arrest, Sentencing, and Expulsion of Students in Iran on Students' Day

Hengaw: Saturdey, December 9, 2023

In conjunction with Students' Day in Iran on December 7 (16 Azar, solar year), the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has meticulously compiled a statistical report documenting the infringement of students' rights. This report reveals the arrest of 44 students, accompanied by sentences of imprisonment and flogging for 35 individuals. Additionally, numerous students have faced expulsion from universities or suspension for multiple semesters.

According to data collected by the Statistics and Documents Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, over the past 11 months, 44 students—whose identities have been verified by Hengaw—have been apprehended by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran across various cities.

Breaking down these figures, it is noteworthy that 17 of the detained students are women, constituting 39% of the total arrests. The most significant demographic impacted during this period has been Kurdish student activists, with 21 cases accounting for 48%. Furthermore, Azerbaijani Turkish and Baloch student activists, numbering at least 6 and 4, respectively, have also been detained by the Iranian security institutions.

Highlighting the statistics on the repression of the Islamic Republic within universities is crucial, shedding light on how various forms of repression within the university setting contribute to the systematic violation of human rights and the union rights of students. The university, being a pivotal hub for knowledge formation, plays a vital role in societal progress. Consequently, the suppression of universities has persistently been on the agenda of the Islamic Republic. Slogans like "the university is not a barracks" or "Evin has become a university" carry significance, addressing the militarization of the Islamic Republic and the severe repression faced by academics.

1. Abdul Khaliq Hossein Zahi - Zahedan - January. 
2. Naseh Tahzadeh - Piranshahr - January, 2023. 
3. Shilan Rashidzadeh - Saqez - 3/1/2023. 
4. Alireza Raisi - Sarbaz - 4/1/2023. 
5. Shagaig Alizadeh - Urmia - 5/1/2023.
6. Mehdi Esfandiari - Ghorveh - 5/1/2023. 7.  Mohammad Navid Badami- Tehran - 20/5/2023.
8. Basir Ahmadi - Pave - 7/1/2023. 
9. Poriya Faridi - Tabriz - 8/1/2023.
10. Arash Ziraei - Tehran - 8/1/2023.
11. Mohammad Mahdi Esmaili - Tehran - 8/1/2023.
12. Aso Moradi - Salas-e Babajani - 10/1/2023. 
13. Fatima Moradi - Ilam - 10/1/2023. 
14. Shahabuddin Nazari - Tehran - 11/1/2023.
15. Fatima Rahmati - Abadan - 14/1/2023.
16. Ali bakery - Tehran - 18/1/2023.
17. Baran Mohibi - Borujerd - 22/1/2023.
18. Kajal Watanpour - Gilanegharb - 28/1/2023.
19. Jalal Soleimani - Bukan - 31/1/2023. 
20. Hiva Boulevard - Bukan - 1/2/2023.
21. Sareb Ahmadi - Pave - 20/2/2023.
22. Ebrahim Ahmedpour - Tabriz - 27/2/2023. 
23. Naeem Lashkri - Bijar - 11/4/2023.
24. Maryam Drissi - Kazerun - 15/5/2023.
25. Pedram Moeini - Sanandaj - 11/6/2023.

26. Madeh Admi Makri - Mahabad - 17/6/2023.
27. Rehane Khorasani - unknown - 17/6/2023.
28. Armita Pawir - Tabriz - 28/6/2023.
29. Nazila Maroufian - Saqqez - 8/7/2023.
30. Zarian Melai - Sanandaj - 13/8/2023.
31. Zelan Melai - Sanandaj - 13/8/2023.
32. Mehran Kohi - Ghorveh - 16/9/2023.
33. Ali Razavi - Tehran - 16/9/2023. 
34. Farhad Hosseini - Zanjan - 19/9/2023.
35. Sahar Salehian - Saqqez - 23/9/2023.
36. Arjang Mortazavi - Karaj - 7/10/2023.
37. Imran Gargich - Zahedan - 13/10/2023.38.  Mohammad Abdulhaipour - Sanandaj - 21/10/2023.
39. Ebrahim Narmashiri - Bampur - 23/10/2023.
40. Mujib Koranir - Bampur - 23/10/2023.
41. Niloufer Mirzaei - Tehran - 29/10/2023.
42. Mohammad Amini - Mahabad - 30/10/2023.
43. Parasto Faridi - Tabriz - 4/11/2023.
44. Hamid Haji Abdulpour - Mashhad - 19/11/2023.

Hengaw's Statistics: Judicial Sentences on 35 Student Activists, Including Female Students

As per Hengaw's records, since the commencement of 2023, a disconcerting 35 student activists, encompassing 10 female counterparts, have been subjected to judicial rulings by the Islamic Republic of Iran. These sentences include imprisonment, flogging, fines, and other punitive measures.

The comprehensive report discloses that 34 student activists have received sentences totaling 96 years, 1 month, and 17 days of incarceration. Additionally, three student activists have been handed suspended imprisonment sentences, amounting to a collective 11 years.
 

In addition to imprisonment, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has handed down an inhumane sentence, with at least five student activists facing a total of 284 lashes.

This punitive landscape, marked by overt and covert arrests, phone threats, and clandestine pursuits of students, alongside the imposition of severe sentences, expulsion, and deportation, collectively constitutes instruments for the systematic violation of human rights and serves as mechanisms employed by the Islamic Republic to suppress the university movement, underscoring the intricate links between the university and the broader populace.

Alireza Ghamgsar - Kashan - 2 years - Kashan Revolutionary Court.
2. Alborz Adi - Najafabad - 4 years - unknown.
3. Afshin Abdi - Bukan - 2 years and 11 months - Branch 102 of Bukan Criminal Court.
4. Milad Abdi - Tehran - 5 years, 6 months and 30 lashes - Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
5. Majid Imam Vardi - Tehran - 5 years, 6 months and 30 lashes - Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
6. Parsa Allah Wardaima - Tehran - 3 years - Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
7. Mehtab Ansarian - Shahriyar - 2 years - Branch 2 of Shahriyar Revolutionary Court.
8. Nazli Saidi - Ardabil - 15 months - Tabriz Revolutionary Court.
9. Behzad Qadiri - Birjand - 3 years and 3 months - unknown.
10. Yusuf Zarif - Tehran - 1 year and 70 lashes - Branch 29 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
11. Ali Mohammad Nazari, a political theorist - Esfahan - 5 years of imprisonment - Revolutionary Court.
12. Samina Balide - Chah Bahar - 1 year - Branch 2 of Zahedan Revolution Court.
13. Mateen Soleimani - Tehran - 1 year - Court of Appeal of Tehran Province.
14. Maryam Drissi - Shiraz - 1 year, 10 months and 17 days - Court of Appeal of Fars Province.
15. Zahra Mehrabi - Tehran - 5 years suspended - Branch 29 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
16. Behrad Sabbagh - Tehran - 2 years and 4 months - Branch 29 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
17. Amirreza Douzande - Sari - 3 years - Revolutionary Court.
18. Sahand Mortazavi - Tehran - 3 years - Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
19. Hadi Alizadeh - Tehran - 1 year and 11 months - Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
20. Ali Fatahi - Tehran - 3 years - Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
21. Mohammad Masoud Eskandari - Shahrekord - 18 months - unknown.
22. Samaneh Asghari - Tehran - 18 years and 3 months - Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
23. Abdul Malik Isa Qanbarzahi - Zahedan - 10 years imprisonment - Zahedan Revolutionary Court.
24. Nazila Maroufian - Saqqez - 2 years and 15 million fines - Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
25. Hiva Blaj - Bukan - 18 months - Bukan Criminal Court.
26. Jalal Soleimani - Bukan - 4 months and 40 lashes - Bukan Criminal Court.
27. Haniyeh Maerofi - Saqqez - 5 years suspended - The first branch of the Saqqez Revolution Court.
28. Varan Mohammadnejad - Sanandaj - 1 year suspended - Branch 1 of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court.
29. Abbas Jafarzadeh - Gonbad-e Kavus - 1 year - Gonbad-e Kavus Revolutionary Court.
30. Osman Ismaili - Saqqez - 3 years and 3 months - Branch 1 of Saqqez Revolution Court.
31. Nazila Maroufian - Saqqez - 1 year - Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.32.  Mohammad Navid Badami - Tehran - 1 year and 74 lashes - Branch 29 of Tehran Revolutionary Court.
33. Shahab Bayat - Hamedan- 4 months - Branch 2 of Hamedan Revolutionary Court. 
34. Sepideh Reshno - Tehran- 6 months - Tehran Judicial Assembly.

The History of Repression on Universities and Academics in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran's student movement has consistently served as a conduit for dialogue between the general public and political movements throughout its history. Examining the trajectory under the rule of the Islamic Republic, from the ascent of Khomeini to power to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, revolutionary students critical of the regime have steadfastly maintained a presence within universities.

The suppression of students and the student movement within the annals of the Islamic Republic date back to its formative years. From the disruption of academic activities leading to the cultural revolution, during which universities were shuttered from 1980 to 1984 and numerous academics and students of that era were purged, to subsequent cycles of the university and student movement resurgence from the 1990s to the radicalization witnessed over the past decade, including recent protests and strikes within the Women, Life of Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement.

The Iranian student movement has consistently functioned as a vital link between society and intellectuals, bridging the realms of the street and the university and acting as a mediator in struggles. Notable incidents such as the university campus events in 1999, the assault on university campuses in 2009, the attack on Sharif University in 2021, and the ongoing arrests, imprisonments, suspensions, and expulsions of students all underscore organized violations of human rights and the pervasive militarization of the university environment.