700 University Professors: Extralegal Pressures on Universities Must End

The Islamic Association of University Professors, a reformist group in Iran, has reported on a letter from 700 university professors to the heads of the three branches of the Islamic Republic, requesting an end to "the imposition of certain pressures and interventions, which appear to be legal or extralegal, in the internal affairs of universities." In this letter, published on Sunday, May 9, by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), the heads of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Judiciary, and the Executive are urged to "utilize all their powers, especially in the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which establishes the regulations governing universities, to preserve independence and protect the sanctity of universities." The university professors have labeled the imposition of certain pressures and interventions, whether appearing legal or extralegal, as "a clear contradiction to the essence of the university and its grave responsibilities." Examples of "apparent legal pressures" include "the unprecedented intervention of an organization to prevent the execution of a legally permitted cultural program at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and the questionable obstruction by another organization of a speech by a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which had been authorized by the legal authorities of Shiraz University." It seems that the signatories of this letter are referring to the controversies surrounding a music concert at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad last Esfand and the prevention of a speech by Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, at Shiraz University. According to the signatories, these two incidents "led to widespread discontent and dissatisfaction among academics." They also stated that "organized extralegal pressures are continuously imposed on universities by influential individuals and groups, all of which disrupt the responsibilities of the university and create despair, hopelessness, and a lack of security among academics." The authors of the letter did not provide further details about these "extralegal pressures" but called on Hassan Rouhani, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, and Ali Larijani to "guarantee the prevention of inappropriate interventions and extralegal pressures from other organizations on universities." Hassan Rouhani had previously emphasized the improvement of the status and position of universities and academics before and after being elected as president. In October 2014, he stated that his government's efforts were "to distance the university environment from a security atmosphere."