A Group of Students Boycotted Exams in Protest Against Prison Sentences for Detainees

A number of students from the University of Tehran held a protest gathering and refused to participate in their exams in response to prison sentences issued for detained students during the protests of December 2017. According to ISNA news agency, students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran gathered on Tuesday, June 18, to protest the prison sentences for several students arrested during the December 2017 protests and the 'securitization' of the university environment. Meanwhile, Mohammad Kazem Parhizkar, the secretary of the Islamic Association of Students at the Faculty of Social Sciences, stated that protesting students have announced they will not participate in exams until officials from the Ministry of Science and other institutions respond to their protests. According to Mr. Parhizkar, Mehdi Etemadi, the head of the Faculty of Social Sciences, along with several professors, attended the gathering and urged the students to take their exams. In this report, Mr. Etemadi also presented a report on his efforts to revoke the prison sentences of the students. On Sunday, several students from the Faculty of Social Sciences protested the prison sentences issued for two students during the funeral of sociologist Mohammad Amin Ghanei Rad. Sina Omran and Ali Mofakhari, two student activists from the University of Tehran, were sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to eight years in prison, two years of travel ban, prohibition from political activities, and a ban on social media presence. If these two students appeal, their sentences will be reviewed in the appellate court. Sina Darvish Omran, a graduate in German translation from the University of Tehran, and Ali Mofakhari, an anthropology student, were among the student activists detained by the Ministry of Intelligence on December 29 and 30, 2017, and were later released on bail. Meanwhile, Fatemeh Saeidi, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, wrote on her Twitter page: 'We had received assurances from the relevant authorities that no cases would be filed against the detained students, but they broke their promise. The ministers of intelligence and justice must be held accountable.' Mohammad Mahdi Zahedi, the head of the Education and Research Commission of the parliament, also called for the judiciary to reconsider the sentences issued for the students and to have 'special leniency in dealing with students.' Shahindokht Molaverdi, the assistant to the President for Citizen Rights, also stated that the issue of prison sentences for students 'has been raised in the government, and we are following up on their cases.' Ms. Molaverdi did not provide further details on this matter. During the nationwide protests in December 2017, over 100 students were arrested in more than 100 cities in Iran, and some members of parliament, including Farid Mousavi, stated that their arrests were 'preventive.' Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, announced on March 2, 2018, that a legal case had been formed for 50 of these students. Meanwhile, the Telegram channel of the National Student Unions reported last March that Leila Hassan Zadeh, an anthropology student at the University of Tehran, was sentenced to six years in prison and two years of travel ban. Sina Rabiei, a social sciences student at the University of Tehran, was also sentenced to one year in prison and two years of travel ban, and Mohsen Haqshenas, a scene design student at the same university, was sentenced to two years in prison. Hassan Rouhani, during the 2013 presidential election campaign, promised to return students who were deprived of education to universities and to eliminate the 'security atmosphere' in universities. However, various student groups have repeatedly protested against the continued 'security atmosphere' in universities and the 'starred' status of students.