At least 37 student activists arrested in recent days

Some reports indicate that following the publication of a letter and statement by the student councils of Iranian universities and a request for the release of detained students and student activists, at least eight more students have been arrested, bringing the total number of detained student activists in recent days to 37. Previously, the student councils of Iranian universities had sent a letter to Mansour Gholami, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, which was published on social media on Wednesday, January 3, criticizing the intervention of security forces in response to what they described as 'completely peaceful protests' by students in recent days. The letter stated that in some universities, these student gatherings faced 'intervention by security forces, leading to the arrest of several student activists outside the gatherings on false and unfounded charges.' The letter emphasized that holding student gatherings is free and permissible according to Article 12 of the Student Rights Charter, adding that some student activists 'had no connection to the gatherings' and that this situation has caused 'confusion among students across the country.' The student councils of Iranian universities have called for the unconditional release of detained students and for such incidents not to occur in the future, given the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology towards students. The letter mentioned that student activists at Allameh Tabatabai University, including Sima Darakhshani, Faezah Abdi Pour, Majid Mosafar, Mohammad Khani, Siavash Amjadi, Mohsen Shahson, and Sina Ghafari, have been arrested. According to this letter, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Sina Rabiei, Mohsen Haqshenas, Mikaeil Ghuli Rad, Pedram Pazira, Mohammad Mohammadian, Ali Mozaffari, Mehdi Wahabi Sani, Soheil Mohavadan, Arash Avari, Daniel Iman, Amir Hossein Elm Talab, Majid Akbari, Mohsen Torabi, Kasra Noori, Aref Fathi, Mohsen Mir Mohseni, and Mohammad Javaheri are among the detained student activists at Tehran University. The student councils also mentioned that Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam Riahi from Sharif University of Technology has also been arrested. Earlier, the Central Student Council of Tehran University issued a statement on Wednesday, noting that universities, like the rest of Iran, are experiencing a tense situation, stating that the president of Tehran University has 'given a green light to the extensive presence of security forces and plainclothes agents while strictly monitoring student movements.' The statement said: 'While hundreds of Tehran University students chanted the legitimate and progressive demands of the oppressed and suppressed across the country, those affiliated with power factions outside the university... have resorted to false and opportunistic labeling to break this historic solidarity.' The Central Student Council of Tehran University called the arrests of some students illegal, adding: 'While their charges and status are vague and unclear, we hold the university president and the Minister of Science responsible for their fate.' This council emphasized that the university president has a duty to protect the first and most basic rights of students and should not retreat from continuous efforts until all of them are freed. The authors of the statement demanded immediate, unconditional release without bail and without forming legal cases, the withdrawal of security forces and plainclothes agents from the university and dormitory spaces, and an end to threats and arrests of students. Meanwhile, the student councils have reported the arrest of several more students. According to this report, Soha Mortazai, Mohammad Amin Asanlou, Yasaman Mahbubi, Hesam Hosseinzadeh, and Tarakh Maleki from Tehran University, Amin Khosravi from Tarbiat Modares University, and Ali Asadi from Amirkabir University are among the students arrested in the past couple of days. Additionally, according to the Iran Human Rights Campaign, Soheil Aghazadeh, a cinema student at Tehran University, has been arrested by security agents. It has also been reported that two students from Razi University in Kermanshah, including Laghman Vaisi, and Meysam Sharifi, a student at Tabriz University, have been arrested in recent days. Earlier, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Tuesday, January 12, quoting Mansour Gholami, the Minister of Science, that 'a number' of students who had been arrested recently had been released. However, according to this official in President Rouhani's government, 'so far, no statistics on students arrested outside university environments have reached the Ministry of Science.' He stated that on Monday, January 11, 'a number of students were arrested following gatherings, and with my intervention and that of the president of Tehran University, these individuals were released, but if a student was arrested on the streets, no statistics have yet reached the Ministry of Science, and we are not aware of it.' Meanwhile, so far, Fatemeh Saeedi, a member of parliament, has not provided any news regarding her follow-ups for the release of students detained in previous days. The Emtedad website, close to reformists, reported on Tuesday that Ms. Saeedi stated she is 'following up' on the status of detained students in Iran. However, this parliament member did not provide any information on the number and condition of students who have been arrested in recent days. Last Friday, a gathering took place in the city of Mashhad in protest against the country's economic situation and the failure to return people's deposits in some financial institutions, which spread to several other cities in Iran. Participants in these gatherings, which were held in protest against rising prices and economic problems, also chanted slogans against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani. During these protests, more than a thousand people have been arrested.