Continued Dismissals of Professors Supporting Protesters; Two More Professors from the University of Art Dismissed

In the ongoing wave of widespread dismissals of critical and non-aligned professors, Massoud Aliya and Fereshteh Hosseini-Shakib, professors at the University of Art and supporters of protesting students, announced their dismissals and the university's opposition to the renewal and conversion of their contracts. Massoud Aliya, a professor of art philosophy at the University of Art, announced his dismissal after 12 years of work on Thursday, October 6, by publishing a letter on his Instagram page regarding the university officials' refusal to extend his permanent contract. This researcher in the field of philosophy and winner of the Book of the Year award emphasized his positions in reaction to the 'small no' to his presence at the university, stating that he takes pride in the 'big no' he has said to their inappropriate behaviors. Massoud Aliya was among the professors who supported protesting students during the nationwide protests of 2022 and announced that he would refrain from attending his classes until the unconditional release of the students. At the same time, Fereshteh Hosseini-Shakib, an animation professor and faculty member of the animation department at the University of Art, also reported the executive committee's opposition to converting her employment status from contractual to probationary official. Fereshteh Hosseini-Shakib described the university's action on her Instagram page as 'part of a broad and systematic process' by the government to replace independent university professors with 'obedient and loyal' individuals to the regime. This professor of the University of Art had suspended her classes on October 4, 2022, during the nationwide protests in an Instagram post in 'protest against organized violence against the people's demands and the lack of a safe space for dialogue.' In recent months, the trend of eliminating critical professors and supporters of protesters through suspensions, dismissals, and forced retirements has intensified, with dozens of them sidelined from teaching at universities across Iran. Recently, Parisa PourMohammadi, a professor of archaeology at the Faculty of Art, was also dismissed from Shiraz University. According to Mohsen Barahani, a suspended professor at Tehran University, the government of Ebrahim Raisi had been planning to restrict universities and dismiss professors days before the killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police and the onset of nationwide protests. This law professor stated on October 5 to the Etemad newspaper that a month after the establishment of Raisi's government, a resolution to deal with critical professors was issued. Media and officials of the Islamic Republic have defended the dismissals, claiming that these actions were legal. Kazem Alamdari, a sociologist, believes that the widespread dismissal of professors stems from the Islamic Republic's fear of public awareness.