Continued Ignorance and Concern Among Families of Imprisoned Students

Reports from Tehran indicate a lack of information and growing concern among the families of several students recently detained in Tehran. Among them, Leila Hosseinzadeh has been released, and Soheil Aghazadeh has contacted his family by phone. Meanwhile, relatives of Ehsan Mohammadi and Ehsan Darvish told Radio Farda that the families of these students are extremely worried as they have had no contact or news about their situation since their arrest. One student activist, who requested anonymity, told Radio Farda that news regarding the deaths of at least two detainees in prisons has heightened family concerns. Families of the detainees are deprived of visiting them, despite Article 180 of the "Executive Regulations of the Prisons Organization and Security and Correctional Measures" stating: "All convicts and defendants under full supervision and according to the regulations of this regulation are allowed to communicate with their relatives and acquaintances through visits and correspondence." Ehsan Mohammadi was arrested on December 11, and Sina Darvish on December 14, along with over 100 others, some of whom have since been released on bail. Another detained student, Soheil Aghazadeh, had a phone call with his family, as tweeted by his father, Mohammad Aghazadeh, on Tuesday. The arrests of students have drawn significant criticism, and according to Farid Mousavi, a member of parliament, were carried out with the aim of "prevention." He announced this on December 15. However, some legal experts, including Shirin Ebadi and Nasrin Sotoudeh, have stated that there is no law in Iran for preemptive arrests. Meanwhile, a relative of Leila Hosseinzadeh, a student of anthropology at the University of Tehran, informed Radio Farda about her release on bail on Tuesday, January 26. Ms. Hosseinzadeh was arrested on December 11 in front of her home. On Monday, January 25, she stated in an interview with Radio Farda that her family was unaware of her situation, and she was "not in Evin Prison." She added that her arrest was not carried out by the Ministry of Intelligence, and her detention file is with another agency. "Request for the release of detainees from recent protests" Qassem Mirzaei-Nikoo, a member of parliament, on Tuesday, January 26, announced that he had prepared a letter for the release of detainees from recent protests, including students, stating: "During the public session of parliament on Tuesday, we called for the swift release of detainees from recent protests, especially detained female students, in two separate letters addressed to the President and the Head of the Judiciary." According to ILNA news agency, he noted that these letters have been signed by 40 members of parliament, emphasizing: "One copy for the Judiciary was delivered to Alireza Avaei, the Minister of Justice, and the copy for the presidency was handed to Hossein Ali Amiri, the Deputy for Parliamentary Affairs of the President, to be presented to Hassan Rouhani." Previously, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, announced on Sunday, January 24, that more than 40 members of the legislative body had sent a letter to Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, requesting the formation of an independent group to investigate the causes of death of several detainees from recent protests in prisons. According to ILNA, Qassem Mirzaei Nikoo further stated: "To prevent intensifying the roots of dissatisfaction from multiple arrests by security, intelligence, and police forces, it seems that the continued detention and prolonged time of their arrest, especially for students and particularly for detained female students, will lead to numerous issues and problems." This member of parliament said: "We representatives request the President and the Head of the Judiciary to take urgent action and assistance regarding the release of students." Additionally, Gholamali Jafarzadeh Iman Abadi, a member of parliament, called for the release of all detained students on Tuesday. In this context, a student activist told Radio Farda that one reason for the arrests was the opposition of some students and student union activists to the government's internship plan and their criticisms of the consequences of economic policies in society, as well as their pursuit of student union demands. According to him, these positions led student activists to receive warnings, including that "you are being too extreme" and "other agencies besides the Ministry of Science are dealing with them." This student activist noted that these warnings were given shortly after student gatherings held on Student Day, December 7. The Student Union Councils of universities across Iran criticized last week in a statement that with the onset of "widespread livelihood-centered protests," the government and all responsible institutions inside and outside universities took advantage of the "opportunity" to pressure independent and union activists across the country. In this statement published on the Telegram channel of the national student union councils, it was stated that "mass and illegal arrests only showed how much the responsible institutions fear an independent movement that represents the voices of students and the underprivileged sectors of society." The student union councils across Iran added that reviewing the positions of these councils in recent years shows that their activities have always had a "union nature." This statement considered issues such as "privatization of education, academic years, security confrontations, declining quality of student nutrition and dormitory conditions following privatization, environmental health in universities, and accessibility of public university spaces for students" as examples of union activities. Furthermore, over 1500 students from the University of Tehran and Tehran University of Medical Sciences issued a statement published on Sunday on the Ensaf News website, declaring that "many" of the detained students were not present at the gatherings and were arrested under an unacceptable pretext of prevention. These students deemed the "problematic and ongoing process of detention" as causing "serious concern and a serious demand from the vast majority of students for the release of their classmates" and described attributing accusations such as "rioting" to student activities as "meaningless and far from reality." So far, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have remained silent in the face of criticisms from student organizations and students. Meanwhile, according to ILNA news agency, Mohammad Kazemi, Vice President of the Judicial and Legal Commission of Parliament, announced on Tuesday, January 26, that some members of this commission have agreed to visit Evin Prison. He stated: "We intend to visit the detention location of detainees from recent protests and speak with the accused and detainees." Previously, Ali Motahari, Vice President, and Mohammad Kazemi, Vice President of the Judicial Commission of Parliament, had reported the "ineffectiveness" of the representatives' requests to visit Evin Prison. This report has been updated. News sources and ILNA news agency / B.K.