Continued Pressure and Repression; Forced Retirement of Professors, Denial of Education, and Arrest of Students

In the early days of the new academic year, pressure on protesting academics continues. In the latest incident, Hassan Bagherinia, a professor at Hakim Sabzevari University, was forced into early retirement, a student from Sanandaj University of Medical Sciences was arrested, and a doctoral student was denied the right to study. The National Student Guild announced on Sunday, October 2, that Hassan Bagherinia, a member of the faculty of psychology and educational sciences at Hakim Sabzevari University, received a notification from the university president stating that he must retire earlier than scheduled. According to the guild, the university's security threatened this professor that if he did not accept the retirement, he would be expelled. Previously, this professor had been barred from teaching at Hakim Sabzevari University by a personal decision from the university president. On September 9, Bagherinia announced in a video that he had been suspended from teaching without explanation, and his salary had been cut. He stated that the government aims to increase the cost of living with dignity, but it will not succeed in this endeavor. The National Student Guild also reported the arrest of Sahar Salehian, a nursing student at Sanandaj University of Medical Sciences, on the first day of October, noting that this arrest was made without a judicial order and there is no information about the detaining authority or the location of this student. In another report, the guild announced that Shaghayegh Akbari, a doctoral student in political sociology and secretary of the student scientific association at Tarbiat Modares University, was sentenced to twelve months (two academic semesters) of deprivation of education by the disciplinary review committee, including in the academic years. This sentence was issued while this student had been deprived of education since December of the previous year without a disciplinary session being held. It is reported that the notification of this student's charges was communicated to her illegally solely via text message, and the primary council meeting was held without her presence or knowledge, and the preliminary ruling was confirmed in the review process. The resignation of the secretary of the Academy of Sciences in protest against the 'interventions' of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council; an exclusive report from a protesting student: the university has been under attack from repressive forces for the past year. HRANA reports that 292 protesters and civil activists have been arrested in Iran over the past 50 days. An exclusive report indicates a dark outlook for science in Iran; Saeed Ghavami states it is the result of 'lack of meritocracy.' An Associated Press report on the repression of universities and the security atmosphere in Iran on the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini. Seven scientific associations in Iran warn that truth cannot be determined by orders and threats. Reactions continue; a professor at Tehran University spoke of 'Iran's threats,' while another professor mentioned 'dying' after expulsion.