Continued Protests Against Heavy Sentences for Detained Students from December

According to reports from Tehran, student protests against the sentences issued for several students detained during the nationwide protests last December continued on Saturday. The latest protest took place on Saturday morning, July 2, at Allameh Tabatabai University. Images shared on social media showed protesters holding signs reading "The university has become privatized, it has become a public prison" and "Heavy judicial sentences do not erase the issue." This Saturday morning protest is one of several that have occurred in recent days at various universities in Tehran in response to the judicial sentences issued for students. On Tuesday, a number of students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran also held a protest against these sentences and the "securitization of the university environment," refusing to participate in exams. Student sources reported last week that initial sentences had been issued for several students detained in December. According to the same report, Sina Darvish Imran and Ali Mozaffari, a graduate and a current student at the University of Tehran, were each sentenced to eight years in prison and banned from political activities and social media. About three months ago, student sources also reported that Leila Hassan-Zadeh, Mohsen Haqshenas, and Sina Rabiei, students at the University of Tehran, were sentenced to six, two, and one year in prison, respectively, along with a travel ban. In December, during the nationwide protests in Iran, over a hundred students, mainly in Tehran, were detained, and less than two months later, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, announced that legal cases had been opened for fifty of these students. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic did not announce the charges against the detainees, but Fereydoun Mousavi, another member of Parliament, described these arrests as "preventive." Meanwhile, protesting students have blamed the Ministry of Intelligence of Hassan Rouhani's government for the detentions and have strongly criticized the government's performance in this regard in conversations with officials from the Ministry of Science. However, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the special assistant to the President for Citizen Affairs, criticized the "heavy" sentences on Saturday and announced the government's "follow-ups" in this matter. In an interview with ISNA published on Saturday, July 2, she stated, "We expect that in the appeal stage, with all factors and conditions taken into account, we will reach appropriate sentences and acquittals." This government official also mentioned that no specific actions were taken before the sentences were issued, but after realizing that heavy sentences had been issued, they began follow-ups. The exact number of students detained in December and those whose sentences have been issued in recent days is unclear, with various figures cited by several officials of the Islamic Republic. However, according to Ms. Molaverdi, "sentences have been issued for 11 protesting students, most of whom are from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran." Hassan Rouhani, during the 2013 election campaign, promised to reinstate students who had been expelled from universities and to eliminate the "security atmosphere" in universities. However, various student groups have repeatedly protested the continued "securitization" of university environments and the "starred" status of students in recent years.