Exclusive Report on Protesting Academics; Expulsion, Suspension, and Exile for Supporting the 'Women, Life, Freedom' Uprising

Voice of America has produced an exclusive report on the summoning, suspension, expulsion, and forced exile of students and professors across Iran under the pretext of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' uprising. In this report, several 'opposing' and 'resisting' students and professors of the Islamic Republic told Voice of America that although their participation in the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement has been 'very costly' for them, none of these problems have led them to feel regret or remorse. One suspended student, whose identity has not been revealed, told Voice of America: 'A mental shock I faced was losing time; a year and a half is not a small amount of time, and on the other hand, there is psychological pressure on the family about what will happen if I get expelled.' Another student, suspended for participating in student protests in 1401, said: 'My connection with the university and classes has been completely severed. Aside from the psychological pressures that have been imposed on all the students without exception, we have also faced problems in several educational and administrative matters, especially male students due to military service and the years of study that exist, effectively preventing some of them from completing their degree, and even if they do, they have less chance of continuing their education at higher levels.' After widespread protests last year across Iran, hundreds of students were summoned, suspended, or exiled under the pretext of participating in protests. Among them, students in political science and law fields have the highest statistics of deprivation from education. A male student explained the reasons for his suspension: 'My suspension was due to my participation in the March 7 gathering, which was held in protest against the serial poisonings in girls' schools and in defense of the right to education for suspended students.' Existing evidence indicates systematic security pressures on universities. Traces of institutions such as the Ministry of Intelligence, the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC, and the Protection of the Judiciary are seen in all these repressions. A female student also told Voice of America about her situation: 'I was a student who had completely planned for the field and university I study in, and the suspension and deprivation of education completely turned my life upside down.' Another male student said: 'The pressure on a suspended student is really high because almost all aspects of our lives are affected by this suspension.' On the other hand, many prominent and experienced professors have had to give up staying and have opted for migration. 'Ghasem Badi,' one of these professors, a law professor at Azad University of Tabriz, was arrested during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' uprising and expelled from the university, subsequently migrating to France. Ghasem Badi described how he was expelled from the university: 'They told me to resign from the university and write your resignation text here; I told them I would not do this, you expel me yourselves.' He continued: 'Behind all these expulsions are the leadership institution and the IRGC intelligence, which fabricate cases to somehow convince public opinion that this professor deserved to be expelled.' It seems that the Iranian government is determined to complete the project of purifying universities, which is why thirty-two thousand adjunct professors of the Islamic Azad University have been expelled. Ghasem Badi also stated: 'In my opinion, a second cultural revolution has occurred and is ongoing; when a professor is expelled, they create such a narrative around their personality that they suffer significant social damage, numerous economic harms, and family problems, effectively collapsing.' Despite all the opposition and concerns, the project of militarizing universities continues by the Iranian government, which, if it persists, will permanently undermine the independence and credibility of Iranian universities. However, it seems that students remain determined to continue resisting these pressures. A female student in this regard said: 'It is true that suspension and deprivation of education have caused us a lot of harm, but none of these problems make us feel regret or remorse, and we are very happy that we could stand by something we believe in.'