Letter to Hassan Rouhani; 125 University Professors Protest Arrests and Judicial Sentences Against Students

125 professors from various universities in Iran wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani protesting the arrests and judicial sentences issued against several students in recent months, calling for his 'support' for those detained. The text of this letter was published on the Ensaf News website on Tuesday (July 16). According to the letter, in recent months, especially following the protests of December 2017, a number of students across Iran have been arrested by security agencies, and reports indicate that heavy judicial sentences have been issued against the detainees. As reported by Ensaf News, dozens of university professors have written to Hassan Rouhani stating that they want universities to be 'safe' and not 'security-oriented' and that he must act on his 'promises to uphold the rights of the people and support a critical student atmosphere.' They added that the agency detaining many students is the Ministry of Intelligence and, 'in light of his responsibility' in the Supreme National Security Council, they demand that he issue an order to 'completely halt' the judicial processes against the students 'without delay.' They explicitly wrote to the Iranian president: 'It seems that most of the detained students are individuals who previously participated in legal activities and have possibly raised criticisms regarding your government's performance in the university sector.' The letter to Hassan Rouhani states that 'some are trying to silence the voices of academic critics' and reminds him that in past years, during his speeches to students, universities, and electoral competitions, he made statements that garnered support from academics. Among the professors who signed this letter are Mahmoud Sadeghi, Sara Shariati, Youssefali Abadari, Elaheh Koulaei, Mostafa Azkia, Hashem Aghajari, Farshad Momeni, Parviz Pirani, Hossein Raghfar, and Mitra Azimi. Earlier, in early July, student protests were held for several days in Tehran against the sentences issued for some students who were arrested during the nationwide protests of last December. According to student sources, Sina Darvish Omran and Ali Mozaffari, a graduate and current student of the University of Tehran, have each been sentenced to eight years in prison and banned from political activity and presence in cyberspace. About three months ago, student sources also reported that Leila Hassanzadeh, Mohsen Haqshenas, and Sina Rabiei, students of the University of Tehran, were sentenced to six, two, and one year in prison respectively, as well as a travel ban. According to reports, Roya Saghiri, a student at Shahid Madani University in Tabriz, was also sentenced to 23 months in prison after the confirmation of the primary court's ruling in the appeals court. In December of last year, coinciding with nationwide protests in Iran, more than a hundred students were arrested, mainly in Tehran. Following that, Fereid Mousavi and Mahmoud Sadeghi, representatives of Tehran in the parliament, reported that the arresting authorities stated that most of the arrests were described by them as 'preventive.' A few weeks later, Mahmoud Sadeghi announced that legal cases had been opened for 50 of these students. This parliament member stated that these sentences were issued based on reports and interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence of Hassan Rouhani's government. He wrote to Rouhani on Twitter: 'Mr. Rouhani! Do you remember saying: 'I am not a colonel, I am a lawyer' / 'I seek refuge in God from the tyranny of opinion; from silencing opponents...'? The judiciary of the Islamic Republic initially did not announce the charges against the detainees, but Fereid Mousavi, another parliament member, described these arrests as 'preventive.' However, in response to protests against the heavy sentences for the detained students of December, the Tehran prosecutor linked these students to 'political movements outside' of Iran. In response to protests regarding the heavy sentences issued for the detained students, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the special assistant to the president for citizen affairs, announced the 'government's follow-ups' in this regard. On the other hand, Mansour Gholami, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, emphasized that this issue 'concerns the judges' and stated that he has discussed this matter with 'the officials of the judiciary.' The exact number of students detained in December and those whose sentences have been issued in recent days is unclear, and various statistics have been mentioned by several officials of the Islamic Republic. However, according to Ms. Molaverdi, 'sentences have been issued for 11 of the protesting students, most of whom are from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran.' Hassan Rouhani, during the 2013 electoral campaign, promised to reinstate students deprived of education to universities and to eliminate the 'security atmosphere' in universities. Nevertheless, various student groups have repeatedly protested against the 'security nature' of university environments and the 'starred' status of students in recent years.