Ministry of Education Consults with Judicial and Security Officials Regarding Detained Students

The Iranian Minister of Education has reported ongoing consultations with the Ministry of Intelligence and the judiciary to "resolve the issues of these students" without directly referencing the detention of several students during recent nationwide protests. In similar reports published on Sunday, January 7, by the news agencies ISNA and ILNA, Mohammad Bat'hai, the Minister of Education in Hassan Rouhani's government, emphasized that the issue will be pursued "until the status and resolution of each student is determined." He also stated that "none of the students facing issues will be kept in prison until a final resolution is reached." Bat'hai did not specify where these students are being held. It is unclear how many students have been detained in the recent protests, but statements recently attributed to the Deputy Minister of Security and Law Enforcement claim that over 90% of those detained during the recent nationwide protests are young people and adolescents. In one instance, the representative of Izeh in Parliament acknowledged that those detained in recent protests in that area are "mostly young people and adolescents aged between 16 and 24." The newspaper Shargh recently published an interview with Fatemeh Saidi, a representative from Tehran, who mentioned that she is working with the Minister of Education to compile a list of detained students to follow up on their status. This parliamentarian also stated that "until yesterday evening [Friday], I was continuously following up with the Minister of Education regarding the detainees' status. According to the latest follow-ups and reports, most of the detained students have been released." She added that "our follow-up continues, and if any further detentions are reported, it is our duty to clarify the situation." The newspaper Shargh reported that the number of detained students was "around 40 to 50," most of whom were reportedly released by Friday night. Meanwhile, ISNA reported on Sunday the statements of the spokesperson for the Education Commission of Parliament, who said that this commission is pursuing measures with security officials to address the issues of detained students. Hamid Mirzadeh also told ISNA that during the commission's meeting on Sunday, "representatives provided news and information from their constituencies, especially regarding the recent events and protests, and the status of detained students." This parliamentarian acknowledged in an interview with the official news agency of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, House of the Nation, that "there is no accurate figure for the number of detained students available to the Education and Research Commission." Security and judicial officials in Iran have not provided official statistics on the total number of detainees in the recent nationwide protests; however, Radio Farda's investigations, based on statistics provided by local officials, indicate that at least 1,800 individuals have been detained during the protests in just 10 provinces. The recent nationwide protests in Iran have been unprecedented in terms of their scope among events in recent decades, and although official sources claim that tens of thousands of protesting citizens participated, information received from citizen journalists indicates that nearly one hundred cities in Iran have been the scene of protests since Thursday, January 7.