Ministry of Science: Some Students Are Still Imprisoned

The Deputy Minister of Cultural and Social Affairs of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology announced that several students are still detained, stating: "We are following up on the situation of the students through the Ministry of Science's security and Tehran University." According to reports from various Telegram channels of student organizations, currently, at least 43 students and student activists are imprisoned. According to ILNA news agency, Gholamreza Ghafari, the Deputy Minister of Cultural and Social Affairs, on Friday, January 5, referred to the "unrest of recent days" in the streets of Enqelab and Vali Asr, as well as in front of Tehran University, saying: "Tehran University no longer has any specific unrest and the atmosphere is calm." Ghafari added: "People had surged into the university from outside, and nothing significant had happened inside the university." This comes as ISNA news agency reported recent gatherings of students inside Tehran University. According to ISNA and some Telegram channels of student organizations, students had chanted slogans such as "Bread, Work, Freedom," "Reformist, Principlist, the story is over," and "Student, Worker, Unity, Unity." The Deputy Minister also mentioned that many students who were detained in the early days of the unrest have been released and that the release of the remaining students is being pursued. Earlier, ISNA reported on Tuesday, January 3, quoting Minister Mansour Gholami, that "some" of the students detained in recent days have been released, but he did not specify the number of those released. In this context, the Deputy Minister stated: "We do not have statistics on the number of detained students" and added: "We followed up on those whose friends informed us they were detained, and most of them have also been released." These statements were made while, according to Telegram channels of student organizations, at least 43 students and student activists are currently in detention, with some arrests occurring in the past two days, and several students have been detained at their homes. According to these reports, it is still unclear which agency or organization has detained these students and activists or what their charges are. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister responded to ILNA's question about the "health of the students" and whether "the students have been harmed" by saying: "We have not received any reports and do not have statistics on the breakdown of detained students and how many are girls or boys." Prior to these statements, student councils from Iranian universities had sent a letter to the Minister of Science, Research and Technology on Wednesday, January 4, criticizing the intervention of security forces and calling for the release of all detainees, referring to what they called "completely peaceful protests" by students in recent days. The letter stated that in some universities, these gatherings faced "intervention from security forces, leading to the detention of several student activists outside the gatherings on false and unfounded charges." The authors of this letter pointed out that holding student gatherings is free and permissible according to Article 12 of the Student Rights Charter, adding that some student activists "had no connection to the gatherings" and that this has caused "confusion among students across the country." Earlier, the Central Student Council of Tehran University had criticized the university's presidency for "allowing the extensive presence of security forces and plainclothes agents while maintaining strict oversight over student movements." The president of Tehran University has remained silent regarding this criticism, and officials from the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology have not responded either. The statement mentioned: "While hundreds of Tehran University students raised the legitimate and progressive demands of the oppressed and suppressed across the country, some affiliated with power factions outside the university... have resorted to false and opportunistic labeling to break this historical solidarity." Meanwhile, the names of 43 detained students and student activists in Tehran and other cities have been published on social media, including Leila Hosseinzadeh, Sina Rabiei, Mohsen Haqshenas, Mikaeil Gholirad, Pedram Pazira, Mohammad Mohammadian, Ali Mozaffari, and Mehdi Wahabi Sani. Other detainees include Soheil Mohavadan, Arash Avari, Danial Iman, Amirhossein Elm Talab, Majid Akbari, Mohsen Torabi, Kasra Noori, Aref Fathih, Mohsen Mir Mohseni, Ehsan Mohammadi, Sina Omran, and Tarakh Maleki Roozbehani. Additionally, names such as Soha Mortazai, Mohammad Ahmadian Haravi, Negin Aramesh, Mohammad Amin Asanlu, Yasaman Mahbubi, Hesam Hosseinzadeh, Peyman Garavand, Sama Derakhshani, Faiza Abdi Pour, Majid Mosafer, Mohammad Khani, Siavash Amjadi, Mohsen Shahson, and Sina Ghafari have also been mentioned. Reports indicate that Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam Riabi, Farshid Tajmiri, Nabi Tardast, Omid Jamshidi, Amin Khosravi, Ali Asadi, Ali Barataali, Soheil Aghazadeh, and Ali Ghadiri are also among the detained students and activists. Meanwhile, a student activist told Radio Farda that three more students named Meysam Sharif in Tabriz and Neda Ahmadi and Siavaneh Kalami in Urmia have been detained. This news has not yet been announced by the student councils of Iranian universities. In this context, the Committee for the Follow-up of Labor Organizations issued a statement declaring that "students do not belong in prison," stating: "In the few days since the popular and nationwide protests regarding inflation, rights violations, unemployment, and the looting of people's deposits began, students have protested issues and problems related to student issues, including the monetization of education and the issue of star-studded students who are critics and protesters, by marching." The statement added: In a situation where "freedom of expression does not exist and the government has blocked communication tools such as Telegram and Instagram, students have no choice but to shout their demands in the streets and convey their problems to the authorities, but they are arrested and sent to prison." This labor organization concluded its statement by calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all recent detainees. Last Friday, a gathering took place in Mashhad in protest against the economic situation in Iran and the failure to return people's deposits in some financial institutions, which spread to several other cities in Iran. Participants in these gatherings, held in protest against inflation and economic problems, also chanted slogans against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani. During these protests, at least 1,700 people have been arrested. In this context, at least 1,800 people have been arrested during protests in 10 provinces of Iran, with at least 37 student activists detained in recent days. 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