Mohammad Shahabati, Student Activist, Arrested Again; He Faces Expulsion from University

A source close to Mohammad Shahabati's family, a detained student activist from the protests of 2022, told Voice of America that this student activist has been arrested again and is at risk of expulsion from university. According to this source, Shahabati's arrest comes as he is approaching his final term exams, during which he was previously deprived of studying for two semesters due to the crackdown on students during the nationwide protests last year. His recent arrest puts him at risk of expulsion from university. This protesting student was attacked by university security forces at Tehran University on December 7, 2022, and after severe beating, he was handed over to security forces from within the university premises. He was released on bail after 33 days of detention. The family source mentioned that he had previously been sentenced to five years in prison in 2020 for 'gathering and colluding to act against national security,' but all proceedings regarding his case, including investigations, charges, indictment, trial, and referral to the execution department, were conducted without his knowledge or presence, depriving him not only of the right to defense but also the right to be informed about his case. According to the informed source, Shahabati's renewed arrest is in line with the enforcement of his five-year prison sentence. Abram Paley, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, called for the release of all political prisoners from the prisons of the Islamic Republic in a post on X on Friday, January 12. Support from a group of Iranians in Sweden for Arzhang Mortazavi, a protesting student, continues. The Revolutionary Court sentenced the protesting student to prison and deprivation of social rights. Armita Paveer, a jailed student activist, was also sentenced to prison. The crackdown on students continues; four students from Tehran University and Tehran University of Medical Sciences received suspension and exile sentences. Student Day in Iran highlighted the 'heavy costs' student activists face in confronting the government. Protests against prison sentences for Zia Nabavi and Hasti Amiri reveal a chain of various forms of repression in universities. The ongoing repression of students in Iran includes attacks under the pretext of 'hijab' and the issuance of bans on education and exile. Hasti Amiri and Zia Nabavi were sentenced to one year in prison.