Morteza Ghonei, Student Activist, Banned from Studies Again and Summoned to Court

Morteza Ghonei, a student activist from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, reported that a new legal case has been opened against her with charges such as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'insulting officials and agents,' and she has been summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. On Sunday, October 7, she shared an image of this summons on the social media platform X, stating that the issuance of the summons was 'in line with the efforts of the capable and dedicated forces of the Islamic Republic and insightful individuals.' Just hours earlier, Ghonei had reported on the same platform that she had been barred from continuing her studies due to 'pressure from extremist groups' and 'personal and erroneous interpretations' of her writings by various individuals, including 'some reformists.' Ghonei emphasized that these individuals had 'read her intentions' from her writings and labeled her. These actions against her follow her comments regarding the presence of 'reformists in the ballot box' at the recent Friday prayers in Tehran led by Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In a post on X, she described the conditions of the Friday prayer leader as 'reason, faith, legitimacy, and justice,' which drew criticism from supporters of the Islamic Republic as well as some reformists. Recently, the Student Affairs Organization announced that after reviewing several student cases, the decisions made by disciplinary committees had been overturned, and students who had been barred from studies would return to universities. Morteza Ghonei was among the suspended students who had announced her return to university after receiving a cancellation order, but on Sunday, Iranian media reported that Masoud Habibi, the cultural and student deputy of the Ministry of Health, announced that her return order had been revoked. According to these reports, Mr. Habibi cited her 'recent stance and violations she has committed again in cyberspace' as the reason for the revocation, which led to her referral to the disciplinary committee and the cancellation of her return order. According to this health ministry official, Ghonei's 'new charges' have now reverted to her previous ruling, and her case is set to be reviewed by the disciplinary committee following referral from the student deputy. Morteza Ghonei was previously barred from completing her final semester of dental doctorate studies in May 2023 on charges of 'creating chaos and disorder in the faculty' and was banned from studies for five years. This ruling was later upheld by the disciplinary committee's appeals council, resulting in her exile to Ardabil University. The Islamic Association of Medical Students in Tehran reported in late December 2023 that the central committee of the Ministry of Health had suspended Morteza Ghonei, the former political secretary of the association, for '24 months.' Ghonei was arrested in May 2024 and transferred to Evin Prison but was released after four days on a bail of 1.2 billion tomans. She had also been arrested by security forces during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. In July 2024, she was sentenced to 'one year of punitive imprisonment' for protesting the imprisonment of Tomaj Salehi, a dissident rapper. This student activist had previously reported a relapse of her 'autoimmune disease and mild MS' following repeated summons and interrogations and her detention.