Motehreh Ghonei, Student Activist, Arrested

Motehreh Ghonei, a student activist whose suspension from studies was altered twice in recent days, has been arrested and imprisoned. On Monday, October 8, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, reported her arrest and introduction to prison without providing details. Mizan described Ghonei's charges as 'insult and actions against national security and the psychological well-being of society,' claiming she had produced and disseminated 'offensive content' in recent days. Meanwhile, Mustafa Nili, Ghonei's lawyer, stated that her arrest was to enforce a one-year prison sentence for 'propaganda against the regime.' Nili wrote on social media platform X that the reason for this sentence was Ghonei's participation in a sit-in protesting the death sentence of Tomaj Salehi at the House of Music and several of her tweets. Ghonei, a student at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, reported on Sunday that a new case had been opened against her with charges such as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'insulting officials and agents,' and she had been summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. This judicial action against her came after her criticism and protest against the presence of reformists at last week's Friday prayer in Tehran, led by Ali Khamenei. Ghonei referred to reformists as 'box reformists' and reminded that the conditions for the Friday prayer leader include 'reason, faith, legitimacy, and justice'; these statements faced criticism from supporters of the Islamic Republic and some reformists. On the same day, she wrote on social media that due to 'pressure from extremist groups' and 'personal and erroneous interpretations' of her writings by various individuals, including 'some reformists,' she had been temporarily suspended from continuing her studies. 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the cultural and student deputy of the Ministry of Health, announced that her return order to the university had been revoked. In May 2023, she was deprived of completing her final semester of dental doctorate studies for 'creating unrest and chaos in the faculty' and was banned from studying for five years.