Protesting Students Demand Formation of Truth Commission Regarding the Murder of Amir Mohammad Khaleghi

Students at the University of Tehran, on the third day of their protests over the killing of Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, a student at the university, announced that they would continue their protests until their demands were met. On Sunday, February 17, they gathered at the Fine Arts campus of the University of Tehran, where they read their demands, calling for the 'formation of a truth commission regarding the murder of Amir Mohammad Khaleghi' and 'the public release of university documents concerning the security arrangements around the university dormitory.' In the full text of the statement published on the Amir Kabir newsletter channel, the students also demanded 'investigation into the misconduct of security personnel' and 'identification of the individuals and entities responsible' for the suppression of student protests over the past two days. Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, a 19-year-old business management student at the University of Tehran, was stabbed near the university dormitory on Wednesday evening and died on Thursday morning; Tehran police described the assailants as 'two motorcycle robbers.' His body was buried on Saturday in his hometown, the village of 'Darmian' in South Khorasan Province. During the third day of their protests, the students chanted slogans such as 'The student is awake, disgusted by tyranny' and 'We did not die to compromise, we will not praise the murderer’s responsibility.' They also declared Sunday, February 17, as 'Day of Mourning for the University of Tehran.' Meanwhile, Hossein Hosseini, the head of the University of Tehran, told the ISNA news agency that there had previously been a police kiosk around the university dormitory and that the claim that the university requested the removal of kiosks in 2022 is not true. Abbasali Mohammadian, the commander of Tehran's police, stated in an interview with the Islamic Republic's state television that the police kiosk was previously located on Jannat Street, the site of the attack on Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, but was removed in 2022 'at the request of individuals, including the university itself.' Additionally, the Islamic Republic's police command issued a statement denying the judiciary spokesperson's remarks, stating: 'The murderers of the University of Tehran student have not yet been arrested.' The statement noted that while 'a number of suspects in the incident have been identified and arrested,' rumors regarding the definite arrest of the murderers are unfounded and merely media speculation. Asghar Jahangir, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's judiciary, announced on Saturday during a television program that 'the perpetrators have been arrested and are being interrogated.'