Statement from 17 Student Groups: We Will Not Tolerate Executions

Several student groups in Iran issued a statement on Thursday, January 18, criticizing the recent executions and declaring: "We will not tolerate executions" and emphasized: "We will destroy a regime that executes." The statement, signed by 17 student groups, highlighted that students will not remain silent in the face of this "governmental murder" under any circumstances and stressed the necessity of solidarity with the families of those sentenced to death. The signatories identified protest as one of the ways to combat executions and dismantle this "tool of the regime," adding: "We, the students and student organizations, once again declare that we stand alongside the families of those sentenced to death in this struggle." This statement was signed by student groups from universities in Isfahan, Kurdistan, Urmia, Sanandaj, and Tehran, as well as the Progressive Student Union. Executions of prisoners in Iran for various offenses have intensified in recent months, drawing widespread domestic and international criticism. Nevertheless, human rights sources reported that on the morning of January 13, judicial authorities executed at least 13 individuals in the central prisons of Karaj and Qazal Hessar. Additionally, one prisoner was executed on January 12 in the Parsilon prison in Khorramabad. Abram Paley, the Deputy Special Representative of the United States for Iran, condemned the Iranian government's use of the death penalty again on January 14, one day after the execution of 13 prisoners. Mr. Paley wrote in a post on the messaging platform "X": "The brutality of the Iranian government in 2023 reached new heights with the execution of nearly 800 citizens, many of whom were executed following unfair trials and arbitrary detentions." Mohammad Shahabati, a student activist, was arrested again and is at risk of expulsion from university. Armita Paveer, a jailed student activist, was sentenced to imprisonment. The crackdown on students continues; four students from Tehran University and Tehran University of Medical Sciences received suspension and exile sentences. Exclusive reports from protesting academics detail expulsions, suspensions, and exiles for supporting the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising. Student Day in Iran highlights the "heavy costs" for student activists in confronting the government.