Tehran's Criminal Court Reports the Arrest of Suspects in the Murder of a Tehran University Student

The head of Tehran's Criminal Court announced six days after the murder of Amir Mohammad Khaleqi, a student at Tehran University, that the "perpetrators" of his murder have been arrested. Mohammad Shahriari stated on Tuesday, February 30, that two suspects were arrested on Monday night and told the ISNA news agency that they "confessed to theft and murder during initial investigations." Amir Mohammad Khaleqi, a 19-year-old business management student at Tehran University, was stabbed near the university dormitory on February 24 and died the next morning; Tehran police identified the attackers as "two motorcycle robbers." The murder of this student has sparked widespread protests at Tehran University, with students demanding clarity on the incident through the formation of a "fact-finding committee" and requesting that Tehran University publish its documents regarding security around the university dormitory. The protests over Amir Mohammad Khaleqi's murder continued at Tehran University. The head of Tehran's Criminal Court said on Tuesday that the main suspect, who was sitting on the motorcycle, is named Ahmad, and the name of the "motorcycle rider" is Amir. Mohammad Shahriari added that the main suspect stated during the interrogation session about the incident: "After taking the victim's phone and bag, I stabbed him two or three times and immediately got on the motorcycle and left." The head of Tehran's Criminal Court also told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the suspects confessed to committing "30 to 40 thefts in the last two to three months," but these thefts had not led to their arrest. Abbasali Mohammadian, the commander of Tehran's police, also stated on Tuesday in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Network that these individuals, "along with three accomplices involved in buying and selling stolen items, were arrested." He also reported the "discovery of Amir Mohammad Khaleqi's laptop" during these arrests. These arrests occurred while Mr. Mohammadian had stated three days earlier on Iranian television that due to the darkness of the crime scene and the images obtained from local residents' cameras, identifying the suspects had become "more difficult." Asghar Jahangir, the spokesman for the Islamic Republic's judiciary, also claimed on a television program earlier this week that the perpetrators of this murder had been "arrested and interrogated." However, the Islamic Republic's police command had issued a statement on Sunday denying the spokesman's claims, stating that "the murderers of the Tehran University student have not yet been arrested."