Minister of Science Expresses Doubt About Re-examining the Cases of Expelled Students and Professors

The Minister of Science, Research, and Technology states that the return of detained or legally charged students and professors is the responsibility of a working group within the judiciary. On Saturday, September 24, Hossein Simayi Sarraf mentioned that "we cannot intervene in this matter" and told reporters that there is a good understanding with the judiciary to ensure that "our opinions are heard in a working group regarding student and faculty cases." However, he continued, "I am not sure the judiciary will re-examine the cases." The Minister of Science in Masoud Beigian's government also claimed, without providing details on the number and names of professors, that some professors who were suspended or expelled during Ebrahim Raisi's administration have returned to the university. In response to the suspension of several students in recent weeks at universities in Tabriz, Tarbiat Modares, and Tehran, he said, "These individuals can file complaints again." The ongoing suspension and expulsion of students and professors continue, despite President Masoud Beigian's call on September 8 for the return of all expelled protesting students and professors. Beigian urged the relevant ministers to "reconsider all professors who have had their contracts canceled or have been expelled in any way and to return the students." Now, the Minister of Science has passed the ball to the judiciary under Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i and has conditioned everything on a "promise" made to him: "They have promised us that the cases will be raised again in a working group." A few days after Beigian's remarks about reviewing the cases of expelled professors, the Minister of Science announced that recent hiring cases at universities would also be re-examined. Meanwhile, the website Entekhab reported that at least "25 distinguished and critical professors" have been expelled from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the past three years. Arash Bidellakhani stated that Jamileh Alamolhoda, the wife of the former president, has played a "key role" in this matter, noting that Ferdowsi University has turned to hiring professors from Imam Sadiq University to fill the vacancies left by expelled professors. He further stated that "the cases of critical professors were taken to Jamileh Alamolhoda," and she and her associates "felt entitled to oversee the university from top to bottom." During the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, many protesting students were expelled and suspended from universities across Iran, facing disciplinary, security, and legal cases. As the second anniversary of the start of these protests approaches, reports indicate the continued repression of protesting students by security agencies and university officials. The newspaper Etemad published a list of 52 expelled professors from Iranian universities last September, indicating that the recent wave of university professor expulsions began at the start of Ebrahim Raisi's government in 2021.