Protest Against Disciplinary Rulings for 8 Students at Tehran University’s Faculty of Social Sciences; Risk of Expulsion Looms

About 150 students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tehran University protested against the disciplinary rulings for 8 students from this faculty, stating in a letter that some of these students face serious risk of expulsion due to multiple unauthorized years if these rulings are enforced. The letter, signed by a group of students, criticized the disciplinary and security approach dominating the university environment, stating that 'the collaboration between the streets and the university, two bastions in the fight against oppression and injustice, has prompted the repression machine to make maximum efforts to silence the voice of university protests and once again impose a security atmosphere.' According to the National Council of Student Unions, they emphasized that 'only in the past two weeks, dozens of individuals have been summoned to disciplinary committees and the university's security office, mainly for not adhering to mandatory hijab regulations.' The signatories believe that the 8 students from the Faculty of Social Sciences, who faced heavy penalties of about eight semesters of academic suspension due to their participation in a master's thesis defense session, are in serious danger of expulsion if the ruling is enforced. The letter emphasizes that 'the history of university repression did not begin today, nor will it end today. The student movement has always been one of the main bastions of social movements and will continue to be.' These rulings were issued following controversies surrounding a session known for a video release of a thesis defense by Leila Hosseinzadeh, a Kurdish political activist. The controversies arose due to her wearing Kurdish clothing and mentioning Qazi Muhammad and Jafar Pishevari at the beginning of her speech. Government media reacted to this event by labeling the clothing worn by Hosseinzadeh as 'terrorists' clothing' and described her mention of Qazi Muhammad, who is referred to in historical books as 'the founder of the Mahabad Republic,' and Jafar Pishevari, the head of the 'Democratic Party of Azerbaijan,' as supporting 'two separatists affiliated with the Soviet Union in the 1920s.' After the controversies, Gholamreza Jamshidiha, the head of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tehran University, stated: 'She did not have the conditions to defend her thesis and merely staged a performance with the help of her friends.' The head of the Faculty of Social Sciences emphasized that the process for requesting and registering for the thesis defense had not been completed and that 'this person has essentially been expelled from study and did not have the conditions to defend as her academic years exceeded the permissible limit.' The signatories of the letter emphasized that 'according to the bureaucratic and formal structure of the university, the responsibility for holding defense sessions lies with the educational deputy of the faculty,' adding: 'Students cannot intervene in the process of holding and executing defense sessions on their own.' The letter stated that 'the claim of the illegality of the session is raised while this session was held with the presence of several professors and with the approval of the educational deputy of the faculty and even a brief presence of the faculty's head. Therefore, the students present at the defense session bear no responsibility regarding its legality or illegality.' They announced that if anyone is to be reprimanded and punished, it should be the educational deputy, the head of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and other officials responsible for holding this session, adding: 'Participation in a defense session does not imply agreement or disagreement with the content, the opinions of professors, or the student. Such behavior criminalizes one of the most important academic traditions, namely attending a defense session, and is absolutely unacceptable.' The signatories concluded the letter by stating that 'our red line is the deprivation of students' right to education' and demanded 'the immediate cancellation of all disciplinary committees for these students during the appeal period and their return to their normal academic process.' Student Day in Iran comes after a year in which the expulsion and detention of students and professors intensified, with a special report from protesting academics; expulsion, suspension, and exile for accompanying the 'Women, Life, Freedom' uprising. Student Day in Iran; 'exorbitant costs' for student activists confronting the government. Message from Amirhossein Moradi and Ali Younesi on December 7: the influence of students has caused fear in the government.