Iran: Free Students Jailed for Speaking
OutJoint Campaign Highlights Repression on
Campus(New York, May 5, 2012) – Iranian authorities should
immediately free dozens of university students currently behind bars solely for
peacefully expressing political opinions, and end harassment of student
activists on university campuses throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said
today. Human Rights Watch issued the call as part of a joint campaign initiated
by Iranian and international student and rights groups to highlight the
government’s systematic crackdown against university students for their
political activism.
The campaign has called for the unconditional and
immediate release of the 32 students in prison on various national
security-related charges. Authorities rounded up many of these students after
the disputed June 2009 presidential election, and revolutionary courts convicted
and sentenced them on charges such as “propaganda against the system,”
“participating in illegal gatherings,” and “insulting the president.” Therefore
all were convicted specifically for exercising their rights under international
law to freedom of speech, of association, and of peaceful assembly. Security,
intelligence, and university officials have disciplined, suspended, or expelled
hundreds of other students who criticized the government during the past few
years.
“Instead of serving as sanctuaries for higher learning and free
debate, Iran’s university campuses are being targeted by the government to
silence dissent, stifle academic freedom, and impose uniformity of thought,”
said
Sarah
Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
Two of
Iran’s largest student groups, Tahkim-e Vahdat (Office to Foster Unity) and its
alumni association Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat,
spearheaded the
Speak Up for Imprisoned Students campaign on April 21,
2012.
Activists began the campaign on the heels of a report prepared by
Tahkim in January that documented the arrests of students. According to the
report, since March 2009, 436 students have been arrested, 254 convicted, and
364 suspended or expelled. Tahkim also alleged that judiciary officials had
summoned at least 144 students for investigations and that officials have closed
down 13 student publications.
Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations special
rapporteur on human rights in Iran, highlighted the dire situation of student
activists in his most recent
report in March 2012. The report, which followed an interim
report on September 23, 2011, documented a “striking pattern of violations” by
Iranian authorities and outlined the government’s continuing refusal to
cooperate with UN bodies.
As recently as April, Kamran Daneshjoo, the
minister of science, research, and technology, announced that, “Individuals who
participated in the 2009 insurrection … have no right to enter universities.”
The Science Ministry, the primary government body responsible for regulating
universities in Iran, has introduced a number of controversial measures during
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency in an effort to “Islamicize” Iran’s
universities.
“There is absolutely no reason why any of these students
should spend one more day behind bars, let alone forfeit their right to continue
their studies in Iran’s universities,” Whitson said. “Authorities should
immediately drop charges and release all students imprisoned for criticizing the
government, and reverse their futile policy of barring students from higher
education on account of their peaceful political
activism.”
Please read below for background information and a
complete list of campaign participants and imprisoned
students.For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Iran,
please visit:http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-eastn-africa/iran
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