With the widespread arrest of student activists at the University of Mazandaran and the Ministry of Intelligence’s latest remarks, in which the minsiter accused student activists of pursuing the goal of “softly overthrowing” the regime, many expect the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus to intensify its intimidation of the student movement and its activists. Last week, three members from the central committee of Daftare Tahkime Vahdat’s [Office for Fostering Student Unity] – Iran’s largest student group – were summoned to appear in court.

Last week, soon after student organizations affiliated with Daftare Tahkim at 36 different universities protested the arrest of student leaders at the University of Mazandaran, Mohammad Hashemi, one of Daftare Tahkim’s central committee members received a summons to appear in a Sabzevar city court. Hashemi received his summons from the same revolutionary court branch that had issued an earlier summons for his colleague, Ali Nikoudasti. Meanwhile, Bahareh Hedayat, who has been recently appointed as the head of Daftare Tahkim’s human rights center, was summoned to appear at Tehran’s revolutionary court (branch 6).

In an interview with Rooz, Mohammad Hashemi blamed Daftare Tahkim’s “critical stance and the student movement’s resistance to the regime’s pressure in the last year” for his summons.

“The central committee of Daftare Tahkim Vahdat,” said Hashemi, “identified its main duty as defending and supporting its various member organizations. The most visible instance of this was the organization’s support of students at Sabzevar University in the scandal over a student’s death at that university, and the summoning of two central committee members to a court in Sabzevar is a reaction to our stance on that issue.”

Hashemi was referring to a student who was killed after clashing with a Basiji student in front of the university last year. Various student organizations across the country reacted to the murder. Daftare Tahkim Vahdat issued a statement that began with these words: “Finally, came down the dagger…”

Commenting on Bahareh Hedayat’s arrest, Hashemi said, “Ms. Hedayat, while being an active participant in the student movement, also has intimate connections with the women’s movement. It is very concerning that her summons coincides with the intelligence minister’s latest remarks and widespread arrests and summons of women activists.”

Daftare Tahkim’s central committee member adds, “Intimidating the student movement has a long history. But the recent violent confrontations point to the ideology of the Ahmadinejad administration, which views the students not as critics of power, but as troublemakers.”

Hashemi, who has been recently re-elected for a second term to Daftare Tahkim’s central committee, said, “In light of implementing major security operations. the increasing number of summons issued to student activists and heavy prison sentences handed down throughout last year, not many people expected Daftare Tahkim to be able to continue its activism. But we held our elections under this heavy pressure, showing our persistence and determination in keeping an active and critical presence in the university. This has truly angered the security establishment.”