‎

Sorena Kiani

‎“If the students who were arrested today are not unconditionally and immediately ‎released, rallies will extend not only to the whole Alameh Tabatabai University, but will ‎include all universities in Tehran.” These were the concluding words of the last public ‎speaker at last week’s rally at Alameh Tabatabai University in Tehran. And the promise ‎was soon fulfilled. Students held a rally at the Management School of Tehran University, ‎the place where Behnam Sepehrmand was among the arrested students in protest of their ‎classmates, demanding their release and denouncing official violations of student rights.‎

The rally that was held at Tabatabai University to protest the imprisonment of students ‎and in support of those deprived of pursing their higher education itself led to the arrest ‎of 7 additional students. Three of the seven were reportedly held at Evin’s notorious ward ‎‎209 which is run by security and intelligence officers: Arman Sedaghati, Mazyar Samii, ‎and Behnam Sepehr.‎

With these rallies, students at Tehran University are behaving like family members, some ‎of whom have been taken away it. And everyday, new members join the protesting ‎family. Students from a number of academic institutions joined in Sunday’s rally. Some ‎came from Teacher Training College (Tarbiat Moalem) and so joined those from ‎Tabatabai, Tehran, Polytechnic, Sharif, Khaje Nasir and Azad universities. In the words ‎of Alborz Zahedi, a member of the Pro-democracy Society of Tehran University, “The ‎pressures that are exerted on students have actually united them. Today, students from the ‎different strands of the student movement stand shoulder to shoulder and demand the ‎release of their imprisoned classmates and the independence of universities from ‎government control.”‎

The campus of Tehran University’s School of Management generously displayed the ‎photographs of the 9 detained students: Ahmad Ghasaban, Majid Tavakoli, Ehsan ‎Mansuri, Arman Sedaghati, Mazyar Samii, Behnam Sepehrmand, Hedayat Ghazali, ‎Sabah Nassiri and Yasser Goli. The grounds were also rich with placards calling for the ‎release of the incarcerated students, with an emphasis on the freedom of the universities ‎from government control.‎

Expecting the rallies, university and security guards were present in larger numbers and ‎controlled the gates to the campus and buildings from the early morning hours, ‎preventing students from other institutions to enter the premises. But students found ‎different ways around it and many made their way into the campus. In the words of a ‎Daftare Tahkim student organization member, “entering campuses has become a ‎specialty of the students nowadays.” The student - officials confrontation was present ‎well before the rallies began. Even though the students had obtained the written ‎permission to hold an open microphone, the president of Tehran University banned it and ‎so the students had to find an alternative. The open microphone session began with a talk ‎by Farid Hashemi, a member of Tehran University’s Pro-democracy Society. “We have ‎gathered here to announce our objections to the limitations imposed on academic ‎freedoms, the arrest of 3 of our classmates from Polytechnic and the arrest of three ‎students from Alameh University,” he announced. “The purpose of this open microphone ‎is to show the university is still alive and that so long as we are alive, despots shall not ‎stay in peace from us. We are here so that they will hear our protesting voices once again. ‎We pronounce once again that our rallies will continue all imprisoned students are ‎released.” Hashemi separately read out the names of the Kurdish imprisoned students, ‎Nassiri, Goli and Ghazali and called for their release.‎

Farnaz Moayerian from Alameh Tabatabai University was another speaker demanding ‎the release of detained students. “Alameh students were treated in a manner in which ‎even the most violent criminals are not, which includes putting the victim in a sack and ‎beating” she said. “If we remain silent to these atrocities, then being a student by itself ‎will soon become a crime.”‎

Another activist whose name was a protesting placard was Delaram Ali who was recently ‎sentenced to a 2 year plus 6 month prison sentence for participating in a peaceful ‎women’s rally last year. Niloofar Golkar, herself a women’s rights activist, held the ‎placard in support of her colleague, while she too has been summoned to a court hearing. ‎‎“On what grounds did they pass this sentence on Delaram Ali? Is it for being beaten by ‎the law enforcement forces? Is if for demanding equal rights? Why?” Golkar asked in the ‎talk she gave to the participants of the gathering. ‎

Other speakers at the rally included Majid Dari from Alameh Tabatabai University who ‎condemned the detention of Samii, Sedaghati and Sepehrmand. Mojtaba Bayat a former ‎central council member of Daftare Tahkim Vahdat student organization also spoke ‎against the government. Mehrdad Bozorg, a student from Tehran University spoke of the ‎recent violations students rights and pledged that students would not rescind in their ‎struggle. Towards the end of the gathering a resolution was read out, which announced, ‎among other things that the Students Council of Tehran University (Shoraye Senfi) would ‎pursue Behnam Sepehrmand’s detention. Rallying students called in support of ‎suspending classes in solidarity with the detained students and some classes were ‎cancelled on campus. ‎

Some of the slogans and chants were stronger and some directed against the president: ‎‎“Death to the dictator”, “Students fight while despots shiver”, “Students would rather die ‎than accept suppression”.‎

And all along while the students talked, and aired their complains and grievances, a ‎number of security police vehicles stood in the vicinity of the campus, while their ‎occupants closely watched the events. The rally ended without any incident and no arrests ‎were made. Some student members of Basij Organization tried to disrupt the rally, but ‎were immediately challenged by other students. ‎

It should be noted that while this rally was held on the same day the US embassy was ‎occupied by students in 1979 leading to the hostage crises, and some students publicly ‎called on the participants to join them in commemorating the embassy take-over event, ‎students refrained from joining in arguing that the event was organized for condemning ‎the violation of students rights. This led to the cancellation of the commemoration ‎gathering.‎

The resolution that was read out at the end of the event condemned the arrest of students ‎and their detentions in ward 209 of Evin prison. The rally ended with students singing ‎popular Iranian and student songs and calling for the release of imprisoned students.‎

In an update on the subject, Ali Azizi, a member of the central council of Daftare Tahkim ‎Vahdat student organization was reported to have been arrested in a violent manner in his ‎house. Azizi had openly raised questions to supreme leader ayatollah Khamenei during ‎president Ahmadinejad’s visit to Polytechnic University. It remains to be seen what ‎response the students will have in this latest arrest of their colleague.‎