‎

Nooshabeh Amiri

While tens of university students belonging to “leftist” factions have been arrested and ‎detained, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a statement ‎on 16 Azar (Student Day in Iran) in which it heralds the arrest of “a number of saboteurs” ‎and “opponents of the state” who strove to “disrupt the scientific and cultural atmosphere ‎of the country and turn it into anarchy.” We spoke with the defense attorney of these ‎students, Nasser Zarafshan. Zarafshan was himself a prisoner for years for defending the ‎victims of the “serial murders” of the 80s, perpetrated by members of the intelligence ‎community. During his interview his stressed his determination to pursue the case, while ‎also speaking about the independence of the student movement, adding that many did not ‎like the movement’s new position vis-à-vis the state. ‎

Zarafshan says this about the libertarian and egalitarian university students who ‎participated in the Student Day rallies in Iran: “They are all students. We have the names ‎the schools, their student years, and other detailed information about each one of them. ‎There are about 32 detainees. We have issues with the name of 1 or 2 of them and are not ‎certain they too have been detained or not. The information on the rest is very clear and ‎definitive. This is why I do not understand why the state calls them ‘rogues’, or says their ‎ID cards were unknown. The Ministry of Intelligence did not name them, but if they are ‎talking about the same people that we know, then the labels they are using for them are ‎not correct. The detainees are all students and they did not become one just the night ‎before. So I hope that in this case the state will not try to mould these students into its ‎misperceptuous stereotypes. In simple, they have exaggerated and overblown the issue ‎and are now trying to justify their act.”‎

I asked Zarafshan about the reasons why the government would make these denials, ‎particularly about a case that is clearly a university issue, and he says the following:‎

Zarafshan: My personal opinion is that following the events that have taken place over ‎the last year and a half, and the disappointments over the promises that the government ‎had made, particularly among students which normally respond quicker than other social ‎groups, a new vision and perspective has emerged about national issues. The student ‎movement realized that it was not sufficient to merely look up to the authorities to bring ‎about change. They had to come down and work at the public level. This change was ‎apparently not to the liking of many in places of authority, which explains the new ‎government approach in dealing with students. In fact the manner of official ‎confrontation with students was a radical departure from the past. Particularly as 16 Azar ‎‎(Students Day in Iran) was a symbolic day against dictatorship that had begun during the ‎monarchy and the struggle against foreign domination. So I cannot understand why the ‎state is so adamantly and violently against Azar 16th and the student movement. ‎

Is it possible that under the current circumstances it is not appropriate to have too much ‎antagonism against the US?‎

Zarafshan: Apparently one cannot conclude otherwise. The actions and measures that ‎were taken by the government against these students cannot be justified from a legal ‎perspective. I will relate an incident in this regard. One evening two students came to my ‎house to talk about their fellow students and hire me for their defense. Since I did not ‎have any copies of the power of attorney contracts at home, we decided to drive to my ‎office. On the way we were encircled by a number of automobiles and stopped. The ‎students were separated from me and, since these individuals did not know who I was, ‎they entered my home. They confiscated all my writings, translations, phone books etc ‎and took them away. Everyone knows that you need a warrant to search a house, which ‎they lacked. To have a warrant, there needs to be a case and a charge against a person. ‎Furthermore, to have any of those you need to know the identity of the person you are ‎seeking. With regard to these individuals who stopped us and broke into my house, they ‎did not know who I was until they had already entered my house. All these activities are ‎unlawful. Eventually, after they had listed everything in my house, they were told that it ‎was not necessary to take me. They told me to return home and that they would inform ‎me if it was necessary. They did however take away my personal belongings. You tell me ‎where is the due process of law here?‎

So how do you expect to defend the detained students?‎

Zarafshan: This is my profession. It is my duty to defend victims. And these students are ‎my clients. So I have a legal obligation to act. On the other hand, we don’t assume ‎responsibility on the basis of the chances of success. We do it out of responsibility. I have ‎announced to represent these students and will register this as soon as I can.‎

So what becomes of people-government relations when such events take place?‎

Zarafshan: The same thing that has happened to some newspapers. At one time these ‎newspapers used to boast being reformist, but now they have decided to oppose social ‎movements. This is after the unprecedented actions of the government. They went to ‎university campuses and arrested students right there. These actions further intensify ‎differences.‎

What about the rise of so many university groups?‎

Zarafshan: The presence of numerous student groups in the universities is itself a product ‎of the failure of the old order. Daftar-e Tahkim Vahdat student organization used to be an ‎arm of the state at one time. Now things have changed. That fantasy has gone and the ‎existence of multiple groups and movements is the result of that very situation. One ‎should not forget that universities go where the society at large requires them. This is a ‎powerful notion that imposes itself. It is irrelevant how many people can a person gather ‎around himself. What is important is that a student movement that was once a supportive ‎faction of the state (a state that used the movement and the students for its own goals and ‎at the same time laughed at them – this includes those very individuals who today instruct ‎official authorities to crack down and engage in similar acts) has today separated its path ‎from it and now focuses on people’s issues. This is the direction of the future.‎

Do you have hope in the future of the student movement?‎

Zarafshan: I have faith in society and people.‎