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Shahram Rafizadeh

The Iranian year of 1386 ended (on March 20, 2008) when, according to published ‎statistics, more than 95 students experienced a week or more in detention, at least 87 ‎journalists and editors were arrested or put on trial, and close to 40 women’s rights ‎activists were either arrested or put on trial. ‎

Students

According to the annual report of Amir Kabir University’s news bulletin which is a ‎publication run by university students, more than 95 students were in detention for at ‎least a week last year. However, “Saeed Derakhshandi, Aboulfazl Jahandar, Ehsan ‎Mansouri, Majid Tavakkoli, Ahmad Ghassaban, and Yaghoub Mehrnahad spent almost ‎the whole year behind bars.” Yaser Goli, Sabah Nasri, Hedayat Ghazzali, Behrouz ‎Karimizadeh, Peyman Piran, Ali Kantouri, and Asadollah Shahbakhs are among students ‎who have been behind in confinement for the past several months. ‎

The report notes that in the year 1386 more than “309 students faced issues such as being ‎barred from continuing their studies, summoned to disciplinary committees, summoned ‎to court, and arrested (for less than one week).” More than 40 university professors were ‎fired and more than 90 student publications were banned in the past year, as well. ‎

Women’s Rights Activists

In the year 1386, close to 40 women’s rights activists were arrested: Mahboubeh ‎Hosseinzadeh, Nahid Keshavarz, Zeinab Peighambarzadeh, Ehtram Shadfar, Bahareh ‎Hedayat, Shahnaz Gholami, Sepideh Pouragaie, Nafiseh Azad, Zara Amjadian, Jelveh ‎Javaheri, Mansoureh Shojaie, and Nazli Farokhi along with 20 women’s rights activist ‎from Khorram Abad. Maryam Hosseinkhah and Jelveh Javaheri were arrested for ‎writing reports and articles in websites affiliated with the movement, while Rounak ‎Saffarzadeh and Hana Abdi, women’s rights activists in Sanandaj, and Raheleh ‎Asgarizadeh, and Nasim Khosravi, members of the One Million Signatures campaign ‎were among the women arrested in year 1386, some of whom remain behind bars. ‎

Journalists

In the year 1386 more than 87 journalists or editors were arrested to put on trial in Iran. ‎Saeed Matinpour and Yaghoub Salekinia, Soheil Asefi, Farshad Ghorbanpour, Masoud ‎Bastani, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh, Maryam Hosseinkhah, Reza Valizadeh, Emaddedin ‎Baghi, Aakou Kordnasab, Ajlal Aghvami, and Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand were ‎some of the journalists that were arrested in year 1386. Some journalists including ‎Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand in Tehran, Omid Ahmadzadeh, Seyed Ali Hashemi, ‎Aboulfazl Abedini, Aadel Mazari, and Ahmad Badiran remain behind bars. ‎

The strangest verdict issued in the year 1386 for journalists was 35 lashes and monetary ‎fines against Mohammad Javad Rouh for writing a critical report on the banning of a ‎book four years ago.‎