Tehran University students held a protest against Rouhani’s presence at Tehran University on Wednesday, October 16, 2019. They held their protest gathering in front of the university’s mosque. They also spoke out against heavy prison sentences issued for student activists and depriving them of continuing their education.
Tehran University students then marched on campus, chanting: “Free all imprisoned students”, “classrooms are empty since students are jailed” and “girls’ dormitory is a jail.”
Tehran University students declared that more than 100 years of jail sentences have been issued for student activists during Rouhani’s tenure. They also protested Iranian university’s policy of obtaining tuitions from students.
On the same day, Soha Mortezaii held the 5th day of her sit-in on campus to protest her being deprived of education. Soha Mortezaii started her sit-in on October 12, 2019, to protest the ban preventing her from continuing her education for Ph.D.
In another development, Atefeh Rangriz, a student and a labor activist confined in the notorious Qarchak Prison of Varamin, started a hunger strike on Wednesday, October 16, 2019. She is protesting the unfair handling of her case.
The students of the Industrial University of Quchan also held a protest on Monday, October 14, 2019. The day shift students decried the university’s decision to obtain tuitions from them at the end of their terms. Reporting on this protest, the state-run ISNA news agency reported that the students demanded cancellation of the tuition plan.
The students of Amir Kabir University (Polytechnique) also held an extensive protest gathering on Sunday, October 13, 2019, to protest the university’s requiring them to pay heavy tuitions. They issued a declaration at the end of this protest.
In another news, Amnesty International put out a petition calling for the release Yasaman Aryani. AI wrote in its statement, “Yasaman’s cruel punishment is part of a wider crackdown on women campaigning against discriminatory forced veiling laws in Iran. The Iranian authorities must not be allowed to rob Yasaman of the best years of her life – simply because she believes women should have the right to choose what they wear.”
Amnesty International is calling on Iranian authorities to “Unconditionally release Yasaman Aryani from prison” and “unconditionally release from prison all other women’s rights defenders detained for peacefully protesting against forced veiling.”