Fifty (50) Tehran University students were arrested after participating in protests in solidarity with Iran protests over fuel price hike. They were transferred to Evin and Fashafouyeh prisons by ambulances.
Monday, November 18, 2019, a large group of Tehran University students held a protest on the university’s campus in protest to the three-fold increase in the price of fuel, the catastrophic living conditions, and heavy repression.
The students’ gathering lasted until 8 p.m. Using the dark of the night, plainclothes agents drove several ambulances into the university, arresting a number of students and pushing them onboard the ambulances. They have been taken to Evin Prison and the Greater Tehran Prison a.k.a. Fashafouyeh. A number of students were also arrested outside the university.
In a similar development, Ms. Melika Gharagozlou, a student of journalism at Tehran’s Alameh Tabatabaii University, was arrested by intelligence agents on the street on Sunday, November 18, 2019. In a brief phone call to her family, she told them she was detained in Evin Prison.
The latest data compiled by the Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin of Iran, indicates that at least 165 cities have seen the uprising.
Latest reports from Rasht say a woman had been killed in the shoot outs in Gas and Palestine squares in Rasht. The number of women slain during the uprising thus reaches 11.
UN human rights experts raise alarm at arrests, killings, internet shutdown
In a statement issued on November 22, 2019 in Geneva, UN human rights experts have expressed grave concerns about the situation in Iran as protests spread across the country over the past week.
“We are deeply concerned at reports of killings and injuries, and that the authorities may have used excessive force against those participating in the protests,” the experts said.
The experts also raised concerns about the nation-wide internet shutdown, saying that international human rights mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council, have condemned such disproportionate actions. Although reports indicated a marginal increase in connectivity on 21 November, this was very limited.
“A country-wide network shutdown of this kind clearly has a political purpose: to suppress the right of Iranians to access information and to communicate at a time of rising protest,” the experts said. “Such an illegitimate step deprives Iranians not only of a fundamental freedom but also basic access to essential services.
“We strongly urge the Government to restore full internet access and commit to keeping the internet up and running at all times, especially during times of public protest.”
Warnings from Iranian authorities that decisive action may be taken if protests do not cease raise serious concerns that the situation could deteriorate further, the experts said.
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