Calls to reinstate students, professors fall on deaf ears

Despite continued demands from students, professors and the general public, little has been done to review the cases of students and professors dismissed from Iranian universities which have been the focus of renewed state scrutiny in the run-up to the start of the new academic year on 22 September.

Government fears about the reopening of campuses and the potential for student gatherings sparked “enhanced surveillance” for hijab compliance on campuses, and in public, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights after a fact-finding mission to Iran in mid-September.

Nearly 200 students have been banned from attending classes or continuing their education, accused of vague offences like online activism or refusing to comply with mandatory hijab rules, as part of the ongoing government crackdown since the 2022 protests, according to the Women’s Committee of the exiled group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Some of these students are also facing legal charges and are currently imprisoned, according to a just-released report by the Women’s Committee titled Education under Siege: Expulsions of students and professors from Iranian universities.

Attempts to reinstate professors who were dismissed by universities, often for supporting students, have been ignored by the authorities, leading some to migrate abroad. Others have been left unemployed or have found new careers, according to the report.

Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death

The report, which covers the situation in Iran up to September, also marked the two-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old student who died after being in police custody on 16 September 2022 for improperly wearing the hijab. Her death unleashed widespread protests across the country.

Since then, thousands of students have been targeted for their political activism and participation in protests, including being expelled, suspended, or denied access to university housing, according to the Women’s Committee.

In its report released on 2 October, it said: “Suspension from education has become a primary tool for suppressing critical and dissenting students in Iran. These students, often leaders of popular protests, are expelled and prevented from continuing their studies due to their activism.

“Such punishments not only contradict the regime’s own constitutional principles but also violate its international obligations. Yet, the regime continues to pursue this oppressive policy as a means of controlling dissent.”

Professors have also been purged. “Dismissal, suspension, salary cuts, forced retirement, summons by university security, and interrogations by intelligence agencies are just some of the pressures placed on professors.

“Their removal is often tied to their support for students or holding critical viewpoints. Additionally, they face exclusion from professional opportunities, research funding, and academic projects,” the report stated.

No ‘real commitment’ to a review

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who assumed office in July after widely boycotted elections, promised on 29 August to review the cases of expelled students and professors and reinstate them in universities.

“However, many students and professors believe these promises are merely aimed at quelling protests and winning public favour, with no real intention to change the situation,” the Women’s Committee report noted.

This statement was a reference to the highly publicised return to work of Ali Sharifi-Zarchi at Sharif University of Technology after he announced his own year-long, forced absence on social media in late August.

Sharifi-Zarchi was one of the most high-profile academics to be summoned by security authorities, but public pressure, including a student-led campaign which garnered over 13,000 signatures in favour of his reinstatement, kept his name in the spotlight.

The Islamic Association of Students at Sharif Industrial University published an open letter on 28 August to new Minister of Science Hossein Simaei Sarraf urging him to reinstate dismissed professors and take steps to reconcile with them.

However, on 14 September Simaei Sarraf, himself a former professor, stated in a media interview that the reinstatement of expelled students and professors depended on the judiciary. “I’m not sure if the judiciary will revisit these cases,” he added.

“His remarks suggest that even at the highest levels of Pezeshkian’s administration, there is no serious commitment to resolving the issues of suspended and expelled individuals,” stated the NCRI Women’s Committee.

Saeed Habiba, deputy minister of science and head of the Student Affairs Organisation, also claimed there was no precise data on the number of students facing disciplinary cases.

In remarks carried by Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on 18 September, he added: “Universities independently make decisions on such matters, but so far around 50 suspension or expulsion cases have been sent to the Ministry of Science, and fewer than five involve expulsion.”

Professors’ open letter

In an open letter to Pezeshkian on 22 September, a dozen expelled professors noted no practical steps had been taken so far.

The letter requested “a clear statement and decisive action on this matter to determine whether there is genuine intent or if the reinstatement of a small handful is merely for political propaganda purposes”.

In the letter the professors pointed to non-transparent and “quasi-legal” mechanisms used against professors, and added a major part of the issue lies in laws and regulations, enacted in recent years, that violate academic freedom, which they said: “empowered non-academic authoritarian institutions to suppress professors”.

They wrote: “The process of investigating and assessing general qualifications in universities has become a playground for the authoritarian practices of ideological, political, and security entities.

The university, along with its academic and administrative bodies, has effectively turned into an operator for these institutions in selecting and qualifying faculty members.”

They concluded: “It is obvious that the return of dissident and critical professors is possible and desirable only if we witness a change in this unhealthy system.”