The students were abruptly detained and transported away from the scene in an unmarked van without a license plate. Current information regarding their status remains undisclosed.
The arrests come amid a time of tension and enforcement of stringent dress codes for female students by the State Security Force and Special Units stationed at the university. On June 17, security forces reportedly barred female students from leaving the university dormitories without wearing the maghna’eh, a black cloth covering their head, forehead, chin, and chest.
Simultaneously, at the School of Cinema and Theater, security personnel, assisted by female agents, would intercept female students, urging them to don the maghna’eh under the threat of being barred from exams.
Earlier, on June 14, approximately 50 Art University students protested the compulsory implementation of the maghna’eh at a sit-in at the Bagh-e Melli campus. The peaceful demonstration was met with violence on June 15, when Hamzeh Borzouii Kootenaei, the head of the Security Department at Tehran’s University of Art, assaulted the students. The aftermath left several students in critical condition and cut off from essential amenities like water and restroom facilities.
Additionally, plainclothes agents impeded the delivery of food and water to the protesting students. As per the Shargh newspaper, Kootenaei reportedly threatened the students with the use of heavy machine guns.
In a defiant response to these threats, a group of Art University students issued a statement, asserting their commitment to their cause and refusing to back down. “The wound opened in September is still bleeding, and we stand hand in hand for freedom,” they said.
The arrests extend beyond the university grounds. Maedeh Adami Makri, a 22-year-old Performing Arts student, was arrested at her home on June 17, and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Similarly, graduate student Mahshid Esmaeili was detained on May 30 and has been held in solitary confinement for ten days.
The unrest at the universities reflects the broader nationwide uprising against the clerical regime in Iran, with Art University students expressing their solidarity through creative works. However, information regarding the reasons behind these recent arrests remains scarce.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
