Iranian Academics Demand Justice For Students Killed In Protests

The International Community of Iranian Academics has called on the government to identify those who have murdered students and follow up on the status of university detainees.

In an open letter Sunday, a number of academics living abroad stated that during the past 100 days of protests, more than 650 students have been kidnapped by the security and intelligence forces.

“It is a shame for the Science Ministry that 21 students have received sentences of up to five years in prison for participation in peaceful protests. Some students have also received sentences to be lashed. The sham trials of the students are held in a situation that the defendants do not even have access to lawyers,” reads the letter.

Many students have been banned from entering university campuses so quickly that it is not clear the life of how many students has been ruined, adds the letter.

The signatories have urged university officials to follow up on the situation of detainees and identify the people who have killed students during anti-government protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in mid-September.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) announced in its latest report that from September 16 until Tuesday, December 20, at least 506 protestors have been killed, of which at least 69 were minors.

While the Islamic Republic has not provided accurate figures of those detained, the watchdog went on to say that at least 18,457 protesters have been arrested including 652 students.