New Wave Of Forced Retirements, Dismissals Of Professors Begins In Iran

Five months into the nationwide uprising against the Islamic Republic, the regime has targeted universities, through forced retirement and dismissal of professors.

According to reports received by Iran International, the activity of at least nine professors at the Faculty of Political Science of Tehran Azad University have been terminated.

In Khorasan Razavi province in the east, Mahshid Gohari, professor of literature at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, announced on her Instagram page that after seven years of teaching, the university has expelled her.

Javad Atefeh, a playwright, director and theater instructor, announced on his Instagram page, "For reasons that I am sure you know", he is not offered to teach in universities for the next semester.

Earlier, there were reports of suspensions and dismissals of university professors who supported the protests against the Islamic Republic following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in mid-September.

Court cases have also been filed against many university professors and they have been arrested or summoned.

For example, in Kordestan Province in the west, Mohammad Sadeq Amiri, a professor of Sanandaj Azad University, was arrested by security forces on December 7.

Zahra Khoshkjan, a professor of political science at Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, was summoned to the disciplinary committee for not holding classes on December 5, 6, and 7, in support of protests and she has now been banned from entering the university.