Student Cases Supporting the Special Rapporteur’s September 2012 Report

 This supplement provides documented cases of detained students that served as part of the basis of Dr. Shaheed’s September 2012 report presented to the UNGA. The documentation is based on primary interviews and secondary research conducted for the September 2012 report (Click here for full supplement).    

Report Supplement
Septmber 23, 2012


IV.
Students

20. There are at least 31 student prisoners of conscience in Iran[7] – including some recently sentenced (see attached chart) – being held on charges ranging from the spurious “putting up posters” to attending an anti-government rally. Some of those imprisoned were handed the additional sentence of “prison in exile,” and sent to distant rural prisons without the right to family visitation.[8]

21. Majid Tavakoli, who was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years after he spoke at a university rally in 2009, remains incarcerated. Tavakoli charges included “participating in an illegal gathering,” “propaganda against the system,” and “insulting officials.” From January until May 2010 he was held mostly in solitary confinement at Evin prison in Tehran. In August 2010, authorities transferred him to Raja’i Shahr prison, where violent criminals are housed. Tavakoli is said to have a respiratory disease, which has reportedly worsened after a hunger strike and because of poor prison conditions. After Majid’s initial arrest, a state-run Iranian newspaper published a photograph of Majid wearing a hijab (a woman’s Islamic headscarf), claiming that he had dressed as a woman in an attempt to evade arrest. However, eyewitnesses have countered that Majid was forced to wear the hijab by security forces in an attempt to shame him.[9]

22. Bahareh Hedayat, who was sentenced in 2009 to nine-and-a-half years in prison after a YouTube video of her surfaced criticizing the Iranian government’s alleged repression of post-election protesters, also remains in prison,[10] as does Zia Navabi, a former member of the Council to Defend the Right to Education and a member of the Bahá’í community. Navabi was sentenced to 15 years in prison and internal exile in January 2010 (later reduced to ten years) for “gathering and colluding against national security,” “propaganda against the system,” “disturbing public order,” and for mohabereh (“enmity against God”) for his alleged links to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), a banned political group, and to 74 lashes for “creating unease in the public mind.”[11]

Table 4

Students Arrested or Detained Between September 2011 and June 201216

 

Name

University

Case

Duration of Sentence (When Known)

1. Sooran Daneshvar

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

2. Mehdi Doagoo

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

3. Arman Zamani

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

4. Khabat Arefi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

5. Shirzad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

6. Milad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

7. Bashir Ehsani

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

8. Masoud Babapoor

AZAD University

Prison Verdict

9 Months

9. Afshin Shahbazi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

10. Koohyar Goodarzi

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

5 Years

11. Sahar Mousavi

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

12. Amin Niaeefar

University of Tehran

Harassment in the prison

N/A

13. Asad Bagheri

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

14. Majid Tavakoli

Amirkabir University of Technology

Prison Verdict

6 Months

15. Mohammad Habiba

University of Tehran

Arrest

N/A

16. Behrooz Faridi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

17. Mahdye Golroo

Allameh Tabataba’i University

Prison Verdict

6 Months

18. Aliakbar Mohammadzadeh

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

N/A

19. Arash Mohammadi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

20. Siavash Mohammadi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

21. Bahareh Hedayat

University of Economic Sciences

Prison Verdict

6 Months

22. Farzad Eslami

AZAD University

Prison Verdict

3 Years

23. Saman Aryaman

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

24. Esmaiel Salmanpour

Amirkabir University of Technology

Prison Verdict

1 Year

25. Ali Abbasi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

26. Bahar Alinia

N/A

Arrest

N/A

27. Mohammad Karimi

Lorestan University

Arrest

N/A

28. Mohammadhossein Mahboobian

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

29. Rahman Yaghubi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

30. Zhiar Salamatian

Payam-E-Noor

Arrest

N/A

31. Younes Soleimani

Bu Ali Sina University

Arrest

N/A

32. Mehrdad Karami

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

33. Milad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

6 Months

34. Dana Lanjabadi

Payam-E-Noor

Arrest

N/A

35. Saeed Abootorab

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

36. Abbas Pashmi

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

37. Mohammad Heydarzadeh

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

38. Sooran Daneshvar

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

1 Year

39. Ahmad Rahimi

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

40. Ighan Shahidi

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

41. Ali Moradi

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

42. Dalir Eskandari

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

2 Years

43. Darioush Jalali

Yasouj University

Arrest

N/A

44. Saeed Jalalifar

University of Zanjan

Prison Verdict

3 Years

45. Ruhollah Roozitalab

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

46. Ali Salem

Amirkabir University of Technology

Arrest

N/A

47. Hossein Taheri

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

48. Mohammad Hajibabaei

Mazandaran University of Science and Technology

Arrest

N/A

49. Ali Donyari

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

50. Mitra Rostami

N/A

Arrest

N/A

51. Kaveh Rezaei

Bu Ali Sina University

Prison Verdict

1.5 Years

52. Behzad Talebi

N/A

Arrest

N/A

53. Mohammad Ghafarian

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Prison Verdict

3.5 Years and 70 Lashes

54. Moein Ghamin

Mazandaran University of Science and Technology

Arrest

N/A

55. Omid Kokabi

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

10 Years

56. Rasti Alami

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

57. Mohammad Ilkhanizadeh

University of Tehran

Prison Verdict

3 Months and 74 Lashes

58. Mohammad Belbasi

Tarbiat Modares University

Arrest

N/A

59. Afsaneh Toghir

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

60. Zeynab Jafarzadeh afshar

Tarbiat Modares University

Arrest

N/A

61. Siavash Hatam

Bu Ali Sina University

Arrest

N/A

62. Pooria Khaleghi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

63. Vahed Kholusi

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

64. Mobin Rostamian

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

65. Omid Rezaei

University of Guilan

Prison Verdict

2 Years

66. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki

AZAD University

Arrest and harassment in the prison

N/A

67. Javad Alikhani

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Harassment in the prison

N/A

68. Mojtaba Karimi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

69. Abolfazl Garmabi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

70. Aliakbar Mohammadzadeh

Sharif University of Technology

Harassment in the prison

N/A

71. Erfan Mohammadi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

72. Mohammad Moradi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

73. Rasool Teimoori

Payam-E-Noor University

Arrest

N/A

74. Dayako Khayat

University of Tehran

Arrest

N/A

 


Table 4.a

Students Deprived of Education or Expelled Between September 2011 and June 2012

 

Name

University

Case

Duration of Sentence (When Known)

1. Sooran Daneshvar

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

2. Mehdi Doagoo

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

3. Arman Zamani

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

4. Khabat Arefi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

5. Shirzad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

6. Milad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

7. Bashir Ehsani

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

8. Masoud Babapoor

AZAD University

Prison Verdict

9 Months

9. Afshin Shahbazi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

10. Koohyar Goodarzi

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

5 Years

11. Sahar Mousavi

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

12. Amin Niaeefar

University of Tehran

Harassment in the prison

N/A

13. Asad Bagheri

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Arrest

N/A

14. Majid Tavakoli

Amirkabir University of Technology

Prison Verdict

6 Months

15. Mohammad Habiba

University of Tehran

Arrest

N/A

16. Behrooz Faridi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

17. Mahdye Golroo

Allameh Tabataba’i University

Prison Verdict

6 Months

18. Aliakbar Mohammadzadeh

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

N/A

19. Arash Mohammadi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

20. Siavash Mohammadi

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

21. Bahareh Hedayat

University of Economic Sciences

Prison Verdict

6 Months

22. Farzad Eslami

AZAD University

Prison Verdict

3 Years

23. Saman Aryaman

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

24. Esmaiel Salmanpour

Amirkabir University of Technology

Prison Verdict

1 Year

25. Ali Abbasi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

26. Bahar Alinia

N/A

Arrest

N/A

27. Mohammad Karimi

Lorestan University

Arrest

N/A

28. Mohammadhossein Mahboobian

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

29. Rahman Yaghubi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

30. Zhiar Salamatian

Payam-E-Noor

Arrest

N/A

31. Younes Soleimani

Bu Ali Sina University

Arrest

N/A

32. Mehrdad Karami

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

33. Milad Karimi

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

6 Months

34. Dana Lanjabadi

Payam-E-Noor

Arrest

N/A

35. Saeed Abootorab

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

36. Abbas Pashmi

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

37. Mohammad Heydarzadeh

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

38. Sooran Daneshvar

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

1 Year

39. Ahmad Rahimi

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

40. Ighan Shahidi

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

41. Ali Moradi

Shahrekord University

Arrest

N/A

42. Dalir Eskandari

Democratic Union of Kurdish Students

Prison Verdict

2 Years

43. Darioush Jalali

Yasouj University

Arrest

N/A

44. Saeed Jalalifar

University of Zanjan

Prison Verdict

3 Years

45. Ruhollah Roozitalab

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

46. Ali Salem

Amirkabir University of Technology

Arrest

N/A

47. Hossein Taheri

AZAD University

Arrest

N/A

48. Mohammad Hajibabaei

Mazandaran University of Science and Technology

Arrest

N/A

49. Ali Donyari

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

50. Mitra Rostami

N/A

Arrest

N/A

51. kaveh Rezaei

Bu Ali Sina University

Prison Verdict

1.5 Years

52. Behzad Talebi

N/A

Arrest

N/A

53. Mohammad Ghafarian

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Prison Verdict

3.5 Years and 70 Lashes

54. Moein Ghamin

Mazandaran University of Science and Technology

Arrest

N/A

55. Omid Kokabi

Sharif University of Technology

Prison Verdict

10 Years

56. Rasti Alami

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

57. Mohammad Ilkhanizadeh

University of Tehran

Prison Verdict

3 Months and 74 Lashes

58. Mohammad Belbasi

Tarbiat Modares University

Arrest

N/A

59. Afsaneh Toghir

University of Tabriz

Arrest

N/A

60. Zeynab Jafarzadeh afshar

Tarbiat Modares University

Arrest

N/A

61. Siavash Hatam

Bu Ali Sina University

Arrest

N/A

62. Pooria Khaleghi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

63. Vahed Kholusi

N/A

Prison Verdict

5 Years

64. Mobin Rostamian

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

65. Omid Rezaei

University of Guilan

Prison Verdict

2 Years

66. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki

AZAD University

Arrest and harassment in the prison

N/A

67. Javad Alikhani

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Harassment in the prison

N/A

68. Mojtaba Karimi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

69. Abolfazl Garmabi

University of Mazandaran

Arrest

N/A

70. Aliakbar Mohammadzadeh

Sharif University of Technology

Harassment in the prison

N/A

71. Erfan Mohammadi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

72. Mohammad Moradi

University of Isfahan

Arrest

N/A

73. Rasool Teimoori

Payam-E-Noor University

Arrest

N/A

74. Dayako Khayat

University of Tehran

Arrest

N/A

 


Table 4.a

Students Deprived of Education or Expelled Between September 2011 and June 2012

 

Name

University

Case

Duration (Where Known)

1. Farnood Jahangiri

University of Mazandaran

Expulsion from University

N/A

2. Moein Mohammadbeigi

AZAD University

Expulsion from University

N/A

3. Samira Gholami

Sirjan University of Technology

Expulsion from University

N/A

4. Hadi Binesh

Tarbiat Moaalem University

Expulsion from University

N/A

5. Dorsa Allahverdi

Golestan University

Expulsion from University

N/A

6. Shervin Fallah

University of Bojnord

Expulsion from University

N/A

7. Khashayar Zarei

Shiraz University

Expulsion from University

N/A

8. Shahin Mousavi

Tabari University

Expulsion from University

N/A

9. Farshid Abdifar

Shahid Beheshti University

Expulsion from University

N/A

10. Yekta Fahandezh

Shiraz Payam-E-noor University

Expulsion from University

N/A

11. Shaghayegh Agah

University of Tehran

Expulsion from University

N/A

12. Farid Shamsipur

Shahrekord University

Deprivation from Education

N/A

13. Maryam Malekshaaban

Shahrekord University

Deprivation from Education

N/A

14. Emad Hashemi

Shahrekord University

Deprivation from Education

N/A

15. Fatemeh Noori

N/A

Deprivation from Education

1 Year

16. Rahman Yaghoubi

University of Mazandaran

Deprivation from Education

N/A

17. Darioush Jalali

Yasouj University

Deprivation from Education

1 Semester

18. Mehdi Jamalvand

Bu Ali Sina University

Deprivation from Education

N/A

19. Jabbar Dastbaz

University of Saghez

Deprivation from Education

N/A

20. Foad Shams

University of Tehran

Deprivation from Education

N/A

21. Reza Arab

University of Mazandaran

Deprivation from Education

N/A

22. Kamyar Giveki

K.N.Toosi University of Technology

Deprivation from Education

N/A

23. Babak Maghazei

N/A

Deprivation from Education

N/A

24. Vahid Sheybani

University of Birjand

Deprivation from Education

N/A

 

[1] Human rights violations against the Bahá’ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran (June 2012), Bahá’í International Community report, submitted to the Special Rapporteur in June 2012.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “Profiles of the seven Baha’i ‘leaders’,” Bahá’í World News Service, available at: http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/profiles

[4] Human rights violations against the Bahá’ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran (June 2012), Bahá’í International Community report, submitted to the Special Rapporteur in June 2012.

[5] Iran: Executions by Stoning. Amnesty International, December 2010.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Speak Out for Imprisoned Students in Iran,” International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, 26 April 2012 (available at: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2012/04/imprisoned-students-campaign/).

[8] Shourd, Sarah. “They Were Arrested Too; Iran’s Harried Student Movement,” Huffington Post, 3 May 2012 (available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-shourd/they-were-arrested-too-irans-students_b_1475567.html)

[9] “Student Activist Jailed for Speaking Out,” Amnesty International, available at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/cases/iran-majid-tavakkoli?id=1181062

[10] Shourd, Sarah. “They Were Arrested Too; Iran’s Harried Student Movement,” Huffington Post, 3 May 2012 (available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-shourd/they-were-arrested-too-irans-students_b_1475567.html)

[11] “Urgent Action: Iranian Prison Returned to Cell,” Amnesty International, 16 March 2011 (available at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/031/2011/en/31fe312d-e501-4280-81d2a9a0f67e21f01/mde130312011en.html)

[12] All information presented in paras 22-26 is based on or taken from a report submitted by Reporters Without Borders to the Special Rapporteur in July 2012.

[13] Information from: Human rights violations against the Bahá’ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran (June 2012), Bahá’í International Community report (annex), submitted to the Special Rapporteur in June 2012.

[14] Iran: Executions by Stoning. Amnesty International, December 2010.

[15] Sources have reported more than 300 arbitrary arrests of Christians throughout the country since June 2010. The following tables, 3 and 3.a, contain only some cases, for which some details are known. The information is drawn from a report presented by a number of organizations to the Special Rapporteur in July 2012, as well as his own interviews.

[16] All Information in Tables 4 and 4.a is based on a report submitted by the Daftar Tahkim Vahdat student association to the Special Rapporteur in July 2012.

[17] Unless otherwise noted, all information in Tables 5 and 5a is drawn from a July 2012 report submitted to the Special Rapporteur by Reporters Without Borders.

[18] Information on the arrests of Mohammadi and Mohadess can be found at the website of the Beheshti Foundation (available at: http://www.beheshti.org/).

[19] According to the Masregh website (http:.//masreghnews.ir).

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