City boy

The run up to the elections of the student activist Islamic Student Association (ISA) some of it which I had covered earlier has developed in to crisis.

Student activist Babak Zamanian (pictures to the right), who is a committee member of ISA, was arrested on Saturday 21st of April while he was on his way to the university dormitories. The officers were plain clothed security personnel who then handed him to the revolutionary guards who then transferred him to the famous section 209 of the Evin prison which is controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence. Soon, many publications such as Kayhan newspaper, Fars news agency and Raja news website published an alleged “confession” which ISA believes was very suspicious and indeed well coordinated.

At the same day of a student protest against the arrest of Babak, fake newsletters with the logos of student published newspapers were handed out on campus. These fake newspapers included offensive material to “sacred” Islamic figures and also criticised the recent crackdown on women for not wearing proper hejab.

Soon the editors and publishers of the student newspapers announced that the handed out newsletters were not their work, and condemned this deception and called it an attempt by the Basiji revolutionary guards in order to get more presence on campus and put a complete stop to their publications - which they had never found easy to circulate on campus.

The ISA also announced that this crisis is the climax to a year full of crackdown on freedom activists by use of force and unbelievable deception, just in time for the annual elections of the student led organisation.

An interesting turn was to follow when the Iranian judiciary claimed that 5 people (none students) were arrested regarding the “fake” publications which insulted “sacred” figures. However Arman Sedaghati a committee member of ISA, called this event suspicious and announced that he does not believe that 5 people were really arrested and claimed that the whole thing was most likely a lie in order to keep things calm.

Soon figures such as Hashem Aghajery, a history professor and war veteran who was once charged with apostasy and sentence to death, also called this case against the student publications a case of “scenario making” and deception which was used to give an excuse for more crackdown on the students by the Basijis.

This never stopped the regime officials such as Mohammad Bagher Khorramshad, the deputy of Ministry of Science, who not surprisingly commented that the published material was the work of ISA, which has apparently been “radicalised” - the same radicalism which was apparently also witnessed when their members protested and burnt the pictures of president Ahmadinejad on his visit to the university.

Pictures released by Basiji students of AKU on their website, in order to “expose” those who insulted Ahmadinejad and burnt his pictures on his visit to the university.

The crisis soon developed by the arrest of Ahmad Ghassaban the editor of “Sahar”, one of the student publications on Thursday, May 3. Another editor, Majir Sheikhpoor, was also arrested by plain clothed agents that same day while he was on his way to an exam, but released after 3 hours of interrogation during which he was blind folded. After his release he said that many officers are hanging around the dormitories in order to create terror on campus while they harass and threaten the newspaper editors.

After the arrest of Ahmad Ghassaban, in an open letter to the students and lecturers at the Amir Kabir University by the editors of the newspapers, Seyyed Puyan Mahmoodiyan (Rivar), Ahmad Ghasebiyan (Sahar), Majid Sheikhpur (Sarkhat), Maghdad Khalilpur (Atiyeh), again announced that their publications were faked with their logo, and they condemned any further action against them.

Following this over 120 student published newspapers from all over the country expressed their alliance with the AKU newspapers and have condemned those who have faked this case against the student newspapers in Amir Kabir University. Also, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a human rights lawyer and a friend of Shirin Ebadi the peace Nobel prize winner, has taken on the case of defending the student publications.

Yesterday the Amir Kabir University campus witnessed gathering of 200 protesters who asked for the release of Babak Zamanian and Ahmad Ghassaban. The demonstraters went across the campus and sang “Yar-e Dabestani”, the well known theme to student activism in Iran. They then sat down and each lit a candle for Babak Zamanian and Ahmad Ghassaban. Many also talked about the tortures that they may be going through in order to accept the accusations such as those by Kayhan newspaper that claimed they were connected to American institutions!

Ali Azizi, the deputy editor of ISA who is banned from entering the university since the start of the crisis has claimed that the elections this year will probably not be accepted by the university authorities. He went further to comment that this year there were major plans to crackdown on anti-government students who are playing mind games in order to create fear among the students who want to nominate themselves for the committee or those attending the elections. He also said that without a doubt part of the university administration is in favour of a second cultural revolution in Iran which is why they have supported the revolutionary guards efforts against the ISA on campus.

Today members of the association found some female members of Basiji who were trying to remove the posters for the elections on campus. Once they Basijis realised that they can’t take down some of the posters, they tried to take down whole boards from the walls! Clashes soon followed between the Basijis and the students.

The ISA elections are taking place this week with 25 candidates standing for the positions. Thousands of voters are expected, however so is a clash between the students and Basijis.

Lets all show our solidarity with Iranian students activists who find it difficult in order to practice free elections - even on their campus! Expose the crimes and deception of the Islamic Republic and their revolutionary guards!

Update: More and more key members of the ISA including Majid Tavakkoli, Ebrahim Rahmani, Arman Sedaghati have all been banned from entering the university.

Today (Saturday, May 5) there was also a walk out by students of “Madan” college of Amir Kabir University in a protest against the arrest of Ahmad Ghassaban, editor of Sahad student newspaper and also a key figure in ISA.

Update 2: The students have gathered together outside the office of Dr. Rahai, president of the Amir Kabir university in protest. Pictures can be seen here. Ali Reza Rahai, a close friend of Ahmadinejad, was installed as the new head of the Amir Kabir university last summer soon after hardliner president Ahmadinejad came in to power. Straight away in a series of attacks on activism and open minded thinking on campus, he forced up to a 100 lecturers to retire early and ordered the demolition of the office of ISA which was a symbolic stronghold for student activism in Tehran since 1963.

Update 3: First day of ISA elections at Amir Kabir University