While the Sunday police attack on students at Tehran University resulted in injuries to ten of them and the arrest of more than five, University officials either remained silent about the incident or complete denied it.
After the bloody police attack on students on July 9, 1999, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council under the chairmanship of reformist president Mohammad Khatami banned the intrusion of police into university campuses. To enter the campuses, the police was required to first obtain the approval of the supervisory board and president of the institution. Last Sunday’s event has raised this question for students: on what pretext did the police enter the University and beat up students. Was the entry sanctioned by the school’s supervisory board or was it yet another unilateral decision on behalf of the police.
The largest student organization Daftare Tahkim Vahdat issued a statement on the incident and labeled the police’s entry into the campus as an “illegal” act, for which they have filed a complained. “Following the protests of students over the condition of the food that is provided by the school, plainclothes and uniformed police entered Tehran University on Sunday and injured more than 10 students, while arresting between 3 to 5 of them. The police intervention took place as the students had almost ended their gathering who were on their way to their dormitories,” the statement read.
“Anti-riot police began entering the technical school at about 9:30pm on Sunday,” according to Payman Arif, a student activist who confirmed that about 500 students had gathered to protest the quality of the food provided by the school. Amir Kabir University newsletter wrote that over 70 anti-riot police officers positioned themselves on Amirabad street outside the university, along with other plainclothes police. The police booed the students in response to the latter’s anti-police cries, and marched in front of their dormitory buildings. According to the newsletter, following the police attack, the number of participants in the gathering increased to a thousand people. At that time, students shouted slogans against some officials of the Islamic Republic. The students also engaged in throwing stones at the police outside the campus, forcing the police to take guard and retreat from their positions. Scuffles followed and the students dispersed after the police attacked them, into the early hours of Monday.
After the bloody police attack on students on July 9, 1999, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council under the chairmanship of reformist president Mohammad Khatami banned the intrusion of police into university campuses. To enter the campuses, the police was required to first obtain the approval of the supervisory board and president of the institution. Last Sunday’s event has raised this question for students: on what pretext did the police enter the University and beat up students. Was the entry sanctioned by the school’s supervisory board or was it yet another unilateral decision on behalf of the police.
The largest student organization Daftare Tahkim Vahdat issued a statement on the incident and labeled the police’s entry into the campus as an “illegal” act, for which they have filed a complained. “Following the protests of students over the condition of the food that is provided by the school, plainclothes and uniformed police entered Tehran University on Sunday and injured more than 10 students, while arresting between 3 to 5 of them. The police intervention took place as the students had almost ended their gathering who were on their way to their dormitories,” the statement read.
“Anti-riot police began entering the technical school at about 9:30pm on Sunday,” according to Payman Arif, a student activist who confirmed that about 500 students had gathered to protest the quality of the food provided by the school. Amir Kabir University newsletter wrote that over 70 anti-riot police officers positioned themselves on Amirabad street outside the university, along with other plainclothes police. The police booed the students in response to the latter’s anti-police cries, and marched in front of their dormitory buildings. According to the newsletter, following the police attack, the number of participants in the gathering increased to a thousand people. At that time, students shouted slogans against some officials of the Islamic Republic. The students also engaged in throwing stones at the police outside the campus, forcing the police to take guard and retreat from their positions. Scuffles followed and the students dispersed after the police attacked them, into the early hours of Monday.
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