Iran Protests: Two Students Sentenced to a Total of Six Years

The Kashan Revolutionary Court sentenced Alireza Ghamgosar, a student at the University of Kashan, to two years in prison. Also, Alborz Adi, a student at Islamic Azad University in Najafabad, was sentenced to four years in prison, of which two years are suspended. Both students were arrested during recent nationwide protests.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Alireza Ghamgosar was sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

On September 20, 2022, security forces arrested Ghamgosar at nationwide protests in the city of Rasht.

Alborz Adi was sentenced to two years in prison and two years suspended imprisonment. He was arrested two times by security forces on October 3 in Najafabad, Isfahan Province, and then on October 31, 2022, in Langarud. For the second time, he was released on bail on December 31, 2022.

 

University Professor Bijan Abdolkarimi Fired for Defending Pahlavi Monarchy

On Saturday, September 4, Bijan Abdolkarimi was fired from his position at the North Tehran Branch of Azad University

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Didban Iran, Abdolkarimi was dismissed from his position as associate professor in the Department of Philosophy for “defending Pahlavi monarchy”.

“He is not qualified to be a member of the faculty of the Islamic Azad University,” a section of the order states. “By this ruling, Bijan Abdolkarimi’s [teaching] code has been annulled since yesterday (Saturday, September 4), and the issued verdict is final and must be enforced.”

Bijan Abdolkarimi has 20 years of teaching experience. He is the director of the Culture Critique press and the translator of several books. According to Didban Iran, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, the President of the Islamic Azad University, has issued a letter ordering a re-examination of Bijan Abdolkarimi’s file.

“The Supreme Board of Appeal examined the issue again and the execution of the sentence should be stopped until the hearing in the board,” Tehranchi said.