In the last two weeks more than 40 student leaders and activists* have been rounded up by the Ministry of Information of the Islamic regime of Iran. We have been informed that at least 43 of the detainees are being held in the notorious Evin Prison, and the whereabouts of the rest is unknown. These students were arrested on or before 7 December 2007 in anticipation of protests on Student Day**.

Many of you are aware of the brutality and oppressive nature of the Islamic regime of Iran. Many of you would not be surprised by the degree of its savagery. However, what is extremely worrying in these arrests is the fabricated charges that have been announced publicly against them by the regime and state-controlled media. The Ministry of Information has stated: “The rioters had obtained bows and arrows and stones and made sonic hand grenades… The detainees had in their possession a significant amount of alcoholic drinks and illegal and immoral literature containing insults to the sacred”. The Rajanews website, linked to president Ahmadinejad, has said: “Following extensive nationwide investigations of the universities by the security organisations, the core of the communists who had connections with aboard has been identified and arrested. The communist cell’s plan was to create riots in the universities on 7th December by obtaining incendiary devices such as Molotov Cocktail and hand grenades to cause mayhem and disturbance”.

Although references to ‘alcohol, banned literature, insulting sanctities, link to opposition groups abroad’, etc. only demonstrates the depth of the oppressive nature of this regime, the mention of ‘obtaining incendiary devices such as Molotov Cocktail and hand grenades’ are dangerous security codes which have been used in the past to execute thousands of dissidents or to impose long-term prison sentences. The news of torture of students is most worrying. The world must react to this atrocity.

The reality is that the Islamic regime, which has been defeated politically in the universities and in the face of students’ struggles, aims to intimidate the people and the protest movement which is gathering momentum nationally by brutally suppressing the students.

The protest to free the jailed students is continuing. The families of the detained students have begun to organise protest meetings. It is therefore vital to organise an international solidarity movement to free the students and political prisoners. The Islamic Republic is fragile when faced with international pressure and would not be able to carry out its criminal plans against the students.

We call on all of you to use all in your power to support the detained students and their families and force the Islamic regime to immediately and unconditionally release the prisoners. It should also be noted that many labour activists, women’s rights activists and women who have refused to obey the regime’s Islamic dress codes are currently in prison. The people of Iran would appreciate the international solidarity with their struggle against the Islamic regime. International pressure would make a difference to the situation of the political prisoners, and would limit the ability of the regime in its repression against student, labour and women rights activists and the people of Iran.

Asqar Karimi
Head of the Executive Committee of the Worker-communist Party of Iran
12 December 2007

Send your protest letters to:

Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street
Shahid Keshvar Doust Street Tehran, Iran
Email: mailto:info@leader.ir

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran , Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St.,Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran, IranIran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir

Notes :

* List of detained students
1- Milad Moyini (Mazandaran University) 2- Behrang Zandi (Mazandaran University) 3- Hamed Mohammadi (Mazandaran University) 4- Arash Pakzad (Mazandaran University) 5- Hasan Maarefi (Mazandaran University) 6- Anooshe Azadfar (Tehran University) 7- Ilnaz Jamshidi (Communications, Azad University, Central Tehran) 8- Mehdi Gerayloo (Geophysics, Tehran) 9- Nader Ehsani (Mazandaran University) 10-Sayid Habibi (ex-member of the Central Council of Advare Tahkime Vahdat) 11- Behrooz Karimi-zade (Tehran University) 12- Keyvan Amiri Elyasi (Masters, Industry, Sharif Technical University) 13- Nasim Soltan Beygi (Communications faculty, Allameh University) 14- Ali Salem (Masters of Polymers – Polytechnic University) 15- Mohsen Ghamin (Polytechnic University) 16- Roozbeh Saf-Shekan (Tehran University) 17- Roozbehan Amiri (Computer Science, Tehran University) 18-Yaser Pir Hayati (Shahed University) 19- Mahsa Mohebbi 20- Okhtay Hosseni (Azad University) 21- Sayid Agham Ali Khalili (Allameh University) 22- Behzad Bagheri (Tehran University) 23- Ali Kalayi 24- Amir Mehrzad 25- Hadi Salari (Rajaee University) 26- Farshid Farhadi Ahangaran (Rajaee University) 27- Amir Aghayi (Rajaee University) 28- Milad Omrani 29- Soroosh Hashempoor (Chamran University) and 30-Yoones Mirhossein (Student of Shiraz University) 31- Parsa Kermanjian (Kermanshah University) 32-Abed Tavanche 33- Reza Arab (Mazandaran University) 34- Sadra Pirhayaty(Shahed University) 35-Peyman Piran 36- Majid Ashrafnejad (Rajaee University) 37- Shovan Merikhi (Mazandaran University) 38- Sara Khademi (Mazandaran University) 39- Nima Nahvi (Mazandaran University) 40- Mohammad Saleh Ayuman (Tehran Univercity) 41- Sohrab Karimi (Tehran Univercity) 42- Farshad Dustipoor (Tehran Univercity) 43- Javad Alizadeh (Tehran Univercity)
Ahmad Ghasaban, Majid Tavakolli and Ehsan Mansoori from the Polytechnic University of Tehran have been in prison and under torture since February 2007, sentenced to 2 to 3 years’ prison in unofficial courts.

** Student Day (16th Azar in the Persian Calendar, 7 th December) is an important day in the students’ protest movement in Iran. Initially marked in protest at the 1957 killing of three students by the Shah’s police during a protest to a visit by the then Vice President Richard Nixon, it has become an annual day of protest by students against the Islamic Republic regime