Iran

2022-09-24 University of Tehran

On September 24, 2022, state security forces carried out a violent crackdown on a peaceful protest at the University of Tehran. 30 to 40 students were arrested. Starting on September 17, protests spread across Iran, including at various universities, following

2022-09-20 Iran University of Science and Technology

On September 20, 2022, campus security officers, reportedly alongside plainclothes members of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group, attempted to restrict students from participating in a nonviolent demonstration at the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). Starting on September

2022-09-20 Unknown

On September 20, 2022, security forces reportedly arrested Mansoureh Mousavi, a sociologist of women’s studies in apparent connection to her research. Mousavi’s research focuses on the sociology of the body and women’s sexuality. Security forces reportedly confiscated Mousavi’s laptop and

2022-08-27 Various

On August 27, 2022, police arrested at least one student participating in a protest against Iran’s compulsory military service. The Student Justice Movement organized the demonstration in front of Iran’s Public Conscription Organization office in Tehran. The demonstration was reportedly

2022-05-16 Allameh University

On May 16, 2022, Iranian state media reported that prominent sociologist Saeed Madani was arrested for security charges and “suspicious foreign links.” Mehr News Agency, which IranWire describes as “state-controlled,” released a brief report stating that Madani had been arrested

2022-04-20 Iran University of Science and Technology

On April 20, 2022, so-called morality guards attacked students at the Iran University of Science and Technology while they attempted to distribute a statement. A few members of the school’s Islamic Association distributed copies of a statement condemning the heightened

2022-01-21 Sharif University of Technology

On January 21, 2022, it became public that Sharif University of Technology had refused to extend the contract of well-known philosopher Arash Abazari, apparently on political grounds. Abazari, who completed his PhD at John Hopkins University and wrote the well-received

2022-01-03 University of Tehran

On January 3, 2022, the University of Tehran voted not to extend the contract of social policy expert Reza Omidi, apparently on political or ideological grounds. According to Radio Farda, Omidi is a member of the Iranian Sociological Association’s Board

2021-12-07 Yale University

On December 7, 2021, sociology professor and former political prisoner Saeed Madani was prevented from leaving Iran to begin a one-year research post at Yale University, in the United States. Madani previously worked as a professor at the University of

2021-09-04 Islamic Azad University

On September 4, 2021, philosophy professor Bijan Abdolkarimi was fired from Islamic Azad University, apparently for a speech he gave in 2019 at a government function in Iran. Abdolkarimi had taught at Azad University since 2001. According to Iran International,

2021-09 Shahid Beheshti University

In September 2021, following the inauguration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, prominent sociologist Mohammad Fazeli was dismissed from Shahid Beheshti University, apparently for political reasons. The news of his dismissal became public in January 2021. In addition to working with

2021-09-01 Nicolaus Copernicus University

In September 2021, Iranian authorities reportedly arrested three professors from Poland’s Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) for espionage. On July 8, 2022, it was reported that one of the professors, Maciej Walczak, was sentenced to three years in prison. Walczak, the

2021-02-22 University of Tehran

On February 22, 2021, an Iranian court convicted and sentenced University of Tehran student Leila Hosseinzadeh to five years’ imprisonment and a two-year ban on internet activities, in apparent retaliation for her nonviolent activism. Hosseinzadeh is a student union activist

2021-01-28 Unaffiliated

On January 28, 2021, Iranian security forces raided the home of prominent journalist, writer, and former university professor Emadeddin Baghi and confiscated his phones and laptops. Baghi, a scholar of sociology, worked for eight years at Allameh Tabatabaei University until

2021-01-09 Kharazmi University

On January 9, 2021, state security forces detained two Kurdish graduate students from Kharazmi University. Rights groups and news outlets reported that security forces detained the students — Farzad Samani and Sohaib Badrouj — during a raid on a student