On April 16, 2024, Iranian security forces arrested Dina Qalibaf, a political science undergraduate at Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran, at her home.

This arrest closely followed Qalibaf’s social media posts detailing her encounter with Iran’s “morality police,” while on Tehran’s metro on April 13, 2024. She alleged that she had experienced physical and moral harassment.

On April 22, after her family paid bail, Qalibaf’s release was announced. However, at the last moment, she was not freed and was sent back to Evin prison. Her release was allegedly contingent upon her adherence to the mandatory hijab and disavowal statements made by Narges Mohammadi, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, who had spoken from the women’s ward of Evin prison to denounce Qalibaf’s arrest.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary imprisonment and prosecution of a student in apparent retaliation for the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression and assembly — conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such incidents have a chilling effect on academic freedom and undermine democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://iranwire.com/en/women/127617-student-arrested-after-alleging-sexual-abuse-by-tehran-morality-police/
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2024/04/article-40
https://x.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1780206291689918622
https://x.com/ICHRI/status/1780261121372323920
https://x.com/wais_global/status/1780199525476356248