SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: October 14, 2025

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances | Imprisonment

Institution(s):Islamic Azad University

Region & Country:Southern Asia | Iran

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On October 14, 2025, Iranian security forces arrested Shayan Hushyar, a Turkish researcher and PhD candidate, after he publicly condemned a wave of anti-Kurdish hate speech.

Hushyar, a doctoral student in Iranian history at Islamic Azad University, has advocated publicly for dialogue among Iran’s ethnic minorities. His arrest followed an incident on October 13, 2025, during which fans at a football match between an Azeri Turkish team and an Iranian club chanted extremist, anti-Kurdish slogans. In response, Hushyar published a statement urging respect and peaceful coexistence.

The following day, security forces detained Hushyar and transferred him to an undisclosed location. At the time of writing, authorities had not released information regarding the reasons for Hushyar’s arrest, the charges against him, or his current place of detention.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about arbitrary imprisonment of a scholar for exercising his right to freedom of expression – 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 Iran is a party. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from arbitrary arrests and prosecution of scholars and students for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

UPDATE 7/17/26: Hushyar was transferred to Urmia Central Prison following his arrest and was later released temporarily on bail pending the completion of judicial proceedings. On May 27, 2026, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia sentenced Hushyar to three years and eight months in prison for “propaganda against the regime.”

Sources:
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2025/10/article-78
https://nlka.net/eng/from-newroz-to-football-matches-how-iranian-and-turkish-nationalism-fuel-anti-kurdish-racism-in-urmia/
https://www.daadkhast.org/en/petition/6133/
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2026/05/article-153
https://www.en-hrana.org/phd-student-shayan-houshyar-sentenced-to-over-3-years-in-prison/