On December 31, 2025, Iranian security forces and plainclothes agents raided the women’s dormitory of Shahid Beheshti (Melli) University, detaining several women students.

Students at Shahid Beheshti University held a nighttime gathering and demonstration within the dormitory compound in support of nationwide economic protests. At 11:15 PM, plainclothes officers broke down the dormitory’s doors, creating chaos and arresting at least three women students. Following the raid, students gathered outside the dormitory to protest the arrests.

The student campus protests took place amidst a nationwide uprising that began in late December 2025, sparked by an economic crisis marked by rapidly rising prices, currency devaluation, and a widespread struggle to afford basic necessities. As the movement gained momentum, grievances grew to include dissatisfaction with government practices, lack of accountability, and the absence of legal avenues for dissent. By early January 2026, the government cut off internet access, causing a complete communications blackout.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary arrest of students in apparent retaliation for the peaceful exercise of the 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://wncri.org/2026/01/01/female-students-melli-university-beheshti/
https://iran-hrm.com/2026/01/06/systematic-suppression-of-universities-in-eight-days-of-nationwide-uprising-in-iran/
https://x.com/Mojahedineng/status/2006635405920092262?s=20
https://t.me/EEAUT/9866
https://t.me/EEAUT/9842
https://t.me/EEAUT/9841