VIDEO: Iran’s Future Held Captive

(2 May 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video, Iran’s Future Held Captive, and accompanying letter-writing initiative today calling attention to the government’s intensified crackdown on Iranian campuses. This video stands in solidarity with a call by the Iranian student association Daftar Tahkim Vahdat and alumni association Advar Tahkim Vahdat, and Speak Out for Imprisoned Iranian Students, a campaign launched by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and human rights organizations.

The video describes the intense repression confronting Iranian students for their activities at school. Students not only face being banned and expelled from university, but they also face prosecution and long prison sentences, as well as the possibility of mistreatment while in prison.

The video highlights the situation of 30 students who are currently in prison. These students, including Zia Nabavi, Bahareh Hedayat, and Majid Tavakoli, have been given lengthy prison sentences simply for expressing their beliefs and participating in student organizations.

The Campaign strongly urges Iranian authorities to release student prisoners of conscience and condemns the violation of Iranian students’ rights to education, expression, and association and assembly.