More Than 200 Arrested In Mashad; Fate Of Five Student Activists Unknown
An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that in addition to arrests of hundreds of people during the 14 February demonstrations in Tehran, more than 200 people were arrested at Mashad public protests, many of whom have been released since. The local source told the Campaign that 2-300 people were arrested in two locations in Mashad. According to the source, the arrests were accompanied with unprecedented violence, to the point where several detainees were bleeding at the time of arrest.
According to the source, all those arrested were transferred to the Police Intelligence Detention Center, located inside Mashad’s Rezashahr Police Station. Later, however, dozens of detainees were moved to security detention centers blindfolded. Five student activists by the names of Hossein Ahmadnejad, Farzaneh Najarnejad, Ali Razaghi, Morteza Bagherzadeh, and Amir Sheibani were among those arrested, and so far there is no information about their detention location. These student activists were not among the protesters, however. They were arrested at their homes or work places.
Different statistics for the number of detainees of the 14 February demonstrations have been presented. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran’s Prosecutor General, said yesterday that most of the people arrested on 14 February have been released. Tehran’s statistics range from 150 announced by authorities, to 1,400 which a reliable source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The Committee of Human Rights Reporters reported the number as 1,500. Due to the widespread arrests and a lack of transparency about them, it is not exactly clear whether arrests are limited to the said statistics or the numbers are higher.
Ferdowsi University Security Unit forces and plainclothes forces attacked students gathered on campus and in front of Ferdowsi Univeristy’s College of Engineering on 14 February. The forces beat and injured the students and videotaped them, preventing the protests from taking shape. Several other student activists were arrested for several hours on 14 February.
