Arrests of Political and Student Activists in Babol

As pressure continues on students and political activists in the province of Mazandaran, Ali Akbar Soroush, a member of the Mazandaran Participation Front Central Council, and two other students of Babol Noshirvani Industrial University, Mohammad Reza Massoumian and Mohammad Maleki, were arrested.

According to a student activist who has provided this information to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Maleki’s and Mahmoudian’s arrests by security forces come on the heels of heavy sentences for other Babol University students. Mohsen Barzegar and Iman Sadeghi of Babol Noshirvani Industrial University have each received a 10-month prison term and one year’s deprivation of education, and Mohammad Esmaeelzadeh of Babol Payam-e Noor University has been sentenced to three months in prison.

According to this source, the Babol Ministry of Information Office first summoned these two students and upon their appearance at the Information Office, they were arrested. So far,  neither the reasons for the arrests nor the location where they are being detained are known.

It is noteworthy that Ali Akbar Soroush received a summons from the Babol Prosecutor last Wednesday. He appeared at the Babol Prosecutor’s Office at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and his family has not heard from him since. Repeated attempts at contacting him by his family and friends have not produced any explanations from the authorities and the location of his detention remains unknown.

Soroush is a faculty member, has served as political adviser to the Governor during reformist cabinets, was a head of Dr. Moeen’s presidential campaign in 2006, has served as a member of the Central Council of the Participation Front in Mazandaran, has served as member of the Coalition of Mazandaran Reformists Campaign during the recent presidential elections, and is a Mir Hossein Mousavi supporter. Presently he is completing his Ph.D. dissertation abroad.