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A student activist and eye witness has provided details to International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about the paramilitary forces’ attack on Mashad Azad Univesity students on December 30, 2009. He talks about arrests and sentences which have followed the incident. He says the gathering was a memorial gathering to pay respect to Ashura. This eye witness says about 1,000 Azad University students were having a respectful silent gathering when they were attacked by pro-government plainclothes forces and a group referred to as Ansar. Ansar members attacked the students and some university employees with arms such as knives, daggers, sticks, and pepper spray. He believes the way in which the students were attacked and the attackers’ possession of cold arms demonstrates that this was a pre-planned attack. He believes this was done to intimidate the students in order to make them stop student gatherings. Similar gatherings were held on the days following this incident at Mashad’s Azad, Ferdowsi, Sajjad, and Khayyam universities.

Campaign: There was news that several students were injured and killed. Do you confirm this news?

Eye Witness: The December 30th attack of pro-government forces was so savage, but the dimensions of it were never reported. The number of injured and beaten students was very high, maybe 40 or even more. At least seven students in critical shape were driven away to unknown hospitals in security forces’ ambulances. Two of the stude... >>>