At Least 40 Students Suspended from Study at Universities

Reports from the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Soore University, and Sajjad University of Mashhad indicate that at least 40 students have been suspended from their studies, alongside the issuance of dozens of disciplinary rulings in recent weeks; in some instances, these rulings were issued without holding a formal disciplinary committee hearing or even providing written notification.

According to a report by the Working Group for the Defense of Student Rights at IUST, at least eight students at the university have faced suspension rulings. Six students were sentenced to a one-semester suspension from study by preliminary disciplinary committee rulings, and two other students were verbally informed of a one-semester suspension. Their educational portals have been blocked, yet they have received no written judgment.

The report also states that the university’s disciplinary committee issued rulings for at least 16 students without holding defense hearings, acting solely based on explanations received from students via email. In several cases, students were not informed of the specific details of the charges or the contents of their case files.

Concurrently, reports published from Soore University show that approximately 22 students have faced heavy disciplinary rulings. Four students received preliminary expulsion rulings, while a number of others were sentenced to one- or two-semester suspensions from study.

In some instances, the Soore University disciplinary committee announced that rulings of a two-semester suspension would be reduced to one semester on the condition of “cooperation with the cultural deputy.” Furthermore, several students were forced to sign written pledges centered on cooperating with the university’s cultural departments.

At Sajjad University in Mashhad, at least 10 students have faced suspension rulings ranging from two to four semesters. According to published reports, some of these students were convicted on charges such as “creating disruption,” “interfering with university programs,” and “instigating riots and chaos.”

In one reported case, a student was sentenced to a two-semester suspension from study, including cumulative academic years (senavat), and the university declared that a portion of the ruling would be suspended if the student “expresses remorse and regret.”

Student activists and student union bodies have described these rulings as part of an intensifying wave of disciplinary pressure across Iranian universities, warning against the issuance of judgments without adherence to due process, the failure to hold defense hearings, and the deprivation of students’ educational rights.