On Saturday, May 27, 2023, social media was set ablaze with a video depicting a member of the Basij – a voluntary paramilitary organization – stabbing the student multiple times to enforce the compulsory veil. The victim is currently in critical condition at a local hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.

This incident marks a chilling peak in the rising trend of campus violence. Just a month earlier, on April 29, Soore University students in Tehran were threatened by an individual wielding a machete outside the campus, without intervention from university security.

Subsequent instances of physical aggression, intimidation, and kidnapping have underlined the dangerous environment developing within university grounds. On Tuesday, May 30, students from Khajeh Nasir University’s Electrical Engineering Department gathered in protest over their department supervisor’s oppressive actions and the denial of basic facilities. The response was a brutal physical assault by the head of physical security. The supervisor remains dismissive of the students’ concerns.

Adding to the alarm, on Friday, June 2, security personnel at Chamran University in Ahvaz assaulted a student following a football match. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the student forcibly taken away in a car to an unknown location. No information has been provided about his current condition or whereabouts.

This disturbing pattern of aggression comes on the heels of the 2022-2023 Iran protests, which saw active participation from university students. While campus security budgets were subsequently increased and personnel recruitment escalated, the safety situation on campus appears to have worsened rather than improved.

Indeed, the role of security forces has come under scrutiny following reports of plainclothes agents patrolling campuses, photographing students, and engaging in questionable activities. With university administrations seemingly unwilling to hold these agents accountable, the question remains: who is responsible for ensuring the safety of students on campus?

As Iranian university students continue to face threats and violence, their struggle to assert their rights and protect their safety under an increasingly oppressive system continues.

The world watches, hoping for a swift resolution that prioritizes the well-being and safety of students over the imposition of stringent rules and regulations.

MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI  (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu