Dozens arrested as Iranian security forces attack university campuses

The Students Union of Iran has documented more than 40 arrests of university students and is collating reports of detentions and raids on campuses by security forces across the country on its Telegram channel.

The Norway-based Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, which reports on Kurdish areas in the west of Iran, said the fate of dozens of young people arrested last week and dozens of others detained by security forces for attending earlier protests remained unknown.

Anousheh*, a student at a university in Tehran, told the Guardian that she was violently assaulted by security forces last weekend as she left her campus.

University students in Mashhad also said they had been attacked by security forces this week, with videos online appearing to show plainclothes officers dragging students into vehicles.

Karim* said he was part of a group of about 200 students who had gathered on 26 October to mark the 40th day of mourning for Mahsa Amini.

Moments after arriving, Karim claims security forces locked the gates and blocked the exits. Students were detained and beaten as they tried to leave, he said.

Another student from Mashhad, who said he was attacked on 29 October as he attended a protest, said security forces beat young people unconscious and refused them access to medical help.

Some students arrested at the beginning of the protests have not been heard from since their arrests. According to the student union, one young woman, Zainab Nasiri, a sociology student from the University of Isfahan was reportedly arrested on 2 October outside her house and transferred to Dolatabad prison. It is not known what has happened to her or what charges she is facing.

On 31 October, the head of the judiciary in Tehran province, said they had issued at least 1,000 indictments against those arrested on charges related to the protests. According to latest reports, at least 277 people, including 40 children, have been killed in the nationwide protests.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, 51 journalists have been arrested in the crackdown, with 14 confirmed released on bail so far.