CLOSE-UP - 3,600 to 4,200 protesters at the Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin - 7 December 2009

Much of the information coming out of Iran is in the form of footage uploaded to the Internet without the benefit of much description or explanation. Each installment in the Close-up series will provide an in-depth analysis of a single video.

Summary
This video is a compilation of shots which show protesters at the Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin (QIAU) on Student Day, December 7, 2009, when the regime's opponents staged rallies in universities across the country. It is estimated that between 3,600 and 4,200 people participated in the demonstration at Ghazvin's Azad University.

The video
The footage comes from OnlyMehdi's YouTube channel:


Where is the protest taking place?
The students carry a banner proclaiming 'The university is alive' as they march down a road. The following freeze frame (0:21) shows the distinctive main entrance of the Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin.

The Islamic Azad University is one of seven universities in Ghazvin, a city in northern Iran with a population of 330,000. The university, built in 1992, has a student body of just over 8,000 and is well-known for its engineering and computer science departments, particularly in the field of robotics.

The satellite image of the university on Google Maps is out of date and only shows its initial structures:

View Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin in a larger map

Are the protesters inside or outside the university?

As the camera pans left, a roundabout comes into view (0:23):

The roundabout, with a strange metallic sculpture in the middle, can be seen in the following photo. It is called Ghalam Roundabout and is situated inside the university. The building just behind it is the college of industrial and mechanical engineering. The cameraman in the first portion of this video was filming from an upstairs window on the left side of this building, close to the roundabout. The left edge of the frame shows a terra-cotta patch which corresponds to the color of the stone facade. The protesters are marching down the road to the left of the building and coming towards the roundabout.

The following is a map of the campus. The main entrance is marked with the number 1, the roundabout with a 2, and the college of industrial and mechanical engineering with a 3. The road along which the protesters are marching is marked with a thick red line. For a larger view, click on the map or right click and open in another tab to continue reading:

As the camera pans to the right, several freeze frames (0:17, 1:48, 1:51) show the procession of protesters stretching from the front of the college of mechanical and industrial engineering (the open space across the road is the future site of a library, number 6 in the map above) to the front of a building whose side has three distinctive dark rectangles against a white background. A crowd can be seen joining the main procession at the top, right-hand corner of the shots. The third freeze frame in this series, seems to indicate that the secondary group does not extend far beyond what we can see, although this is conjecture.

frame 1

 

frame 2

 

frame 3

The building in the distance is the college of electrical engineering, computer science, and information technology (number 4 in the map above). The distinctive dark rectangles on the side of the building can be seen clearly in this photo:

How many protesters were there?
It is estimated that between 3,600 and 4,200 protesters attended the rally at the Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin.

Here is the methodology behind that figure.

In order to estimate the number of people, it is necessary to measure the length of the procession, the width of the road, and the density of the crowd.

Google maps and wikimapia allow users to measure the distance between two points on a map. The problem is that the satellite image of the university campus on Google Maps is out of date. Two of the buildings which do appear on the satellite photo are used as reference points: the college of management and accounting (number 5 in the university map above) and the square gymnasium to its left.

The satellite image was rotated so it corresponded to the same angle as that of the university. Then two vertical red lines were drawn as reference points next to these buildings in the satellite image and the university map above:

After superimposing the two maps, it was possible to measure the distance between the approximate start of the procession in front of the college of industrial and mechanical engineering (Number 3 on the university map) and the approximate end of the procession in front of the college of electrical engineering, computer science, and information technology (Number 4 on the university map). This distance is shown as a thick red horizontal line in both maps. The distance, according to Google Maps and wikimapia, is 120 meters. 20 meters were taken off this result in order to obtain a conservative estimate. Therefore the length of the procession is conservatively estimated to be 100 meters.

The road appears to be between 12 and 15 people wide. People generally measure 50 cm across their shoulders, so the width of the road can be estimated at between 6 to 7 meters.

This means that it is conservatively estimated that the main procession covered a surface measuring between 600 and 700 square meters. This does not count the crowd which is joining the main procession at the top, right-hand corner of frames 1 to 3 above. Again, to obtain a conservative estimate, this smaller group is disregarded. 

To estimate the total number of people, analysts would ordinarily cut up this large group into smaller sections, each with a different density of people per square meter. This footage does not allow for that. Only an average density can be guessed.

Crowds which allow for free movement and are relatively sparse have a density of four people per square meter:

This is what just over 8 people per square meter looks like from above:

 

The procession seen in this footage appears to have a density closer to eight people per square meter than four. But in order to provide a conservative result, we shall assume that the average density is 6 people per square meter.

This provides us with the following estimate:

600 to 700 square meters multiplied by an average density of 6 people per square meter = 3,600 to 4,200 people.

It can be conservatively estimated that, just in the Islamic Azad University of Ghazvin, between 3,600 to 4,200 protesters attended the rally on December 7, 2009. Figures from the six other universities in Ghazvin would be needed in order to give a total for the city.  


Highlights of the video

00:00 - 1:29
The film is taken from a height. A long line of protesters stretches along a road to the distance. The people at the front of the crowd hold up a banner which reads 'The university is alive.'

The protesters chant:
'Ma migim shah nemikhaim, esmesho rahbar mizaran!' (We say we don't want a king, then they go and call him the Leader!')
'Tajavoz, jenayat. Marg bar in velayat!' (Rape, crimes. Death to this guardianship!) The velayeteh faghih, or guardianship of the jurisprudent, is the principle from which the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, derives his legitimacy and power.
Slogans directly targeting Khamenei are becoming increasingly commonplace as protesters' demands have gone beyond the disputed presidential election and now encompass a desire to change the whole system of the Islamic Republic, embodied by the velayateh faghih.

1:30 - 2:33
The angle, and possibly the cameraman, change. The people begin singing the protest anthem 'Yareh Dabestaniyeh Man' (My old schoolfriend), then call out opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's name.

In various videos from Student Day in Tehran, however, it was obvious that the capital's students were not shouting out Mousavi's name as much as before, another indication that the green movement has bypassed Mousavi. A new slogan heard in Tehran was 'Mousavi bahanast, kolleh nezam neshounast!' (Mousavi is an excuse, the whole regime is now the target!).

The crowd calls out, 'Mousavi zendeh bad, Karroubi payandeh bad!' (Long live Mousavi, may [Etemad Melli party chief Mehdi] Karroubi stand long!) and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami's name.

2:34 - 3:10
The cameraman is now among the protesters who are holding up the banner seen previously. In a corner of the banner, smaller text reads, 'The free students of Ghazvin,' a play on the word 'Azad,' which means free and is also a part of the name of the university. A sign over a building's entrance says, 'college of business management and accounting.' (Number 5 in the map above).

3:11 - 3:48
A poster shows opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. A man tells the people holding up the banner, 'Raise it, so your faces can't be seen.'

3:49 - 4:07
We hear the end of a popular ditty:
Mahmoudeh Khaen, avareh gardi,
To in vatan ra, viraneh kardi,
Koshti javananeh vatan, Allaho akbar,
Kardi hezaran dar kafan, Allaho akbar,
Marg bar to, marg bar to,
Marg bar to, MARG BAR TO.

Mahmoud the traitor, may you become a displaced person,
You have destroyed this country,
You've killed the youth of the nation, Allaho akbar,
You've put thousands in burial shrouds, Allaho akbar,
Death to you, death to you,
Death to you, DEATH TO YOU!

4:08 - 4:26
Mir Hossein Mousavi's name is called out: 'Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein!' (O [Imam] Hossein, Mir Hossein [Mousavi]) The first Hossein refers to the 3rd Shiite Imam.

4:27 -5:21
A protester holds up a picture of Amir Javadifar, who was a student at this university. Amir, 25, was probably tortured to death. He died on July 9, 2009, as he was being transferred from Kahrizak detention center to Evin prison's infirmary. He had lost his sight as a result of blows to the head and face. A friend who saw Amir's body told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that he had been tortured: 'He had a fractured skull, one of his eyes was almost crushed, all the nails on his toes had been extracted, and all of his body was bruised.' (courtesy Radio Farda and Golnaz Esfandiari)

The crowd chants, 'Ma bachehayeh jangim, bejang ta bejangim!' (We are children of war. Fight and we'll fight back!)

5:22 - 5:36 (end)
'Death to this deceitful government!'

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Activist Salman Sima's arbitrary detention, broken ribs: When students become 'threats to national security'

Salman Sima

Student activist Salman Sima was arrested outside his home in the early hours of November 4, 2009. Security agents had been lying in wait for the Azad University student who had stayed away from the apartment for several days.

The regime has been rounding up student activists and leaders in a desperate attempt to prevent widespread protests planned for December 7, Student Day in Iran. (NB Student Day in Iran is different from International Student Day which is on November 17. Student Day in Iran is December 7 -- 16th of the Iranian month of Azar -- and, while celebrating student activism in general, it is also a commemoration of the slaying of three Tehran University students by the Shah's police in 1953, shortly after the coup that brought the Shah back to power.)

Salman Sima is a member of the Advareh Tahkimeh Vahdat, the national alumni association. The Advar is an associate organization of the Daftareh Tahkimeh Vahdat, the Office to Consolidate Unity, which is Iran's largest student organization.

Sima spent 34 days in solitary confinement last year and was released on $60,000 bail in early August 2008. He had been arrested in early July 2008, prior to demonstrations marking the 9th anniversary of the student uprising and regime crackdown of July 9, 1999.

Sima graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from the Azad University - South Tehran Branch and is currently a graduate student in energy economics at Azad University - Central Tehran Branch. As an undergraduate student, he published Sokhaneh Tazeh (New Comment) newspaper which was subsequently banned. After organizing a December 7 ceremony in 2006, he was deprived of the right to study for two semesters and was forced to relocate to Azad University - Karaj. But in Karaj, he was instrumental in organizing another December 7 event in 2008, the only such ceremony in a university in Tehran province that year.

Sima's sister was interviewed by the Voice of America on December 2. The following is the video and translation of the interview:



VOA anchor Setareh Derkhshesh:
Over 15 students remain in detention in the days leading up to Student Day on Monday. Salman Sima is one of them. He was arrested because of his activities in Azad University. His family, who finally managed to see him 20 days after his arrest, said that he was beaten in prison to such a degree that his ribs were broken. Arash Sigarchi spoke to Saedeh Sima, his sister, by telephone.

Saedeh Sima:
...November, he was arrested in front of the house. Several people came upstairs with Salman and searched his room for an hour. They took a computer and several CDs. Whet we know, what they told us, is that he is in wing 209 of Evin prison.

Arash Sigarchi:
Why was he arrested?

Saedeh Sima:
There's no particular reason. The warrant cited acts against national security. But I think that Salman, like his friends who are in prison, is simply a freedom-seeker who has been active for the cause of liberty. In a country which is a dictatorship and whose government comes to power through a coup d'état, freedom-seekers and political activists who struggle for freedom have no place but prison. I hope that all political prisoners, particularly these students who have been arrested on the eve of December 7 (NB Student Day), are freed.

Arash Sigarchi:
Have you taken any legal steps and have these been effective?

Saedeh Sima:
Yes, we've taken many steps. We went to the Revolutionary Court... But they haven't given us any proper answers.

'Eternal is the one whose heart has awakened to love...': Dead Kahrizak witness's speech at graduation ceremony

Ramin Pourandarjani, a medical doctor who worked at the notorious Kahrizak detention center died under suspicious circumstances at the age of 26 on Tuesday, November 10, according to Iranian media reports. He had been called as a witness before the special committee investigating the abuse and deaths of post-election protesters and had refused to validate the regime's attempts to whitewash the atrocities. (For a report on Pourandarjani's death, updated at 12:00 PM GMT, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, go here)

A new video posted on the Internet shows Pourandarjani giving a speech at his medical school's graduation ceremony last year. His youthful idealism and words of farewell take on a new poignant meaning, given his untimely death. A translation of his speech follows the video.

Rest in peace.



Ramin Pourandarjani:

In the name of God. Greetings.

I'm speaking on behalf of all the friends (NB Pourandarjani uses the word bacheha, literally 'kids,' which is a term of endearment referring to friends and peers.) who are present here today to celebrate their graduation in the company of their families, friends, and professors.

I must start by welcoming our dear guests. I begin with our inestimable professors who have gone to the trouble of coming to this celebration where, as a result of their hard work, we will spread our wings and take flight for the first time. Their presence strengthens our hearts. We kiss your hands and will forever cherish your efforts.

Next, I would like to welcome our honorable mothers and fathers who have gone to the trouble of coming here from Tabriz and other parts of Iran. (NB Pourandarjani was buried in Tabriz on Thursday, November 12) We cannot repay you for your efforts. We only hope that we will bring you pride and not shame.

My next remarks are directed at the kids. Kids, seven years have gone by, more or less. We have shared many, many memories over the course of these seven years, some bitter, some sweet. Memories that are perhaps difficult to understand for someone who has not been a medical student. From running in the hallways to delay a biochemistry exam, to the exhausting shifts in the emergency rooms. We've had so many memories.

And now the day of farewell has arrived. Farewell is a bitter word, but we've come together to bid each other a sweet goodbye.

Kids, the emergency room shifts were tough, the shifts as interns were tough. We were sometimes so exhausted. We used to chat with each other. One of the kids said, What did we get ourselves into? And then a long debate would be launched, at the end of which we would reach the conclusion that if we turned back the clocks a thousand times, we would still make the same choice that we made seven years ago.

Kids, we are the heirs of great individuals. Men such as Rhazes, Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Hakim Jorjani. From the start of human history, a great and sacred spirit has been passed down through these celebrated figures to us, in the form of our white coats. Our professors, who are present here, awakened this spirit in our hearts.

And kids, we are here today to say that we will continue on our path, with love.

O wine-bearer brighten my cup with the wine,
O minstrel say good fortune is now mine.
The face of my Beloved is reflected in my cup,
Little you know why with wine, I always myself align.
Eternal is the one whose heart has awakened to Love,
This is how Eternal Records my life define.

(NB The start of ghazal number 11, by the beloved Hafez, 1315-1390. Translation courtesy of Shahriar Shahriari.)

Student criticizes Khamenei at official gathering

(photos of Wednesday's event courtesy khamenei.ir)

A lone student at a gathering of the country's academic elite took the unprecedented step of criticizing Leader Ali Khamenei in his presence on Wednesday morning, according to the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and opposition news sites.

The young man, initially called 'a mathematics student at Sharif University and a winner at the International Mathematics Olympiad' by Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, made his remarks after the official speakers had completed their speeches and before Khamenei was to make his address. The student has since been identified as Mahmoud Vahidnia. The gathering at Khamenei's complex in north Tehran preceded the 3rd National Conference of Young Elites.

Sharif University students news site reported that Vahidnia has been in the custody of the intelligence unit of the Revolutionary Guards since Thursday evening. The conservative Alef web site, run by Principlist lawmaker and head of the Majlis Research Center Ahmad Tavakoli, claimed yesterday that Vahidnia was not arrested and published an interview with the Sharif University student. Whatever the truth of the matter, it is interesting to note that Alef described Vahidnia as 'a young academic elite who courageously voiced some criticisms.'

Vahidnia spoke for close to 20 minutes despite the protests of some of the spectators. As Khamenei looked on, he critiqued the state radio and television networks; the stifling security climate surrounding the press; the inability to voice criticism against the Supreme Leader; and the power structure in the country embodied by the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi.

The ambience at the gathering suggests that Khamenei did not expect the unscheduled speaker to voice such concerns, but that once the student had begun his criticism it would have been hard to silence him without loss of face in front of hundreds of the nation's academic elites. Khamenei has also played the part of a self-sacrificing innocent on past occasions, most famously at Tehran Friday Prayers, but his magnanimous calls of 'Well, if a few people want to attack me, let them' were always met with the wailing tears of the attendants.

Once he was at the lectern, the Sharif Univrsity student said that the previous speakers who had read from sheets of paper did not represent all the country's elites and that no one had elected them, said an individual who was present at the gathering. The eyewitness said that this first comment was greeted with applause.

Vahidnia denounced state radio-television's skewed coverage of the post-election events and the character assassination of popular figures. He reminded the participants that the head of the state media is named by the Supreme Leader. 'The radio and television networks operate under you and you name the head of the broadcaster. Either the broadcaster is acting this way according to your orders or you are not overseeing it,' said the student, according to the Voice of America. The Sharif University student also regretted the closure of opposition newspapers.

Vahidnia bluntly declared that the Leader should be open to criticism and that Khamenei's entourage had turned him into an idol, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi. An eyewitness at the event reported that the young man said, 'When you, who are a father figure, treat your opponents in a certain manner, lower-level officials display the kind of behavior that everyone knows about and everyone knows about what occurred in the prisons.'

The student added that the current power structure, including the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, is detrimental to religious democracy.

Though regime and opposition sources diverge on some of the details, the account of the events published by the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader's personal archives, is extraordinary nonetheless.

student returns to seat'After the last person who was programmed to express his views, the participants awaited the words of the Leader of the Revolution, but he asked the master of ceremonies, "Is there anyone left among the friends who were supposed to speak?"' wrote Khamenei's office. The master of ceremonies responded, 'With your permission, every one of the thousand people here would like to talk,' to great laughter.

At this point, several students stood up and were asked to sit back down by the organizers of the ceremony. 'But the Leader pointed to one of those young people and said, "That gentleman who was standing and was forced to sit down... You go ahead,"' according to Khamenei's office.

'The young student stood up and began speaking. Since the Leader could not hear him, he came to the lectern and, after introducing himself, began his comments. His words had a different tone compared to the previous speeches.'

'Do our radio and television networks present a true picture of the world and our country, or a false and caricature-like picture?' Vahidnia asked. 'Does state radio-television allow different opinions to defend themselves? Opinions which are criticized and even attacked in this same media outlet? Does state radio-television quote individuals and describe events in an honest and fair manner?'

The student then turned to the topic of critiquing the Supreme Leader. 'I have been reading newspapers and magazines in a serious manner for four or five years. In all this time, I cannot remember reading one article which has criticized the Leadership. Critiques of the Leader can be voiced generally or expressed in particular in the Assembly of Experts,' the student said, according to Khamenei's office. 'I feel that if this does not happen, it will lead to discord and spite. For example, a simple critical observation, because it does not find the proper place to express itself, can become malicious and unfair.'

As he had been speaking for a long time, the student asked Khamenei if he could continue, according to the Leader's personal office.

But the eyewitness who was invited to the event said that the Sharif University student had been heckled by a few Basijis throughout his comments and that someone finally handed a piece of paper to Vahidnia. After reading the note, the young man turned to Khamenei and said that he had been told his time had run out and he asked to continue. The Basijis called out a prayer and told the student to 'finish it up.'

Khamenei responded however, 'I would like you to continue. Time had already run out earlier, but you go ahead.'

Vahidnia began speaking about the way security forces had confronted demonstrators after the election. 'If we had more convincing methods and did not employ violence except when necessary, would our regime not endure better? Would our people not be more united? Because I believe that true unity, more than something which is obtained through advice, is the result of the behavior of the people towards the government and the behavior of the government towards the people.'

Once the Sharif University student had finished, several individuals stood up in protest and asked to respond, according to Khamenei's web site. The eyewitness at the event said that the student was applauded enthusiastically.

'His very words show that criticism is possible,' said one participant, according to the ayatollah's office. The Leader said, 'Put this down to the lack of time and show tolerance. God willing, God will give us the capacity to understand properly, see properly, and speak properly.'

'It was now the host's turn, and everyone impatiently awaited the Agha's words or, to better describe it, his reaction,' said Khamenei's office, using the term which means sir or gentleman, and refers to the Leader. According to the eyewitness at the gathering, Khamenei appeared somewhat disconcerted and said that he had not wanted to talk about such issues and that he would have preferred to discuss scientific and academic topics.

'In these student and university events that take place here, when I see some people not express comments that they think I don't like out of regard or respect... I am upset when they are not uttered. I am absolutely not upset when they are uttered,' said Khamenei, according to his office. 'How I wish that the opportunity existed for these things to be said, so that one could bind those pages together and open the book of utterances, so that many truths could come to light.'

The Leader said that he was also dissatisfied with some of the actions of the state radio-television, but that, as ususal, he considered fairness to be the necessary condition for healthy criticism.

But in response to the student's question about the accuracy of the state media's portrayal of the country, Khamenei while agreeing with the criticism, turned it on its head and made the strange observation that, 'The picture is incomplete. There are many noteworthy and great advances that Iranian radio and television do not show. [...] If radio-television could properly reflect the truth in the country, in the same way that the television in this or that western country can portray lies as truth by employing great experience and through artistic exploitation, the young generation would have much greater devotion to its country, its religion, and the regime of the Islamic Republic.'

And Khamenei's response to the coverage of the election was equally equivocal. 'I'm dissatisfied with many of the programs of the [state radio-television.] I was not pleased that, from March and even before, there was television coverage of some of the election campaign trips, comments that were made, demonstrations that took place, and disputes that existed.' Many observers were amazed at the extraordinary openness of the media coverage of the presidential election campaign, which reached a climax with a series of unprecedented and heated debates between the candidates. Khamenei apparently regrets the lack of censorship during those few months.

As for criticism of the Supreme Leader, Khamenei said, 'I didn't say that no one should criticize me. I welcome criticism. And, of course, people do criticize. It is not the place to explain this point. There is criticism, much criticism, not a little criticism. I receive these and understand them.'

A Basiji stood up at this point and cried out that he would like to come up and kiss Khamenei's hand, said the eyewitness at the gathering. Khamenei pulled out his kerchief and left it for him, before disappearing behind the curtain at the rear of the stage. The elite had been told that Khamenei would lead a prayer at the end of the ceremony, but his hasty departure precluded that.

According to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, Vahidnia was confronted by intelligence agents after the ceremony.

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Basij forces enter Azad University - Update

As previously reported, Basij forces clashed with Azad University students yesterday.

This new video purports to show a Basiji exasperated by the students' disregard for his calls to leave the premises. He may be an employee of the university, but his black shirt seems to indicate he participated in the Basij ceremony held in the university's mosque to mark the martyrdom of the 6th Imam.

Man in black: 'Just leave. You're killing me. Just go ahead and leave, ey baba! (Oh daddy, an exclamatory phrase) Leave, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, leave. I'm pleading with you sisters to leave. Go ahead. Engineers of tomorrow, please go ahead. It's closed, leave. You're making me dizzy.'

Basij forces enter Azad University

Police were stationed outside Tehran's Azad University and Basij forces entered the main building to prevent student demonstrations today.

According to a student leader contacted by Radio Farda, Azad University students had made plans days ago for a protest on Tuesday. But about one hundred Basijis from Amir Kabir, Science and Industry, and Tehran universities were bused in today, ostensibly for a ceremony at Azad Universy's mosque marking the martyrdom of the 6th Imam. Once the mosque ceremony ended, the Basijis began insulting Azad University students and chanting 'Death to hypocrites!' The Basijis allegedly assaulted several students, but were soon overwhelmed by some 2,000 students who left their classes at noon break. Police and plainclothesmen were called in later in the day. They checked the mobile telephones of students as they left the campus. Nevertheless footage of the events managed to make its way onto the Internet.

This footage was filmed outside the university and shows security forces stationed on the street.


'Free thought is not possible with beards and whiskers!' 'Ahmadi, you clown, the 63% is here!' 'Long live Mousavi, may Karroubi stand long!' 'Oil money has been lost, it's been used to pay for Basijis!'


Black-clad Basij goons rough up a student in a classroom. Old habits die hard even when you're being filmed:


'Ahmadi you midget, you still call this football!?' (Referring to Ahmadinejad's comments on June 14, when he said that the protesters were like football hooligans unhappy because their side had lost a match) 'This is what a quota student looks like!' (Referring to university quotas for Basij members) 'Death to the Taliban, whether in Kabul or Tehran!'


'They've arrested someone!' shouts one student. 'Basiji get lost!' the crowd shouts, before singing a hymn of the student movement 'Yareh Dabestani Man.' Some Basijis can be seen filming the protesters.


'They've used pepper spray!' said the student who filmed this footage.


Students take this Basij leader, referred to as Mr. Abbasi, to task for using tear gas. The Basij leader says that a university is not the place to shout slogans and denies Basijis used tear gas. Protesters claim that the Basijis who have entered the campus are not students there: 'This one asked me where the elevator was. What kind of student is that?'


Azad University has been the scene of regular protests since the start of the academic year.