IJNHCR I Refwor ld Iran orders probe fit attack on studeits 1ttp://www.unhcr.org'cgi-bin /te ds/vtc/refwor1d/rwmain?page—printdoc. . .
Refworld ( ! !9UNHCR
7k Leader inReft 1 aDeth on sw an The UN Retugee Agency
Title Iran orders probe into attack on students
Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Country IsLamic RepubLic of Iran
Publication Date 17 June 2009
Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iran orders probe into attack on students, 17 June
2009, avaiLabLe at: http: //www. unhcr.org/refworLd/docid/4a4leOf8a. htmL [ accessed 19
October 2009]
Iran orders probe into attack on students
June 17, 2009
TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran's Interior Ministry has ordered an
investigation into an attack on university students, which
they say was carried out by Islamic militia and police.
Iran's English-Language Press TV said the ministry had “called
on Tehran's governor's office to identify those involved” in
the June 14 incident. It did not make clear whether the
ministry itself would also look into it.
It came a day after Iran's influential speaker of parliament,
Mi Larijani, condemned the attack on the dormitory of
The Tehran University dorm after the attack by
security forces on June 14. Tehran University.
One student activist who declined to be named told Reuters
on June 16 that four students — three men and one woman — were killed during the violence.
Tehran University Chancellor Farhad Rahbar denied anyone had been killed, the students news
agency ISNA reported.
The incident took place during widespread street unrest sparked by official results showing hard-line
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad won a landslide against moderate Mir Hossein Musavi in last week's
election.
Thousands of students have joined protests against what they say was a rigged vote, a charge
dismissed by the authorities. Anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrators and riot police have clashed in the
capital Tehran and elsewhere.
Hundreds of students staged a sit-in protest for a second day on June 17 against the dormitory
attack and suspected election irregularities, an activist told Reuters.
Press TV said the Tehran governor's office had also been told to “deal with complaints” made by the
students.
Iran's most prominent university has traditionally been a hotbed of dissent, before and after the
1979 Islamic Revolution.
Larijani, a conservative who has been critical of Ahmadinejad in the past, said on June 16 the
Interior Ministry should be held accountable for the university incident, as it was in charge of
security.
1 of2
10/19/2009 4:24 PM
UNHCR I Refwor ld Iran orders probe lit attack on studeits http://www ,un1rr ,org/cgi-bin/te ds/vtc/rthvor1d/rwmain?page—printdoc , . .
He did not say who had carried out the attack, but students told Reuters members of the religious
Basij militia and plainclothes policemen did it.
Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who
has the final say on all matters of state in Iran.
During the past three days of violence, police have accused “bandits” of setting buses on fire,
breaking windows of banks and other buildings, and damaging public property.
Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
2of2 10/19/2009 4:24 PM
