Following the arrest of Dr. Mostafa Mehrāyin, a group of professors, teachers, researchers, and academics in Iran issued a statement in which they reacted to this action and described it as a cause for concern over the ongoing restriction of the university institution and the suppression of independent thought.
In this statement, signed by 87 academics and educators, they declared: “The university is a home for critique, not a field of repression.” Referring to Dr. Mehrāyin’s scholarly and social activities in the humanities, the signatories deemed his arrest to be contrary to the dignity of the university.
The statement, emphasizing that the university is a place for questioning and critique, condemned any security-oriented measures against professors, researchers, and intellectuals, describing them as a threat to the academic environment and to society’s trust in the university institution.
The statement continues: “The arrest of a university professor—not on account of scholarly activities, but as part of a sustained pattern of pressure on universities and the undermining of academic independence in Iran.” The signatories have called for the immediate release of Dr. Mehrāyin and warned that remaining silent in the face of this trend amounts to collusion in the disintegration of the nation’s sphere of thought.
These academics also urged officials, instead of ignoring the expectations of the scholarly community, to commit themselves to restoring the dignity of the university and of its professors.
At the close of the statement, the academics invited other colleagues to join them, declaring that they will not remain silent in defense of the university’s independence and the dignity of its professors.
Among the signatories are Dr. Javad Emami (Iran University of Science and Technology), Dr. Aziz Norouzi Zargāni (Shiraz University), Dr. Hasan Bāqeri-Niyā (Hakim Sabzevari University), and Dr. Abolfazl Shabān (Jahrom University).
