On the evening of October 1, 2022, a number of security forces in plain clothes entered Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and attacked students. In addition to beating some of them, they also arrested several students. According to reports, especially those published by the Islamic Association of Sharif University on their Telegram channel, security forces were shooting at students using rubber bullets and paintballs. The released images show some students seeking refuge in the university parking lot, but plainclothes officers chase them and shoot at them (with paintball bullets).

This is a short account of the latest attack by security forces on students and universities in Iran. The law enforcement and security agents of the Islamic Republic have previously attacked the dormitory of Tehran University twice, on June 14, 2009 and July 9, 1999, and after severely beating the students, took some of them with them.

The notable point is that at the end of none of these three attacks, no individual or organization was held responsible for the entry of security and law enforcement forces into universities and their subordinates, the beating of students, and the destruction of their property. Even in the court that was later formed for the case of the attack on the university alley in Tir 1378, all the police commanders at the time were acquitted, and only one soldier named Arvaj Ali Babarzadeh was convicted of stealing a razor. Babarzadeh was later promoted in the police force and in 2018, as a colonel, he was put in charge of all the major police stations in Masoudieh, Tehran.

Although at least two attacks (in Khordad 1388 and Mehr 1401) by security and law enforcement forces on students inside universities and their affiliated institutions have occurred after the ban on armed forces entering universities and their affiliated institutions was approved in Mordad 1379, the existence of this law has only resulted in mentioning the prohibition of attacks on universities by security and law enforcement forces after each attack, and no practical measures have been taken to hold accountable those responsible. Now the question is, why do we still witness attacks by security and law enforcement forces on students inside universities in Iran, despite the ban on armed forces entering universities?

Prohibition of armed forces entering the university; a law without enforcement guarantee.

The approval of the ban on armed forces entering universities and higher education centers in August 1379 (July 2000) was actually a reaction to the attack of security forces in plain clothes and police on Tehran University a year before. Especially since there was no law in this regard before the approval of this article, and the entry of armed forces into university environments and their affiliated institutions was not prohibited. In fact, it can be said that this legal vacuum allowed the judiciary to acquit all the commanders of the law enforcement forces who were involved in the attack on the university. Of course, these commanders should have been recognized as criminals for the excessive violence of their subordinates towards students and the destruction of their property, and as a result, their complete acquittal (despite the legal vacuum regarding the entry of armed forces into universities and their institutions) by the judicial system was neither legal nor fair.

Based on the prohibition of armed forces entering universities and higher education centers, the entry of members of armed forces, including police, IRGC, Basij, and Ministry of Intelligence officials, for security and law enforcement operations, including arrests and detentions, is prohibited. This provision, as it does not specify the armed status of the forces, has a broad scope and even prohibits unarmed officials of intelligence and security agencies from entering universities, places, and buildings under their jurisdiction for intelligence and security operations.

At the same time, this unit also has a provision that is a true reflection of its principle. According to this provision, the entry of armed forces into universities and their subsidiaries is authorized if requested by the university president and approved by the Minister of Science, Research and Technology. Otherwise, any unauthorized entry of armed forces into universities is prohibited.

Although it may seem that the mentioned clause has been drafted to preserve the security of university environments in necessary situations (such as armed conflicts or terrorist attacks), in practice, this clause has been placed against the main article and has rendered it ineffective in a way; especially since, unlike other countries where university presidents are usually chosen by the university’s board of trustees, which consists of individuals with academic and scholarly backgrounds, in Iran, university presidents are directly appointed by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and are essentially appointed by the government, not by the university itself.

This issue becomes particularly problematic when university presidents in Iran are replaced with the coming of new governments, and it is clear that the appointed presidents close to security circles easily issue permits for armed forces to enter universities; a problem that was most likely overlooked deliberately and knowingly by the sixth reformist parliament when approving this single clause.

An example of this issue was observed in practice in Khordad 1388 (May/June 2009); when the Special Police Forces of Tehran, along with a number of plainclothes officers, attacked the University of Tehran only three days after the start of protests against the results of the presidential election that year. In a film released later that year in Esfand (February/March), the Special Police Forces can be seen brutally beating students with unlimited violence.

In this regard, evidence shows that the special police forces of Tehran, with the coordination and permission of Farhad Rahbar, the former president of Tehran University, have entered the university campus. This was later confirmed by Mohsen Koohkan, the former representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and spokesperson of its presiding board. Although this issue was denied by Farhad Rahbar, the lack of a legal case against the former commanders of Tehran police, especially Azizollah Rajabzadeh, the former commander of Tehran police, and the commander of the special police unit in Tehran, shows that there has been no legal violation by the judiciary and the police had the necessary permission to enter the university.

The contradiction between the main clause and its exception does not end here. The granting of permission for the entry of armed forces to university presidents and the Minister of Science, Research and Technology is conditional on their power and authority, while the university presidents and the Minister of Science have no other power or authority to control their performance, and these forces are not under the command of the university president or the Minister of Science and directly receive orders from their military commanders. It is clear that granting the authority to decide on the entry or non-entry of armed forces to university presidents in such conditions is neither rational nor in line with legal standards of legal responsibility.

On the other hand, it is not clear who is responsible for the illegal actions of armed forces in the university when they enter with the permission of the university president; the university president or the security forces commanders? For example, if the police forces enter the university or student dormitories with permission and illegally destroy the students’ property, which entity is legally responsible for this destruction? It is clear that from a legal perspective, in theory, this responsibility falls on the police commanders, but in practice, does the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology have enough power to hold the security entity accountable?

Contradictions exist in the prohibition of armed forces entering universities and higher education centers, especially with the occurrence of at least two violent attacks after the implementation of this law (June 2009 and September 2022). This shows that the current law lacks the capacity and ability to protect students and universities against attacks by security and law enforcement forces.

Failure to predict the responsibility of violators in case of violating the law, lack of proportionality of the clause with its subclause, and especially the inability and inaction of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology to respond to security and law enforcement agencies in their performance, the issuance of permits for their entry into the university, and the lack of acceptance of responsibility by the involved institutions (university, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and security-law enforcement institution) in similar cases, reflects the fact that the approval of this clause in the sixth parliament in 1379 in Iran was probably only a reaction to the demands of the student movement at the time from the reformists.

It is clear that the numerous contradictions in this law do not absolve the responsibility of security and law enforcement agencies for its violation, nor does it reduce the responsibility of university presidents and the Ministry of Science. However, it is a fact that the ban on the entry of armed forces into universities and higher education centers is one of the major laws passed in Iran that is not being enforced.