Universities and students have long been at the forefront of the struggle for greater social and political freedoms in Iran. In 1999, students protested the closure of a reformist daily, prompting a brutal raid on the dorms of Tehran University that left one student dead. Over the years, the authorities have arrested student activists and leaders, sentencing them to prison and banning them from studying. The activist HRANA news agency says at least 700 university students have been arrested during the recent unrest. Many have faced sentences such as imprisonment, flogging, and dozens of students have been expelled from universities or suspended from their studies, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
