18 Tir 1378 - 9 July 1999
18 Tir 1387 - 8 July 2008
The 9th Anniversary of the bloody and murderous regime’s repression of students demonstrations
Remembering the students who fought and died for freedom
"In the name of the God of Freedom..."
In an open letter published on 7 July Puran Ebrahim-Nejad honored her late brother Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad who was shot down by paramilitary Bassiji groups during student demonstrations in July 1999. She began her letter with the following phrase: "In the name of the god of freedom." In the letter she commemorated the student uprising on 9 July 1999 in which "the children of this country stood up against the dictatorship." She also mourned for Akbar Mohammadi, another protesting student who died in 2006 in the notorious Evin prison near Tehran after being arrested during the demonstrations.
The 9th anniversary of the student uprising is heavily monitored by the regime’s authorities. The student newspaper Autnews reports that 11 students have already been arrested in Tehran and Mashhad.
On 8 July 2008 the student organization Daftare Tahkime Wahdat described the current situation in a declaration as follows: "The 9th of July is coming in a dark climate, which doesn't allow students or freedom lovers to breathe. Last year many students wearing yellow Stars of David (to identify with the Jews who suffered under Nazi Germany) were not allowed to visit universities and many ended up in jail. Over 200 students were arrested and interrogated. Every protest was oppressed with severe methods. Arresting students advances the aim of producing a climate of fear in the society."