Young Woman Beaten and Raped at Mashhad University

Persian2English – In a rare incident a Ferdowsi University of Mashhad student was severely beaten and raped on campus by unidentified individuals last Friday night, according to Daneshjoo News. The abandoned student was eventually transferred to a hospital.

Upon hearing the news, a total of approximately 400 students gathered in protest the next morning. The students expressed their disgust about the situation to security forces and Mr. Ashouri, the university’s dean.

The students have declared that they will continue with sit-in protests to draw attention to the actions of university officials. Additionally, a number of student representatives visited the hospital to provide minute-by-minute reports on the abused young woman’s condition. The student representatives chanted at the hospital, “Ashouri, resign, resign”, “Lonely sister, we will reclaim your rights,” and “Students would rather die than accept humiliation.”

During the protest students demanded that the dean of the university join them to provide an explanation for the incident. When Mr. Ashouri did not come, the students headed to the campus.

It is unclear whether the unidentified individuals who are not students trespassed the high-security university premises or are staff members.

In 2008 at the University of Zanjan, doctor Maddadi, an assistant of cultural studies was arrested by students while raping a young woman student.

Persian2English editor’s note: It is possible that the Iranian government officials will attempt to threaten and/or imprison the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad students who protested instead of making full efforts to find the unidentified individuals who committed the crime. In 2008 at the University of Zanjan, Alireza Firoozi and Sourena Hashemi were arrested for protesting against Dr. Maddadi’s brutal behaviour. Alireza and Sourena are currently imprisoned in Evin. Dr. Maddadi was not charged for the crime nor did he spend any time in prison.