Persian2English

From left to right: Mehdi Arabshahi, Bahareh Hedayat, Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Vefghi, Ali Niko Nesbati, and Hanif Yazdani. از چپ به راست:مهدی عربشاهی،بهاره هدایت،محمد هاشمی،علی وفقی،علی نیکو نسبتی و حنیف یزدانی

Four years ago, on July 9, 2007 (the eighth anniversary of the 1999 Iranian student uprising), six members of the central council of Tahkim Vahdat (student alumni organization) protested at Polytechnic University (Amirkabir University of Technology).

Some minutes after the above picture was taken by currently imprisoned student activist Milad Asadi, the six protesters were arrested and transferred to ward 209 of Evin prison.

From left to right: Mehdi Arabshahi, Bahareh Hedayat, Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Vefghi, Ali Niko Nesbati, and Hanif Yazdani.

Mehdi Arabshahi, Hanif Yazdani, Ali Niko Nesbati, Mohammad Hashemi, and Ali Vefghi are currently not in prison. Milad Asadi, Ali Malihi (who played a behind-the-scenes role in this protest), and Bahareh Hedayat are currently imprisoned.

Following the attack on this protest, the Tahkim Vahdat office was also attacked. More than 18 people were arrested, including Abdollah Momeni.

Abdollah Momeni smiles for the camera and gives the "V" sign during a cabin visit with his family in Evin prison on Monday. Momeni is currently held in ward 350 of Evin prison and he was among the 12 political prisoners recently on hunger strike to protest against the deaths of Haleh Sahabi and Hoda Saber.

MORE INFORMATION ON 18 TIR

Ahmad Batebi at the 18 Tir demonstration at the University of Tehran in July 1999. Batebi was consequently arrested. He is now free and continues his work as a human rights activist for Iran.

18 Tir is the day that human rights activists and Iranians remember the “bloody uprising of students” on July 9, 1999 in Iran. The protests began on July 8, 1999 with peaceful demonstrations in Tehran against the closure of the reformist newspaper, Salam. Following the demonstrations, a student dormitory was brutally attacked and raided by riot police. The raid sparked six days of protests throughout the country. During the bloody events at the University of Tehran, a large number of students either disappeared or were arrested, killed, or injured. An official report was never published. 18 Tir is considered to be the first widespread and violent public protest in Iran since the early years of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

18 Tir marked the beginning of the Iranian people’s peaceful struggle for democracy. Students endured much grief in the following years with imprisonment, torture, and the inability to continue their education or work. Now, 12 years after 18 Tir, and more than two years since the revived uprising of the Iranian people, the demands for democracy and freedom are still going strong.

VIDEO IN TRIBUTE TO 18 TIR

JULY 9, 2011: Heavy security presence in Tehran on the 12th anniversary of 18 Tir in Iran

On July 7, 2010, Persian2English published a translation of the letter written by imprisoned student leader Majid Tavakoli for the occasion of the 18 Tir anniversary titled, “My Bitter Memories”. He wrote this letter from ward 350 of Evin prison. Majid Tavakoli is a Tehran Polytechnic university student (Amirkabir University of Technology). READ LETTER

ALSO READ (originally published in July 2010): 18 Tir Message from the Islamic Association of Students for Democracy at the University of Tehran and Medical School

Human rights activists honoured 18 Tir in Washington DC on July 8th by setting up a display in support of imprisoned student activist Bahareh Hedayat and other political prisoners.

تاریخچه جنبش دانشجویی ایران

چهار سال پیش،18 تیرماه 1386،هشتمین سالگرد فاجعه کوی دانشگاه..، سر در دانشگاه پلی تکنیک تهران،تحصن اعتراضی شش نفر از اعضای شورای مرکزی دفتر تحکیم وحدت در جو پلیسی امنیتی..این بچه ها چند دقیقه بعد از این عکس بازداشت و به بند209 زندان اوین منتقل شدند

از چپ به راست:مهدی عربشاهی،بهاره هدایت،محمد هاشمی،علی وفقی،علی نیکو نسبتی و حنیف یزدانی

مهدی عرب شاهی خوشبختانه در زندان نیست. میلاد اسدی که عکس را گرفته است در زندان است. علی ملیحی هم که در پشت صحنه این تجمع و در طراحی ان تا حدی نقش داشت در زندان است. بهاره هدایت عزیز در زندان است. حنیف و علی نیکو نسبتی و محمد هاشمی و علی وفقی ازاد هستند.

بعد از حمله به این تحصن به دفتر سازمان ادوار حمله شد و بیش از 18 نفر بازداشت شدند که عبدالله مومنی هم بازداشت شد.