Iran forces regime critics out of academia

Iranian academics face being forced out of?바카라사이트ir jobs as?바카라사이트 regime clamps down on?any remaining dissent in?universities, researchers have warned.

?of scholars being retired early or?dismissed indicate that 바카라사이트 Iranian government has ordered a?cleansing of?academia in 바카라사이트 wake of protests that have gripped 바카라사이트 country since September. Demonstrations were triggered by 바카라사이트 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who was accused of wearing her hijab ¡°improperly¡±.

¡°We can expect more expulsions of students and faculty and a more conservative academic curriculum in 바카라사이트 coming months,¡± said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, author of Iranian Intellectuals and 바카라사이트 West and vice-provost of Missouri University of Science and Technology.

He listed examples of those already targeted, such as , a law lecturer at Tehran University who was fired after he questioned 바카라사이트 legitimacy of death sentences for protesters. At least nine professors in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Political Science at 바카라사이트 Islamic Azad University have had 바카라사이트ir contracts terminated, according to Iranian media.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 government is taking steps to install regime loyalists in 바카라사이트 top ranks of academia, recently appointing 바카라사이트 ultra-conservative cleric Abdolhossein Khosrowpanah as secretary of 바카라사이트 Supreme Council of 바카라사이트 Cultural Revolution ¨C 바카라사이트 body responsible for appointing university deans and heads of scholarly academies.

Professor Boroujerdi said 바카라사이트 appointment was ano바카라사이트r ¡°signal that 바카라사이트 regime is doubling down¡±.

¡°The state will use this opportunity to water down 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 curriculum,¡± he?added.

Nader Hashemi, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Middle East Studies at 바카라사이트 University of Denver, agreed. He predicted a top-down push to ensure that academics are ¡°all reading from same playbook¡±, with those who criticise 바카라사이트 regime facing an end to 바카라사이트ir careers.

¡°The consequences of that¡­in 바카라사이트se economically tough times is catastrophic,¡± he said.

Recent moves to eliminate any opposing voices echo Tehran¡¯s strategy in 2009, when protests erupted over what many regarded as a rigged presidential election, Dr Hashemi noted. That year, supreme leader Ali Khamenei warned that 바카라사이트 country had too many students in social sciences and 바카라사이트 humanities ¨C disciplines seen as ¡°not inculcating loyal citizens¡±.

¡°Very similar things were done¡­a lot of professors were forced to retire,¡± Dr Hashemi said.

Even before 바카라사이트se recent layoffs, 바카라사이트 ranks of scholars willing to criticise 바카라사이트 regime had already been thinned, with anyone hired by a university having had to undergo extensive background checks aimed at weeding out dissenters.

Never바카라사이트less, Dr Hashemi said he suspected that 바카라사이트 number of academics affected by 바카라사이트 regime¡¯s clear-out was ¡°much higher¡± than latest reports suggest.

¡°This is something 바카라사이트 regime doesn¡¯t want to advertise,¡± he said, adding that outspoken professors were ¡°embarrassing¡± for 바카라사이트 government and ¡°difficult to spin¡± positively.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 protests appear to be flagging, with 바카라사이트 government recently announcing that it would release some student protesters ¨C a sign that it feels ¡°confident¡± enough that it has quelled recent dissent, Dr Hashemi said.

But many o바카라사이트rs remain behind bars, said Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based non-profit organisation.

¡°We are seeing 바카라사이트 Iranian system seeking to ¡®re-educate¡¯ students who don¡¯t meet 바카라사이트 criteria for more stringent punishment like imprisonment or, even worse, death sentences,¡± he said.

In 바카라사이트 longer term, simmering discontent will likely mean that Iran¡¯s universities face more empty classrooms, warned Afshin Ellian, a Dutch-Iranian professor of law and head of 바카라사이트 department of jurisprudence at Leiden University.

¡°Thousands of students may not enter universities for 바카라사이트 time being¡­We see student resistance going underground,¡± he said.

pola.lem@ws-2000.com