Student protest in Iran

Adnkronos International:

Iranian students some carrying placards bearing the slogan "do not kill liberty and justice" have staged sit-in protests at university campuses in Tehran against a government order excluding from university assemblies student groups and other organisations who want a boycott of the country's presidential elections. The protests were organised by the country's main student organisation, Daftar Tahkim Vahdat and included the participation of several reformist MPs who have been excluded from standing in the elections, scheduled for 17 July.

Last week the Ministry of Intelligence issued a circular addressed to all the universities in the country, in which the chancellors were requested not to authorise any assembly or meeting with the participation of student leaders or personalities from the cultural world who have spoken out against the presidential vote.

Student leaders, many belonging to Daftar Tahkim Vahdat, were among the signatories of an appeal for a United Nations monitored referendum, allowing people in Iran to express their opinion on the nature of the Iranian political system and the separation of the state from religion.