Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen students show solidarity with ‘brave’ protestors in Iran

People gathered at the Aberdeen University campus on Friday. Image: AUSA.
People gathered at the Aberdeen University campus on Friday. Image: AUSA.

Iranian students living in Aberdeen have held a peaceful demonstration and vigil in support of their home community.

Anti-government protests are being held in Iran in response to the death of a 22-year-old woman who was arrested for allegedly violating a strict dress code.

Over the past few weeks, protesters have spoken out against the treatment of women and repression within the Islamic republic.

The violence has led to dozens of deaths and been described as the “most widespread challenge” to Iran’s leadership in years.

Speakers shared their support for protesters in Iran at the Aberdeen University Campus. Supplied by AUSA.

Aberdeen ‘standing in solidarity’

Today, Iranian students from Aberdeen University, supported by the student union, invited people to join them on campus to speak up against the violence.

The peaceful demonstration took place on Elphinstone Lawn and around Elphinstone Hall from midday.

Nirvan Abedi, who is from Iran, thanked those who were standing in solidarity with his home country at this “tragic time”.

He said: “I believe it is very important to show our support for this brave movement and be the voice of those who are putting their lives in line in the hope that one day they would live in a democratic Iran.

“I also encourage everybody who is concerned about this situation to sign the UK Government petition to maintain the sanctions and introduce a visa ban on people linked to the Iranian regime.”

Dozens of people attended the freedom rally in Aberdeen. Supplied by AUSA.

Encouraged to reach out for support

The petition has been launched online calling for the government to stop any negotiations to ease sanctions on the Iranian regime until the human rights issues are resolved.

Further, it requests the immediate end to the issue or renewal of visas for those linked to the regime.

Sai Shraddha Suresh Viswanathan, the union’s vice president for welfare, added: “We as a students’ union stand in solidarity with the Iranian community, especially here at Aberdeen University.

“Being away from home and witnessing such atrocities is very hard. No one should be subjected to oppression. AUSA is here to provide support for all our students at any time and stand for their principles and rights. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.”

Conversation