Iranian authorities make arrests after student murder sparks protests

Witnesses say teenager was fatally stabbed in attempted robbery

Amir Mohammad Khalegi, a student at Tehran University, was killed on Wednesday night, sparking protests over inadequate campus security. Photo: LinkedIn

Iranian authorities on Saturday said they arrested several suspects in the murder of a student at Tehran University that triggered a night of protests and outcry.

There were protests at Tehran University on Friday night after assailants on a motorbike fatally stabbed a 19-year old student. Accounts of Amir Mohammad Khalegi’s stabbing on Wednesday vary but some witnesses said he was killed in a robbery attempt.

"The perpetrators have been arrested and are being questioned," the judiciary's spokesman Asghar Jahangir told state television.

Students initially protested against the lack of safety on campus, but the situation escalated after security forces arrested some of the demonstrators, many of whom later chanted slogans against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary force founded after the country’s 1979 revolution which installed theocratic rule.

Fars News Agency reported that he was buried in his hometown on Saturday.

Science Minister Hossein Simaei Sarraf said that the head of Tehran University's dormitory management had resigned in the wake of the killing.

The minister also denied reports that students had been arrested following the protests.

The IRGC holds sway over Iranian politics and is often the target of protesters’ anger, along with the Basij paramilitary force tasked with putting down street protests.

Demonstrations have been on the rise in Iran in recent months, fuelled by widespread electricity shortages, caused by long-term underinvestment in power infrastructure, while others protest against cuts to benefits.

While many protests are small scale, they can quickly escalate. In September 2022, protests began outside a hospital where Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish student, was being treated after being allegedly beaten by police for violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

When she died of her injuries, protests escalated into a nationwide crisis that saw hundreds killed and thousands arrested, and strike action across multiple industries.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani spoke about the Tehran University protests on Friday on X. “The security of students and the peace of families is a duty and priority for the government. We invite everyone to keep the path of dialogue open by maintaining peace,” she said.

State news agency IRNA reported that Tehran University caretaker head, Hossein Hosseini, expressed sympathy with the university students by attending their gathering on Friday night.

“Right now, we are all in an emotional atmosphere, but starting tomorrow, we must carefully address the demands in an expert atmosphere and with the presence of student representatives,” he was quoted as saying.