Iranian forces shoot at protesting students, lay siege to university

Authored by jpost.com and submitted by fiveMop

Iranian security forces laid siege to Sharif University in Tehran on Sunday night, trapping protesting students inside and shooting at them, as demonstrations across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini continued, according to footage and reports shared on social media.

Oct 2—Tehran, #Iran Security forces attacked students Sharif University of Technology and students are defending themselves, according to activists.#IranRevolution #MahsaAmini#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/aK6MDn7fy0 — Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) October 2, 2022

Earlier on Sunday morning, a video was shared showing students at the university chanting slogans using curse words against Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Later in the afternoon and evening, reports were shared online that security forces had blocked the entrances and exits to the campus and begun cracking down on the students, shooting at them and firing tear gas towards them.

فوریصدای تیراندازی، ورودی شمالی دانشگاه شریفاز وضعیت دانشجوهای بازداشتی تو پارکینگ خبری نیست؛ مردم جمع شدن جلوی در اصلی#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/YQQ5IpPZUA — Pouria Zeraati (@pouriazeraati) October 2, 2022

One video from the scene showed students running away from security forces in a parking garage at the university. A number of other videos showed security forces firing large number of bullets towards students on the campus.

PROTESTS BREAK out in Tehran over the death of Mahsa Amini. (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)

Amid the clashes, Iranian Science Minister Mohammad Ali Zolfigol arrived at the university and spoke with students, according to Iranian state media. The minister reportedly succeeded in allowing some of the students to leave the campus, but some students were still locked in the university as of Sunday night.

Later reports indicated that students were being moved to the dorms at the university in vans. Shortly afterwards, Iranian forces reportedly began firing towards the dormitories.

As reports of the situation at the university spread in the evening, civilians in Tehran were seen heading to the university in crowds, with videos reportedly showing heavy traffic headed towards the campus and crowds gathering in front of the campus.

Iranian protesters expressed concerns that security forces could repeat the massacres which took place during the Iran student protests in 1999.

Protests were also reported both inside and outside of universities in Tehran, Islamshahr, Mashhad, Sanandaj and Kermanshah, among other locations. Shop owners in multiple cities closed their businesses in solidarity with the protests.

In Tehran, protesters reportedly tore down street signs for "Palestine St." and "Islamic Republic St."

Amini was arrested by morality police officers in Tehran in mid-September, with her family and witnesses who were arrested with her saying that she was beaten by the officers in the van that brought her to the police station.

At the police station she collapsed and was brought to the hospital where she later died. Her relatives have told foreign media that they were kept largely in the dark about the situation, including an autopsy conducted recently.

Amini's death sparked nationwide protests that have escalated over the past couple of weeks in which dozens of protestors have been killed.

Eurovisionsongs on October 2nd, 2022 at 21:29 UTC »

Here are some events of the Sharif University Siege thus far;

Disclaimer: It is hard to verify the sources without internet but these accounts are all from reliable sources that has been updating live on the protests which reliable news outlets later confirms.

https://twitter.com/ajibzade/status/1576601795417149440 Students at Sharif University protesting.

https://twitter.com/pouriazeraati/status/1576659222132973569 Video showing police vehicles driving to the university.

https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576596305152864256 Video showing Students running from police who has them surrounded at the University parking lot.

https://twitter.com/Zirbazarche1/status/1576634212341669889 Picture of protestors gathering outside the University after the word had spread of the Siege

https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576635054981545984 Video showing the street of the University where you can hear guns being shot.

https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576654038640123904 Video showing police having a student in custody with clothes wrapped on his head, the police shoots the woman filming from her car.(with what looks like plastic bullets)

https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576665397427728384 Video showing protestors outside Shiraf University chanting "Death to dictator" and "Death to Khomeini".

https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576608741184544768 Message from one of the Students trapped in the University.

Edit; Update: https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1576702002238697472 an hour ago (1pm pacific) on the streets close to Sharif University

Update: https://twitter.com/pouriazeraati/status/1576717642664005633 A voicemessage from a student who was a captive in the University. Translation: "I just came from there, it was horrible. The students are still there, they fucked us up. We managed to escape. I was waiting for a friend when a guard came up to me and bashed my stomach with the top of his baton. It's very bad, I think there are still students there. We escaped because we had no other choice, but they are still there. We didnt do anything wrong."

sasherholmbi on October 2nd, 2022 at 20:31 UTC »

Reddit users please be our voice . My fellow friends in Sharif University Of Technology are now being surrounded by Islamic Republics police and other horrifying forces in the university. They are shooting students in their own university because they were protesting in it against the regime:) people from all around the capital rushed to them and as im speaking they are trying to fight with the forces outside and take students out. Similar to this event there was another horrific event which occurred on July 1999 and so many students got murdered in their own dorms. Please be our voice . Sharif University of Technology is one of the prestigious universities in the world and so many graduates of it are currently working all around the world in great companies such as google,meta and.. Help us. They shut down our Internet we are trying so hard to communicate with the world. Be our voice . Thank you .

MallowollaM on October 2nd, 2022 at 20:16 UTC »

What a horrific nightmare...