'Betrayal': Student Organizations Slam Support for Iran Election

Five student organizations have issued a joint letter criticizing the support for Iran's upcoming presidential election, calling it "a betrayal" to those who sacrificed for freedom while giving tacit approval to the Islamic Republic. 

Published on Monday, the letter states that "there is no such thing as democratic elections in the Islamic Republic, the elections are only a mask for the truth of the regime's dictatorship."

The organizations argue that the 14th presidential election is not an exception in the Islamic Republic system, asserting that "all the candidates of this election circus have a long record of repression, crime, torture and harassment of the Iranian people."

The letter is signed by the Amirkabir Newsletter, Iranian Scholars For Liberty, We are Iranian Students, Ikoya International Association of Iranian Academics, and the University of Toronto Iranian Student Organization.

The organizations criticize several candidates specifically.

Masoud Pezeshkian, supported by the reformist faction, is accused of initiating the Cultural Revolution during his tenure as president of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. 

Talking about this aspect, the letter states, "A revolution that made many worthy professors of Iran housebound and imprisoned to ensure the totalitarianism of the Islamic Republic and the suppression of freedom seekers." 

They also highlight Pezeshkian's support for the IRGC's "terrorist operations" and his self-identification as an IRGC member.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, appointed as the head of Pezeshkians' campaign, is identified as "the main executor of the internet shutdown in the November 2019 massacre and the initiator of the criminal prosecution of social media users." 

The letter also notes his inclusion on the US sanctions list due to widespread violations of citizens' rights and internet shutdowns.

Mustafa Pourmohammadi is described as "the representative of the Ministry of Intelligence in the death committee in the political executions of the summer of 1989, and as an interrogator and torturer whose black record is obvious to everyone."

On the other hand, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is accused of having "a long history of suppressing the student movement, arresting intellectuals and restricting people's social freedoms under the title of moral security plan" and is labeled as "one of the most famous figures of economic corruption."

The letter asserts that "supporting the appointment of another agent of repression and crime to reach the presidency is a great betrayal of science, freedom of speech and the student movement of Iran."