On December 7, armed government security forces arrested student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh in the city of Shiraz, as reported by the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA). Hosseinzadeh’s lawyer, Amir Raesian, tweeted that authorities are holding her in an undisclosed location without access to legal counsel.

Hosseinzadeh’s arrest comes two days after an appeals court upheld a five-year prison sentence handed to her in February 2021 for “assembly and collusion to act against national security.” Authorities were initially allegedly motivated to arrest Hosseinzadeh for her participation in a peaceful gathering at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, which was celebrating an imprisoned student activist’s birthday.

Hosseinzadeh’s arrest and treatment carry a cruel irony, as December 7 – National Student Day in Iran – is meant to commemorate the killing of three University of Tehran students by Iranian security forces in 1953. Her case also underscores the sustained government repression of peaceful student activists in recent years. Some, like Hosseinzadeh, face harsh prison terms and subsequent restrictions on their peaceful activities – which an Iranian parliamentarian once described as a “preventative” measure. Others have been threatened with being barred from pursuing their education any further.

Authorities should immediately disclose Hosseinzadeh’s location and provide her with access to legal counsel and contact with her family. The government should stop repressing peaceful dissent.