Free the imprisoned student activists! No to war, yes to solidarity with students, workers, women, LGBT people and national minorities in Iran!

Anoosheh Azaadbar, a student at Tehran University, is one of the fifty activists arrested in Iran since December 2007 – when the country’s theocratic capitalist regime began a crack down against the student movement. The students were arrested for seeking to organise protests on 16 Azar (7 December), the traditional Student Day on which students once protested against the US-backed tyranny of the Shah and now protest against the tyranny of the Islamic Republic.

One of the activists, Ebrahim Lotfollahi, is now dead, having supposedly committed suicide, while another, Behrooz Karimizadeh, is in hospital fighting for his life. Most of those arrested are socialists; they strongly oppose a US attack on Iran and have sought to link their fight to those of the powerful workers’ and women’s movements current challenging the Iranian regime. They have raised slogans like “No to war: the university is not an army garrison” and “The student movement is an ally of the workers’ movement.” They have drawn inspiration from struggles like those of the Tehran bus workers, whose leader Mansour Ossanlou - the current NUS Honorary Vice-President - has been in and out of prison for two years.

Anoosheh has now been released on bail; but by electing her our Honorary Vice- President we can show solidarity with those fighting to build a movement from below to smash the prison walls currently enclosing Iran’s workers, women, students, LGBT people and oppressed national minorities.

Anoosheh was nominated by students from 28 universities and colleges; her supporters include Education Not for Sale, Workers' Liberty students, Communist Students and activists including Sofie Buckland (NUS NEC); Kat Stark (NUS  Women's Officer); Laura Schwartz, Teodora Todorava, Sophie Day, Jo Fried, Cat Smith and Sam Lyle (NUS Women’s Committee); Rebecca Sawbridge (NUS Black Students’ Committee); Aled Dilwyn Fisher, Adam Ramsay and Tim Gee (Young Greens); Daniel Randall (NUS NEC 2005-6, Sheffield University); Laura Simmons (Park Lane College); Heather Shaw (Sheffield College); Koos Couvee (Sussex University Comms Officer); Darcy Leigh (Edinburgh Women of the World chair); Stephen Wood (Hull University LGBT and Hull Labour Club) and many more...