Saccad Radmehr, Feraz Zehtab, and Aydin Xacei were arrested at the entrance
to the university in northern Iran. None have been heard from since their
arrest. Aydin Xacei^s brother Ramin
told RFE/RL^s Azerbaijani Service that their home was searched
immediately after the arrest. He said his brother was "kidnapped" by police
who "did not show any document or order."
Ramin Xacei said he assumes his brother was arrested for his activity on the
cultural and language rights of the Azeri minority in Iran. He says that
anyone who demands the right to use their own language is "arrested and put
in jail." He said his brother has had problems at the university because of
his activities before, including being suspended for two semesters.
Saccad Radmehr had been denied the chance to read his thesis for months
until a protest campaign by other students, his sister Ilahe said. She said
she is now facing disciplinary action at the university herself because of
this. She said the pressure on ethnic-Azeri students has increased since the
May 2006 protests following a cartoon published by the official
"Iran" newspaper depicting ethnic Azeris as cockroaches.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Three_Azeri_Students_Arrested_In_Iran/1187785.html