Solmaz Akbarzadeh, a law professor at Al-Zahra University in Bushehr, has been dismissed, joining a growing list of academics forced out of Iranian universities.
Akbarzadeh, who had four years of teaching experience in legal courses at the university, received the dismissal notice through a text message from the university’s security department.
As part of the ongoing crackdown on university faculty in Iran, Solmaz Akbarzadeh, a lawyer and law professor at Al-Zahra University in Bushehr, received a text message from the university security office informing her of her expulsion without providing any reasons. pic.twitter.com/GttS1FLxk5
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) July 20, 2024
The message reportedly used the phrase “termination of cooperation” instead of “dismissal” and emphasized confidentiality without providing any specific reasons for the action.
The dismissal is part of a trend in Iranian academia. Earlier this month, Rasoul Rasoulipour, a professor of philosophy, and Hossein Serajzadeh, a professor of sociology, both from Kharazmi University, were forced to withdraw from teaching.
Rasoulipour was just five years away from retirement.
In another high-profile case, Zahra Mousavi, daughter of imprisoned Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, was expelled from the Faculty of Arts at Al-Zahra University.
