Elite Iranian university expels 6 students over alleged involvement in January protests

Iran’s top engineering university has expelled six students over their alleged involvement in anti-government protests earlier this year, local media reports.

What began in December as cost-of-living protests escalated into anti-establishment demonstrations across the country that peaked in January, though smaller rallies continued on campuses in the weeks that followed.

“The Disciplinary Committee of Sharif University of Technology, in separate preliminary rulings, expelled six students for their alleged roles in the unrest of February,” Fars news agency reports.

According to Fars, the students are accused of leading illegal gatherings, using insulting language, engaging in activities against the Islamic republic and committing other disciplinary violations.

It is not clear whether the students also face charges before Iran’s criminal or revolutionary courts.

The agency say they had been accused of displaying and promoting the Lion and Sun emblem, which appeared on Iran’s flag before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled US-backed leader Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

The symbol is widely used by opponents of the Islamic Republic, including supporters of exiled prince Reza Pahlavi.

The anti-government protests in January were met with a bloody crackdown that killed thousands.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.