Face biometrics at Iranian universities prompt fear of political silencing

As the Islamic Republic takes measures to silence academia, students at Iranian universities are facing tightened security measures such as facial biometric verification for the access of essential services, according to student groups across the country, says IranWire.

A video from the United Students Telegram released on October 1 shows school authorities requiring students from Shiraz University to submit a face scan in order to access food from self-service facilities.

Isfahan University students report having to submit face scans to obtain their new student cards. According to reports, although officers claim they need to take these measures to verify that someone is a student in the event of a lost or stolen card, students note that these measures were implemented after new cameras were installed across many college campuses.

Student union representatives also note that facial recognition cameras have been installed at entrances of female students’ dorms at the Isfahan University of Arts.

Schools are dealing with mysterious restrictions that may be related to facial recognition matches. Posts on the Newsletter Telegram channel at Amirkabir University recount students being denied physical entry to the school without any order from the disciplinary committee or university president, and separately threatened with detention, all on dubious legal grounds.

Amirkibir students claim that agents are patrolling the university premises in informal uniforms as part of efforts to create tensions in the university’s environment.

Administrators suspended Beheshti University Economics and Political Sciences professor Yadullah Dadgar after he was involved in a collective letter in which university professors voiced support for student protesters. At least 58 professors have been suspended since Ebrahim Raisi began his Presidency of Iran in August 2021.

Dr. Mohsen Borhani, who was one of the professors suspended from Tehran University, claims authorities started the removals of professors before the eruption of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests of 2022.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Iran  |  schools  |  surveillance