Ministry 'Working' To Release Students
Iran's Science Minister Mansour Gholami said that about a quarter of the students arrested during the antigovernment protests have since been released, though he failed to give any exact numbers.
The ministry is "working to obtain the release of all students," Gholami told the online news portal Etemaadonline.
Student Arrests
Tehran University Vice-President Majid Sarsangi told ISNA news agency that the university had set up a committee to track the fate of students arrested during the antigovernment protests.
"Our efforts at the university are aimed at cooperating with the relevant authorities to create the conditions for the return of the detained students to the university and their families in the shortest possible time," Sarsangi said on January 6.
Detainees 'Freed'
Alireza Rashidian, the governor of Khorasan Province, in northeast Iran, says 85 percent of protesters detained there have been freed after signing a pledge not to re-offend, via the ISNA news agency.
The provincial capital, Mashhad, was where the first protests erupted on December 28. Since then there have been several antigovernment protests there.
"Those with a criminal record, or those charged with sabotage such a setting fire to motorcycles or damaging public buildings have been referred to judicial authorities," said Rashidian.
Based on figures announced by various officials, more than 1,700 people have been arrested since the start of unrest. The real number might be much higher, since provincial officials often do not provide exact figures.
Instagram Unblocked
Iranians say they can access Instagram again after it was blocked for the past week. The government has suspended access to the messaging app Telegram. Twitter and Facebook were already banned.