“We are shocked and saddened by the death of Mahsa Amini. As a university that stands for democracy, human rights and open society we deplore the systematic discrimination against women, the imposition of discriminatory dress codes that deprive women of their bodily autonomy and their freedom of opinion, expression, and assembly,“ stated CEU President and Rector Shalini Randeria. “We are deeply concerned about the continuing crackdown by the Iranian authorities on peaceful protestors, who are exercising their basic human rights to free speech and assembly. We express our strong solidarity with the people of Iran, especially our Iranian students and alumni. We call upon the Iranian government to respect the Universal Declaration of Human rights and international conventions on political freedom. We support the principles of freedom of speech, and in particular Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that grants everyone the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association,” Randeria concludes.
