Iran’s top diplomats to Russia protested on Saturday against the use of excessive force by Russian police in breaking up a fracas in Kazan on Friday between foreign students including several Iranian students.
A local Kazan Telegram channel said the fight broke out on Friday when a few foreign students tried to jump the queue in front of those who had waited in line for hours to receive official documents. A fight broke out to which the police responded with force and arrested two students of unspecified nationality.
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“The office for work with foreigners at Kazan Federal University (KFU) is very inefficient. Because of the BRICS summit, many foreign students were able to return only in November, and then had to stand in line from 2 a.m. [just] to get [an entry] number.
“Many foreign students were unable to get one, and found out the visa extension period was less than 20 working days – as a result, they were made to sign an agreement to return to their country and wait for a new invitation to get a visa,” a student told the channel.
Videos posted by the channel showed police beating what appeared to be students involved in the brawl.
Davud Mirzakhani, Iran’s consul general to Russia, said Iranian students were arrested and subsequently released during a call published on social media by Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Mirzakhani also said the rights of Iranian students should be protected following the incident, as per Radio Liberty.
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“Iranian citizens studying abroad have the right to respect and fair treatment … We will ensure that the rights of our students are fully protected.
“The Russian police confuse the Iranian people with those of other nations … We will never allow anyone to treat our people abroad inhumanely and illegally,” Mirzakhani said.
Jalali also said the Russian officials responsible should be held accountable for the “unfortunate events.”
“Any inappropriate behavior towards Iranian students and citizens is to be condemned and Russian officials responsible should be held accountable for such unfortunate events. The issue of the inappropriate behavior that took place was taken under the strictest control,” Jalali said in a Saturday statement on X.
He added that the embassy and local authorities “have achieved good results and hope that the Russian officials in charge will urgently resolve this issue and take appropriate measures against the violators.”
Iran is Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East that has supplied Moscow with Shahed kamikaze drones and short-range missiles that it has continued to use in its invasion of Ukraine.
The online news outlet “bne IntelliNews” reported on Sunday that KFU would be increasing the number of service locations on Monday to allow international students to process their migration documents in an attempt to avoid a repetition of Friday’s scenes. This will include a mobile service point on the University Village Street and additional service points at the main office on Gvardeyskaya Street.
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