EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Students at Michigan State University held a rally after the death of a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of Iranian morality police.
Wednesday’s rally featured speakers at MSU’s STEM Building, as well as some music performances.
The president of the MSU Iranian Student Association said the goal of the rally was to use freedom of speech to talk about the students who have been arrested in Iran.
“We are trying to stay hopeful and stay strong because we have the privilege to be able to freely speak,” said president Samin Aayanifard. “We have the freedom of speech here and we can speak about what is happening.”
The rally isn’t the only one that is putting pressure on the Iranian government.
Student organizers said that more than 200 other schools around the world are holding rallies, including the University of Michigan and Ohio State University.
“If students are attacked on one side of the word, its an attack on the community,” said Aayanifard.
An MSU international policy professor said while most protests are in solidarity with
“The fact that you see this global solidarity and the fact that you see political leaders taking this up. The fact that you see this in sporting events, right? It shows that it’s really infused in the public consciousness, and so if there is going to be success in terms of human rights changes in Iran, we start to see the right conditions emerge,” said MSU Professor Matt Zierler.