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Iranian Student Protests of July, 1999 (Also known as 18th of Tir and Disaster of the University Dormitories (Persian: فاجعه کوی دانشگاه ) in Iran) were the most widespread and violent public protests in Iran, after the early years of the Islamic Republic. The protests began on the eve of July 9, 1999 (18th Tir of year 1378 in the Persian calendar), after a peaceful demonstration by a group of students of Tehran University, against the closure of the reformist newspaper, Salam, by the press court. Salam newspaper (Persian: روزنامه سلام) was operated by Militant Clerics League, the reformist political party to which the then President, Mohammad Khatami belonged to. Student groups which at the time were considered as one of the major supporters of Mr. Khatami and his reform programs, were protesting in support of Khatami against the closure of the newspaper by the hardline judiciary of the country, which was considered to be under the control of hardline opponents of President Khatami. Protests moved further to the student dormitories of University of Tehran during the night which was suppressed badly by the plain cloth Basij and Ansar-e-Hezbollah Militant groups. The police force which is also controlled by the hardline faction of the Iranian political establishment began to intervene in support of the militant groups after a few hours. It must be noted that the armed forces including the police force are not controlled by the President in Iran (See Politics of Iran). Hardliners and the police chased the students to the dormitories, inflicting heavy damages on both the rooms and the demonstrators. Street riots followed for almost a week, resulting in several arrests and injuries, and at least one confirmed fatal shooting resulted in death of Ezzat Ebrahim Nejad. However, major students' movements and foreign media claimed more than 17 dead during the week of violent protest. Major Iranian cities such as Tabriz, Mashad, Shiraz and Isfahan were scenes of violence and protests as well. The protests continued at Tabriz University in July 11, 1999 (20th Tir) and police and hardliners did the same to the students of Tabriz universities and schools. They entered the university, and they harmed students brutally and at least 2 students were killed and some were badly injured or arrested. After the incident, the 18th of Tir protests have become a symbol of violent struggle against the clerical establishment of Iran. As of 31 July 2006, several students involved in the demonstration were still in jail. Of those students, Akbar Mohammadi died of a hunger strike while protesting against his prison sentence *.
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