Two-minute read
In a startling admission, the Iranian regime’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei revealed that 90,000 students, schoolchildren, teachers, and ordinary citizens were prosecuted in the wake of the 2022 protests. Speaking to state media, Ejei stated, “In 2022, around 90,000 cases were filed… these included students, schoolchildren, teachers, men, women, and individuals from all walks of life.” He warned ominously: “Any individual summoned, convicted, or imprisoned can be exploited by the enemy.” This confession lays bare a regime that sees an entire generation as a threat to its survival.
According to state-run Tasnim News, Ejei emphasized that the judiciary worked with seminaries, Basij militias, universities, and educators to facilitate “pardons” for many detainees. “Through dialogue with the accused, opportunities were created to request pardons,” he said. Yet, beneath the rhetoric of leniency lies a darker reality: the Iranian regime has systematically rounded up tens of thousands of young people and educators in an unprecedented dragnet.
Ejei clarified that “apart from a small number who committed dangerous or organizational acts, many were pardoned and no criminal record was left for the students.” But his own words betray the regime’s deeper fear: that those who remain imprisoned are precisely the ones deemed ideologically contaminated—linked to the opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
#Iran News: Regime Moves to Indoctrinate #Students as Tehran Frets Over Role of Youth in Uprisingshttps://t.co/X1zDl2IPCM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 21, 2025
A Fear of Organized Dissent
Reports from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) confirm the regime’s paranoia. At least 3,626 PMOI supporters were arrested or disappeared during the 2022 uprising. The whereabouts of many still remain unknown. The NCRI continues to urge international organizations to investigate Iran’s prisons and demand the release of these detainees.
Despite relentless state propaganda portraying the PMOI as a fringe entity, Iranian officials persist in labeling the organization their “principal enemy.” Friday prayers continue to chant “Death to the Hypocrites” alongside “Death to America.” This obsessive vilification reveals a regime haunted by the prospect that Iran’s youth might embrace an alternative vision for the country.
The scale of youth defiance became visible again in 2024 when dissident satellite channel Simaye Azadi broadcast over 20,000 video messages from across Iran. In these clips, young Iranians concealed their faces and hands to avoid recognition while defiantly displaying images of opposition leaders and slogans calling for regime change.
Who Is Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran’s New Judiciary Chief?#Iran #NewsUpdate #NewsAlerthttps://t.co/o2Rb3r7Ebf pic.twitter.com/PPo9YB0BKG
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 1, 2021
A Regime Terrified of Its Youth
In April 2025, the regime’s Education Minister signed a memorandum with the State Security Force (SSF), pledging schools to “full service” of the security apparatus. “In every field, I am a soldier of Commander Radan,” declared Minister Kazemi at the signing. The pact formalizes police oversight in schools, including writing textbooks and monitoring students and teachers. Meanwhile, IRGC-linked media push for classroom surveillance cameras, despite warnings from educators. Together, these measures expose a regime determined to preempt dissent by securitizing education and treating students as potential enemies.
Ejei’s remarks about mass pardons reflect not benevolence but fear. He admitted that failing to release many detainees would have allowed “the enemy” to exploit the situation. “The devil takes advantage of this situation, and families face serious problems,” he warned. His statement exposes a regime worried less about legal outcomes and more about the political cost of mass repression.
Iran’s regime is facing a generational rebellion it cannot control. Beneath the official narrative of rehabilitation lies a system that fears its youth not for their ignorance, but for their clarity. In today’s Iran, to be young is to be suspect; to think independently is to risk persecution. And for the thousands still imprisoned, the regime’s greatest fear is not their actions, but their ideas.