The leaking of students’ personal information across several Telegram channels has triggered a fresh wave of threats and intimidation against students and their families. Students state that this data, which is recorded exclusively in official university files and forms, has been handed over to channels that are now using it to target them and their households.
According to a report published by the Shargh newspaper, channels operating under names such as “Akhwan al-Mokhbareen” (The Informer Brothers), “Kaftar-Yab” (Hyena Finder), “Zombie-Yab” (Zombie Finder), and “Daesh-Joo” (ISIS Student) have spent recent weeks and months publishing students’ private data, including phone numbers, home addresses, and details about family members. Following these leaks, several students have been subjected to threatening calls and messages, insults, and even death threats.
“Hossein,” a student at Shahid Beheshti University, stated regarding the matter: “I received a large number of messages full of profanity, with some saying that if I set foot in the university, they would kill me.”
The report reveals that the scope of these threats is not limited to the students themselves; their families have also been targeted. “Yasi,” a student at the University of Tehran, recounted that a few days after her information was leaked, unidentified individuals called her father and threatened him over his daughter’s activities. According to her, these calls have pressured her family into forcing her to return to their hometown, leaving her continued education in Tehran in complete limbo.
