The violent detentions of brawling foreign university students, including from Iran, in Tatarstan has led to a protest by Iran’s consul general to the Russian region.
“Iranian citizens studying abroad have the right to respect and fair treatment,” Consul General Davud Mirzakhani said on November 23. “We will ensure that the rights of our students are fully protected."
"The Russian police confuse the Iranian people with those of other nations," Mirzakhani added. "We will never allow anyone to treat our people abroad inhumanely and illegally."
The comments came after a brawl broke out among foreign students at Kazan Federal University on the morning of November 22 as they stood in line for documentation needed to renew their student visas.
Video of the incident can be seen here:
According to the Russian news agency TASS, two students who instigated the brawl were detained. Iranian students involved in the incident were later released.
However, Tatarstan’s Investigative Committee announced that it has opened a criminal case against one student who “used violence against a police officer.”
It is not clear if the student being investigated was among those released.
Local media reported that the brawl may have started when someone cut into a large line of students who had been waiting to register their documents for hours.
Foreign students were reportedly transferred from their dormitories at the university to make room for attendees of the BRICS summit held in Kazan on October 22-24.
Students affected by the move launched a petition to protest the decision at the time, and were reportedly among those attempting to get their documentation in order on November 22.
Local media reported that the foreign students lining up for documents were there trying to extend their student visas needed to study in Kazan.
Following the brawl, the university reportedly opened additional service stations for the foreign students to submit their documents.