University of Tehran Reverses Expulsion of Imprisoned Gonabadi Dervish Student Kasra Nouri

On July 5, the University of Tehran reversed its decision to expel Gonabadi Dervish graduate student Kasra Nouri .

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Nouri had previously been expelled from the University of Tehran for “truancy”, or, missing class while serving out a sentence in Adelabad Prison.

This expulsion violated the Constitution and the International Convention on Cultural and Social Rights, which holds that students must be allowed to continue their education following the completion of a prison sentence.

After repeated follow-ups by Shokufeh Yadollahi, Kasra Nouri’s mother, a letter was received from the University of Tehran canceling the expulsion of the imprisoned Gonabadi Dervish. According to the letter, Nouri will be permitted to continue his studies after he has endured the entirety of his sentence.

Farshid Yadollahi, Kasra Nouri’s lawyer had previously mentioned that Mr. Nouri’s expulsion from the university was against the constitution and the International Convention on Cultural and Social Rights and emphasized that, “When Kasra Nouri went to prison, the family informed the university, meaning everyone knew he was in prison.”

345 Students at the University of Tehran Sign Letter Protesting Expulsion of Kasra Nouri

Today, June 28, 345 students at the University of Tehran published letters addressed to the president of the university stating that Kasra Nouri’s expulsion was illegal.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Kasra Nouri, a Gonabadi Dervish currently serving out a sentence in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, was expelled from the University of Tehran for truancy.

“According to the executive order of the students’ disciplinary regulations, the University of Tehran has committed a completely illegal act in expelling the student’s optical fraction in addition to the elimination and police action,” the letter reads.

The full text of the letter follows:

 

Dear Dr. Nili,
President of the University of Tehran
Pursuant to Note 1 of Article 113 of the Executive Procedure of the Student Disciplinary Code, which explicitly states: The convict can continue his / her education and the university will assist the student in continuing his / her education as appropriate; If the term of the sentence is longer than the permitted period of study, the university will adapt the way of continuing education to the new educational situation. ”
Kasra Nouri has been imprisoned since February 2018, and it is practically impossible for him to go to university, and he should be dealt with under this note.
Therefore, we, the students of the University of Tehran, who are the signatories of this letter, strongly demand that the illegal expulsion of Kasra Nouri from the university be revoked immediately. ”

 

Kasra Nouri, a graduate student who had been pursuing a degree in human rights at the University of Tehran and was one of the webmasters of the website “Majzooban Noor” , was arrested during the Golestan 7 Incident at dawn on March 22, 2017, along with hundreds of other Gonabadi Dervishes, and transferred to the Greater Tehran Prison.

Mr. Nouri was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge  Ahmadzadeh,  to 12 years in prison, 74 lashes, 2 years in exile to Babajani, a 2-year ban on leaving the country, and 2 year ban from of membership in groups and political parties. Of this sentence, in accordance with Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code,  7 and a half years were enforceable.

Nouri was transferred from Greater Tehran Prison to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz in December 2019. On March 29, he was once again transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.

Kasra Nouri was born in 1990. He had previously spent a period of imprisonment in No. 100 Shiraz Prison, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, and Evin Prison in Tehran from 2011 to mid-2015 for  his online advocacy work for Gonabadi Dervishes.

Update on Mostafa Daneshjoo: Evin Prison Authorities Won’t Budge on Medical Blockade

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Mostafa Daneshjoo, an attorney, is currently serving prison time for his legal advocacy and defense of the Gonabadi Dervishes, a religious minority. These days, Daneshjoo is sacrificing more than his freedom: he is now being forced to sacrifice his health.

Daneshjoo, despite suffering from acute lung and heart disease, has been barred access to medical attention of any kind since he was arrested on July 7, 2018.

According to Majzooban Noor, the Gonabadi Dervish Community News Website, when Daneshjoo was first detained, his family was cut off from contact with him for months. When they were finally permitted to see him in Ward 4 of Evin Prison, their relief was mingled with shock at the sight of his severely declining health.

Mostafa Daneshjoo is the former managing director of the Majzooban Noor website. While the clinic at Evin Prison has Daneshjoo’s medical file on hand, authorities–citing Daneshjoo’s prior arrest–are preventing him from seeking help, even from the generalists at the Evin Prison Clinic.

Daneshjoo was arrested in his mother’s home by seven armed officers in the early morning of July 7th. After spending 45 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence detention center, he was transferred to Evin’s Quarantine Ward before being taken to Ward 4, typically reserved for prisoners with financial charges. Daneshjoo, who is asthmatic, experienced a sharp increase in symptoms after spending 45 days in a solitary cell without ventilation. While he was taken to Taleqani Hospital on July 21st, he was turned away without receiving care within a few hours.

Daneshjoo’s case file indicates that his current arrest warrant was issued by Branch 3 of the Shahid Moghaddas Prosecutor’s Office in Evin Prison. In a phone conversation at the time, he explained he was being pursued by authorities for his affiliation with the Dervishes who were involved in the Golestan Haftom incident. Authorities have reportedly wielded further punitive measures against him, according to a letter published in May 2017 by the Azad University Security Office, which announced that Daneshjoo was being prevented from pursuing his graduate studies in Penal Law and Criminology.

During prior defense proceedings of a number of Gonabadi Dervishes, following punitive reports from Iranian security agencies, Daneshjoo’s licence to practice law was revoked. He was sentenced — along with other attorneys, Dervish advocates, and his Majzooban Noor co-managers– to imprisonment on charges of “Membership in the Dervish anti-security sect,” “Acting against national security,” “Propaganda against the regime,” and “Disrupting public opinion.” Between 2011 and 2015, he served his sentence in Ward 350 of Evin Prison and was released in May 2015.