Abdollah Noori ( ) is an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

cleric and

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

politician. Despite his "long history of service to the Islamic Republic," he became the most senior Islamic politician to be sentenced to prison since the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for political and religious dissent in 1999.Profile of Abdollah Nouri. BBC News
/ref> He has been called the " bête noire" of Islamic conservatives in Iran.Abdollah Nouri’s Two Conditions for Candidacy
/ref> Noori is a senior member of

Association of Combatant Clerics The Association of Combatant Clerics () is an Iranian reformist Clericalism in Iran, clerical political party. It is regarded as a Left-wing politics, left-wing party within the Iranian political spectrum. History The Association of Combatant Cl ...

, and also close ally of the

Executives of Construction Party The Executives of Construction of Iran Party () is a reformist political party in Iran, founded by 16 members of the cabinet of the then President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996. The party is a member of Council for Coordinating the Reforms F ...

Career

Abdollah Nouri was called a "trusted lieutenant" of Ayatollah Khomeini who was "the religious guide to the Revolutionary Guards early in the revolution."Sciolino, Elaine ''Persian Mirrors: the Elusive Face of Irans'', Free Press, 2000, 2005 p. 307-8 Khomeini appointed him as his representative to many other important organizations as well. Khomeini's successor, supreme leader, Ayatollah

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

, also appointed him a member "of a powerful council which advises him on major policies". However, Abdollah Nouri also supported dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was placed under house arrest in 1997 for questioning the authority of Ayatollah Khamenei. Nouri served as minister of interior for four years in then-President Hashemi Rafsanjani's first term cabinet. He also served as the minister of interior in

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

's first term cabinet until his

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

by the conservative-controlled 5th

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

for his "defence of political and social freedoms." Following his impeachment, Khatami brought Abdullah Nouri back to his cabinet as a vice president. He was "generally seen as the most outspoken reformist" in Khatami's cabinet. In February 1999, he stood down from this post to take part in the municipal elections in February and was elected as the chief of the City Council of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. He resigned from the Council in order to participate in the sixth parliamentary election. He founded a newspaper and named it '' Khordad'', named after the victory of President Khatami on the ''2nd of Khordad, 1376'' by the

Iranian calendar The Iranian calendars or Iranian chronologies (, ) are a succession of calendars created and used for over two millennia in Iran, also known as Persia. One of the longest chronological records in human history, the Iranian calendar has been modi ...

, equivalent to 23 May 1997. His newspaper advocated "freedom of expression, human rights and a modern and democratic Islam."

Trial

Based on the contents of this newspaper, Nouri was accused of insulting Islamic values by pushing for democratic reforms, dishonoring Imam

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

's memory by questioning the authority of the Supreme Leader. According to a Western journalist, another explanation for his prosecution was that Nouri was very popular in Tehran and "the odds on favorite to become Speaker of Parliament in the February 2000 Parliamentary election," something imprisonment would prevent. He was tried by the Special Clerical Court in Iran and made an "outspoken and aggressive defense during his trial", refusing to accept the authority of this court, which he saw as unconstitutional. On 27 November 1999, he was convicted of insulting

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, publishing anti-religious materials, disturbing public opinion, insulting officials, advocating links with

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and was sentenced to five years in jail. Readers of the ''Iranian'' voted him the most significant Iranian personality of 1999.

Release

Nouri was released from prison on 5 November 2002. He was released because his brother Alireza Noori, a member of parliament at the time, was killed in an accident. Noori was freed from Evin Prison when Mehdi Karroubi, speaker of the Majlis at the time, wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader and asked him to free Noori as his father was suffering from the loss of his other son. Abdollah Nouri was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2009 presidential election, but did not run.

Analysis

He is considered as one of the leading pragmatists among reformers, though his policies were aligned with Khomeini's doctrines.

References

External links

Nouri banned from Iranian election
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nouri, Abdollah 1950 births Living people Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Iran Government ministers of Iran Iranian reformists Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Iranian Shia clerics Association of Combatant Clerics politicians Tehran Councillors 1999–2003 Chairmen of City Council of Tehran Iranian newspaper publishers (people) Heads of reformist fractions in Islamic Consultative Assembly Iranian prisoners and detainees Executives of Construction Party politicians Members of the 2nd Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 5th Islamic Consultative Assembly Impeached Iranian officials removed from office Iranian politicians convicted of crimes Vice presidents of Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps clerics 20th-century newspaper founders Political prisoners in Iran