Kasra Nouri () is an Iranian

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He was the CEO of "Majzooban-e noor" website, which covered news about the Dervish religious community, Nouri was last arrested with his family during

2018 Dervish protests The 2018 Dervish protests were a series of protests against the Iranian government by the Ni'matullāhī (or Gonabandi) Sufi Order, occurring between February and March 2018 in Tehran. These protests led to clashes between security forces and the ...

and sentenced to 12 years in prison and 148 lashes. Iranian journalist Kasra Nouri was arrested in February 2018 while covering religious protests for the Majzooban-e-Noor website, which covers news about the Gonabadi Dervishes, a Sufi splinter group. He is serving a 12-year sentence on anti-state charges in Adel-Abad prison near the central city of Shiraz, after initially being held in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary. Tehran's Appeals Court upheld his sentence in March 2019. During the

, he was arrested along with his mother Shokoufeh Yadollahi and his brothers Pouria Nouri and Amir Nouri. Majzooban-e-Noor covers news about the Gonabadi

dervishes Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

' religious community. Nouri had reported that security and intelligence forces had incited local residents to attack the dervishes during a September 2011 confrontation, causing one

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

and

injuries Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...

to several others. Many dervishes, including several other journalists with Majzooban-e-Noor, were imprisoned immediately after the 2011 crackdown. Nouri was arrested in 2012 and was sentenced in 2013 to four years and four months in prison for "propaganda against the regime," "acting against national security," "insulting the Supreme Leader," and "membership in the Majzooban-e-Noor group," according to Majzooban-e-Noor. He supported

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...

(presidential candidate) in 2009 Iranian presidential election. The

was

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

five times by

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...

. In October 2021, the then president of the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi, wrote a letter to

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i (, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician, Faqīh, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran. He was Ministry of Intelligence and Natio ...

, the head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary, demanding the release of Kasra Nouri, a student prisoner, and a day later the president of the University of Tehran himself was fired.

Arrest and imprisonment

He was first

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed on 11 January 2012 at his home by plainclothes

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, which occurred after 47 days of confinement in the Intelligence Office. His family knew nothing of his whereabouts or condition until a month later; after repeated attempts, they were finally allowed to visit. Known under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"No. 100", he was released on

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

set at 50 million Tomans (or 500,000,000 Iranian Rials). The temporary release of

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s took two

weeks A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are ofte ...

. For the second time, on 24 March, he was again

at his home by plainclothes

after an

alleged In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. Types of allegations Marital allegations There are also marital allegations: ma ...

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

with

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. His release on

was blocked, after 15

months A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar m ...

in detention and transfer to the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, he was sentenced on 23 April 2012, receiving a four-year, four-month jail term. According to the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

against him states that this

human right Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

activist's actions would result "promoting innovation in

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

matters", "

insecurity Insecure may refer to: * Lack of security, in an objective sense: ** Risk ** Data security ** Computer security * Food insecurity * Insecurity (emotion), lack of confidence or self esteem Media * ''Insecure'' (TV series), a television series ...

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

and promoting superstitions". The warrant was issued by

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Rashidi, president of Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz and finally, after a delay of five

was confirmed in

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

. A qualified

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, in 2012 he and a group of other

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

defenders issued calls to maintain the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of the Iranian Bar. Nouri was later arrested and jailed for anti-regime activities. He was arrested for 11 days in January 2018 and imprisoned in Evin Prison without any legal process. His mother told the BBC Persian service at the time that he went on a hunger strike immediately after his arrest. According to a January 2018 interview with Nouri by the Iranian Diaspora News Website WW, Nouri was finally released.

Hunger strike

In January 2013 prisoners in

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. ...

protested against

mistreatment Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

by going on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

for 90 days. The journalist began waging a hunger strike in April 2013 to protest the transfer to solitary confinement of several Majzooban-e Noor journalists. Finally, after authorities met the demands of

, the prisoner hunger strike ended.

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

prisoners on hunger strike along with Nouri caused worldwide concern over the situation. Ana Gomes, a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

wrote to the

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

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and sent a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

to the Iranian

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

calling for Kasra Nouri and other

imprisoned, to be freed. The German

released a statement regarding the status of Kasra Nouri and other

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

, expressing concern on Germany's

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

Radio on the 69th day of his hunger strike.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

also shared concern with regard to the issue. As well as this, in his statement Mr.Kasra Nouri claims that detention authorities in the

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

"prison ministry", beat the prisoners to end their hunger strike. The

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

winner

Shirin Ebadi Shirin Ebadi (; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian Nobel laureate, lawyer, writer, teacher and a former judge and founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering effor ...

, in a letter to Ahmed Shaheed, expressed

sympathy Sympathy is the perception of, understanding of, and reaction to the Mental distress, distress or need of another life form. According to philosopher David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspe ...

over Kasra Nouri and the

' situation, especially with regards to the rights of

religious minorities A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of state or which is otherwise politically marginalized. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its ...

Convictions

Nouri was sentenced to 12 years in prison, 74 lashes, two years in exile in a remote city, a two-year ban on political, social and media activities, and a two-year ban on traveling outside Iran, U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on 30 July 2018. Judge Mashaullah Ahmadzadeh, the head of Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, tried Nouri and issued the verdict against him in absentia, RFE/RL reported. In a 28 July post on Twitter, Majzooban-e-Noor said Nouri was convicted on a number of charges. An 29 August report by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

said these charges included "assembly and collusion against national security," "disrupting public order," "rebelling against officers on duty," and "propaganda against the state." Nouri's brother, Pooria Nouri, confirmed the news on his personal Twitter account on 9 March 2019, writing, “due to my brother's decision not to appeal his verdict, his initial sentence was upheld and communicated/announced to him today in prison.” Kasra Nouri is charged with:

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

against the

regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

, acting against

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

, disclosing

state secrets Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

, interviews, membership in

gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

majzooban deviant,

insulting An insult is an expression, statement, or behavior that is often deliberately disrespectful, offensive, scornful, or derogatory towards an individual or a group. Insults can be intentional or unintentional, and they often aim to belittle, off ...

the

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

, spreading

lie A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be int ...

with the

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

. He had two court cases in both the

general public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and

Criminal Court, calling the judge incompetent. He was sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence. with the verdict issued by Judge Rashid, head of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, Shiraz Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court. He was sentenced to four years and four months.

Education

Shiraz University Shiraz University ( ''Dāneshgāh-e-Shirāz'', 1979 revolution, formerly known as Pahlavi dynasty, Pahlavi University دانشگاه پهلوی ''Dāneshgāh-e Pahlavi'') is a public university located in Shiraz, Fars province, Fars, Iran, establ ...

(2008–2012) *

(2017-)

External links

personal Twitter

personal Instagram

References