Lawyer Says Iranian Religious Prisoner Nouri Faces New Charges

Kasra Nouri, an Iranian journalist imprisoned for his religious affiliation and for reporting on spiritual freedom, is now facing new prices.

Pouria Nouri, Kasra’s brother, told RFERL’s Radio Farda that the Intelligence Corporation of the southern metropolis of Shiraz, claims that her sibling tried to indicator a joint assertion with other political prisoners, like Narges Mohammadi and Keyvan Samimi, prompting new allegations against him.

Farshid Yadollahi, Nouri’s defense attorney, explained in a tweet on September 5 that his customer is accused of “gathering and colluding to act against the security of the nation.”

On August 27, Kasra Nouri was transferred from the political ward of Adelabad prison in Shiraz to solitary confinement in the detention heart of the Intelligence Section in the same town and has been beneath interrogation because.

This 32-calendar year-outdated prisoner, a member of the Gonabadi Dervish religious group, was banned from visiting his loved ones for a week and ultimately satisfied his mother on September 5, kinfolk stated.

Past 7 days, Kasra’s mother, Shokoofeh Yadollahi, demanded his release in a video clip published on social networks, warning authorities that “the period of your oppression of the people today will ultimately conclusion one working day.”

Security officials detained Kasra Nouri among more than 300 some others following protests in 2018 that provided violent clashes involving Dervishes, who are Sufi Muslims, and protection forces in the capital, Tehran.

The sentences bundled jail terms ranging from 4 months to 26 several years, flogging, internal exile, travel bans, and a ban on membership in social and political groups.

Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, is not unlawful in Iran but rights groups accuse the Iranian govt of harassment and discrimination in opposition to its followers. The United States has identified as the repression of the Dervishes the biggest repression of spiritual minorities in Iran.

In modern weeks, Iranian authorities have ramped up their crackdown against spiritual minorities, arresting about a dozen of Baha’is and raiding the properties and companies of quite a few other folks across Iran.

UN professionals have referred to as for the fast and unconditional release of all folks detained on the foundation of their spiritual affiliation, and accountability for the systematic persecution of religious minorities by Iranian authorities.

Prepared by Ardeshir Tayebi