Art Advisor to Mehdi Karroubi and Governor of Razan Sentenced to Prison

The website "Kalameh" reported the sentencing of Mehdi Karroubi's art advisor to three months in prison following criticism of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Fars News Agency also reported that the governor of Razan city in Hamadan province was sentenced to 91 days in prison on charges of "propaganda against the regime." This website, close to Mir-Hossein Mousavi, reported on Thursday, March 3, that the sentence against Mohammad Noori, Karroubi's art advisor, is set to be enforced on March 5. According to this site, Mr. Noori is a cleric and the "brother of two martyrs" who was previously stripped of his clerical robe due to alleged connections with the "Gonabadi Dervishes." This cleric recently criticized the IRGC during a speech at the governor's office in Savadkuh, Mazandaran province, for "interfering in areas unrelated to its legal duties." In an interview with "Kalameh," Mohammad Noori confirmed reports of his three-month prison sentence, stating, "This is my third trial." Noori added, "I was first arrested after the 2009 elections and sent to a cell with dozens of mice, and I was taken to court in handcuffs and leg shackles; later, my child was kidnapped." He mentioned that he filed a complaint against those responsible for his child's abduction, which "was proven to be carried out by plainclothes agents without a warrant and through violence," and they were sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, as Noori stated, the 15-year sentence for these individuals, charged with "kidnapping," was reduced to "zero" in the appeals court. He also referred to his trial in 2013, saying, "The IRGC's intelligence deprived me of leading the Imam Ja'far Sadiq Mosque in Qaemshahr and my religious activities with false reports." In another part of the interview, Noori described the Special Clergy Court as "an executor of the IRGC's demands." Mohammad Noori, who has held positions in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance during Mohammad Khatami's administration, was appointed as Karroubi's art advisor in the National Trust Party in 2008. Previously, Ismail Gharami-Moghadam, spokesperson for the National Trust Party and an advisor to Mehdi Karroubi, was arrested upon returning to Iran on July 17, 2015, after living abroad for several years. Gharami-Moghadam left Iran after the 2009 elections and the closure of the National Trust Party's office and reportedly studied in India and Malaysia for a while. The widespread crackdowns and arrests following the 2009 presidential elections led to many political, social activists, and journalists leaving Iran. Some, like Siraj al-Din Mirdamadi and Saeed Razavi-Faqih, have returned to Iran in recent years, only to be arrested and imprisoned. Another group of political, civil, and media activists remains in prison in connection with the protests against the 2009 election results and subsequent events, facing numerous restrictions. Fathali Hosseini, the governor of Razan city in Hamadan province, is among those recently sentenced to 91 days in prison in connection with events related to 2009. Fars News Agency reported on March 2 that Mr. Hosseini was sentenced for "propaganda activities against the sacred Islamic Republic of Iran in favor of opposing and hostile groups." The news agency wrote that Hosseini was initially sentenced to one year in prison and two years of suspension from service due to a public prosecutor's complaint, but due to his "disavowal of the leaders of the sedition and expression of remorse," his sentence was reduced to 91 days in prison in the first appeals court. Fathali Hosseini has been appointed as the governor of Razan since early 2014, and his presence in this city has been accompanied by controversies. According to Fars News Agency, among these controversies was the governor's "reformist" order to collect banners against the "leaders of the sedition" during last year's Quds Day rally, which received significant media attention.