Indictment Issued with 9 Charges Against Expelled University Professor

The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of Mashhad has issued an indictment with 9 charges against Hassan Bagherinia, a professor at Hakim Sabzevari University. The legal advisory group Dadban announced on Thursday, October 12, on the social media platform X that Hassan Bagherinia, who was expelled from the university, has been summoned to Branch 2224 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of Mashhad for the formation of a 'personality file' in addition to the 9 attributed charges. According to the report, the indictment against this expelled professor includes charges such as 'conspiracy and collusion to commit crimes against internal and external security, inciting or provoking people to war and slaughter each other with the intent to disrupt the country's security, insulting the Leader of the Islamic Republic, insulting the sanctities of Islam, propaganda against the Islamic Republic system, effectively inciting combat forces or individuals serving the armed forces to rebellion, escape, surrender, or failure to perform military duties, forming groups or gatherings with the aim of disrupting the country's security, and membership in opposing groups of the country.' Hassan Bagherinia was dismissed from his position following his support for the public protests in 2021. Since then, he has repeatedly commented in videos about current social and political issues in Iran and expressed his criticisms of the Islamic Republic. For instance, following the announcement of five days of public mourning for the removal of Hassan Nasrallah, Bagherinia stated in a video that the billboards in cities are filled with images of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, while dozens of deceased miners in Tabas have no representation on these billboards. He also deemed Masoud Pezeshkian's claim to reinstate expelled professors as ineffective, as Pezeshkian's superior, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated that 'an unreliable person,' meaning questioning individuals, should not enter universities, while 'it is this questioning that leads to the growth of science.' Bagherinia supported the protesters during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police and was subsequently dismissed from his job. Ultimately, at the beginning of the last academic year, he announced his forced retirement after 29 years of service, stating in a video message that the reason for his dismissal was his 'refusal to remain silent' against the actions of Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, and his forces regarding the nationwide protests following Mahsa Amini's death.