Hassan Khomeini Calls for Rouhani's Intervention in the Dismissal of the President of Azad University

After the Board of Trustees of Azad University dismissed Hamid Mirzadeh from his presidency in an unscheduled meeting, Hassan Khomeini, a member of this board, requested President Hassan Rouhani's intervention in a letter. This letter, signed on May 22, 2017, but reported in the media on May 29, describes the dismissal of the university president as 'lacking legal validity' and states that there is at least a 'strong suspicion of illegality' regarding the dismissal process of Mr. Mirzadeh. The Board of Trustees held an extraordinary meeting on April 22, where they dismissed Hamid Mirzadeh and subsequently, Ali Akbar Velayati, the head of this board, announced that Ali Mohammad Nourian had been appointed as the interim president of the university. However, Hassan Khomeini emphasized in his letter to the president that the appointment of the interim president was made 'without voting in the Board of Trustees.' He further requested Hassan Rouhani's intervention, stating that 'Your Excellency's involvement in this matter will certainly be beneficial and constructive.' The Board of Trustees of Azad University consists of three founding members, three full-time faculty members from universities, as well as the Ministers of Health and Science, and the head of the leadership representation in universities. On the day the news of Hamid Mirzadeh's dismissal was announced, the Tasnim news agency reported that an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the request of four members. According to this news agency, the Ministers of Science and Health, as legal members of the Board of Trustees, left the meeting to attend a government session, but the meeting continued with the presence of seven members. Hamid Mirzadeh was the deputy of Azad University during the presidency of Abdollah Jasbi and later served as the secretary of the founding board of Azad University. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, the ownership and management of Azad University became one of the conflicts between the founding board led by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the government, ultimately leading to the government's dismissal of Mr. Jasbi in March 2012 and the appointment of Farhad Daneshjoo as his replacement. However, with Hassan Rouhani's rise to power and the start of his government, changes in the composition of the Board of Trustees led to Farhad Daneshjoo's dismissal and Hamid Mirzadeh's appointment as his successor. So far, the official reason for Hamid Mirzadeh's dismissal has not been announced, and even Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Education Commission of the Parliament, has called this action 'unexpected and surprising,' also stating that the Education Commission was unaware of this change.