Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi (Persian: حسین کاظمینی بروجردی, also Hosein Kazemaini Boroujerdi, born August 1, 1958) is a former Twelver Shi'i Muslim Ayatollah and cleric who advocates the separation of religion and government and has been arrested and jailed several times by the Iranian government for his criticisms directed against the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
[8] Boroujerdi had been preaching a traditional interpretation of Islam which separates religion from politics from a mosque in a poor neighbourhood in the south of Tehran for some years.
"[citation needed] On October 7, 2006, a large crowd of over 1,000 people including many women gathered around his house and prevented his arrest by police forces and was able to repel them.
[15] The Iranian news service IRNA, posted pictures of the demonstration and printed some of the slogans shouted by the crowd: "Freedom, freedom - This is our incontrovertible right," (a counterpoint to the slogan shouted by supporters of the regime during Friday prayers: "Nuclear energy - This is our incontrovertible right,") and, "[We are] ready for martyrdom according to our traditional religion - that is, Islam that is not political.
Amnesty International reports that there are believed to have been 30 charges against him, These include “waging war against God” (Moharebeh), for which the punishment is death; acts against national security; publicly calling political leadership by clergy (Velayat-e Faqih) unlawful; having links with anti-revolutionaries and spies; and using the term “religious dictatorship” instead of “Islamic Republic” in public discourse and radio interviews.
[18][19] Dr. Firoozi wrote to the head of the Judiciary on September 2, 2008: “As an independent physician, with no political leanings and agenda, and in keeping with my sacred duties as a physician devoted to the goal of saving the lives of humans, I urge your Excellency to order his transfer to a specialist medical facility outside the prison, to save his life,” Dr. Firoozi wrote to the head of the Judiciary on September 2, 2008.
[22] According to Roya Eraghi, a follower of Boroujerdi, as of July 2011 Boroujedri's health has further deteriorated due to severe pressure and torture in prison.
[14] During his stay in prison, Boroujerdi has voluntarily defrocked himself and abandoned the position and duties of an Islamic Cleric, in protest of the Iranian state and its system of Velayat-e-faqih.