Sharif University of Technology expresses its deep concern for its arrested faculty member in pandemic COVID-19
Dr. Sirous Asgari, the faculty member of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was arrested in USA in June 2017 under the pretext of violating the U.S. sanctions. Although he was acquitted of this charge some months later, he was arrested again for the false pretext of illegal presence and is being kept in a prison with the lowest health facilities. The scholar is still being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Now, due to the coincidence of this arrestment with the pandemic, academia is worried about his health in the prison, which lacks preventive facilities. In a phone call from the Alexandria Staging Facility (ASF) in Alexandria, Louisiana, he said: “little is being done to protect inmates from the outbreak in his filthy and overcrowded detention center. I don’t think anything is really being done to alleviate their situation to protect them from the virus,” He added that detainees have no access to hand sanitizers or masks and that bathrooms and sleeping areas are not being cleaned regularly despite the crowded conditions.
SUT articulates its serious mounting concern for the health and well-being of Dr. Sirous Asgari in days of pandemic COVID-19. His colleagues and friends urge ICE to free the beloved member of SUT immediately.