Lester did not provide any more information on the nature of Abedini’s stay at the jail, nor why he was transferred to ICE custody. Abedini was in immigration custody, the friend said, though it wasn’t precisely clear where. AdvertisementA spokesperson for the University of Oklahoma told HuffPost on Monday that it “does not have a comment” on the detention. Abedini teaches at the University of Oklahoma’s Boren College of International Studies and is the Farzaneh Family Assistant Professor of Iranian Studies there. Vali Nasr, a Johns Hopkins University professor attending MESA, said the news was especially chilling for younger scholars.
