Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide IRAN WE ARE APPALLED TO LEARN THAT OUR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, d r . k i a n t a j b a k h s h , who, as we reported in our summer issue, was arrested and imprisoned in Iran at the beginning ofJuly, has just been sentenced in extrajudicial proceedings to up to 15 years in prison. He has been charged by the Revolutionaiy Court with purportedly plotting with high-ranking reformists to overthrow the government with support from the United States. His formal charges appear to include espionage, cooperation with an enemy government, and acting against national security. All of these charges are completely baseless and are brought against Kian for purely political reasons. After his 2007 arrest and fourand -a-half-month detainment in solitary confinement, Kian cut his ties to international organizations and assiduously avoided all involvement with politics, even choosing not to vote in the recent presidential elec­ tion. Despite this, he was caught up in the wave of arrests following the election and made to participate in televised show trials, which Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch denounced for their probable use of forced confessions. Kian remains in solitary confinement, is allowed very infrequent contact with his family, and continues to be denied access to his own legal representation. We call on the authorities in Iran to drop these charges at once and release Kian from prison. More infor­ mation about his case and appeals on his behalf may be found at www. freekian09.org . Our readers are urged to write letters to the Iranian authorities on Kian’s behalf. Alongwith Kian,hundreds ofstudents andacademicswere rounded up in the protests that followed the contested presidential elections in Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of October 22,2009. Endangered Scholars W orldw ide v June. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, at least 87 students and 9professors remain injail. On September 2, d r . m o h a m m a d m a l e k i , a 76-year old Iranian scholar and former Chancellor of Tehran University, was arrested at his home and taken to Evin prison. It is believed that Dr. Maleki, an independent commentator, is being held for criticizing the conduct of the election, although, like Kian, he did not vote or participate in the subsequent protests. Scholars featured in previous issues who remain in prison in Iran include: f a r z a d k a m a n g e r , a Kurdish-Iranian teacher sentenced to death in February 2008 on charges of “endangering national secu­ rity”; d r . m o s t a f a a l a v i , an Iranian doctor and researcher sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in August 2008 for “plotting against the regime”; d r s . a r a s h and k a m i a r a i .a e i , two AIDS researchers who were sentenced to three and six years, respectively, in January 2009 for “seeking to overthrow the Iranian government”; and b e h r o o z j a v i d t e h r a n i , a student activist and prisoners’ rights campaigner arrested in 2005 for membership in an illegal organization. All of these people are being held in life-threatening conditions and need your support. Appeals to: His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi ‘ Ali Khamenei Head of the Judiciary Leader of the Islamic Republic Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Q_azaiyeh / The Office ofthe Supreme Leader Office of the Head of the Judiciary Islamic Republic Street- Pasteur St., ValiAsr Ave., Shahid Keshvar Doust Street South of Serah-e Jomhouri Tehran Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Islamic Republic of Iran E-mail: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir E-mail: info@leader.ir (In the subject line write: Salutation: Your Excellency FAOAyatollah Shahroudi) Salutation: Your Excellency SRI LANKA d r . p a i k i a s o t h y SARAVANAMUTTU, a prominent Sri Lankan academic, has received an anonymous death threat, according to the BBC. Dr. Saravanamuttu is Executive Director of the Centre for Policy vi social research Alternatives, Co-Convener...