Alerts in Iran
Jailed Iranian Student Leader Moved After Hunger Strike
Alert Update
Date: 19 August 2010
Majid Tavakoli, an Iranian student leader described as “one of the most prominent symbols of Iran's embattled student movement,” has been moved from Evin prison to Rajaeeshahr without his family or lawyer being informed, RFE/RL reported on the 18th August. Tavakoli was one of 17 political prisoners in Iran who recently went on hunger strike for several weeks to protest their treatment in prison, and was one of three who reportedly refused water as well as food.
Imminent Risk of Execution for University Employee in Iran
Action Alert
Date: 03 August 2010
Ja’far Kazemi, a textbook lithographer at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, has had his appeal for a review of his death sentence rejected by the Supreme Court, RFE/RL reported on 30th July. Kazemi was arrested in September 2009 during the protests that followed the disputed Presidential election, and is charged with Moharebeh (enmity against God), for his alleged links to the dissident group the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI).
One year in prison and a five year political ban for Iranian scholar
Alert Update
Date: 29 July 2010
Emadeddin Baghi, prominent Iranian scholar, journalist and human rights activist, has been sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political activity for five years, following a two-year trial for forming an organisation to defend prisoners’ rights, Reporters without Borders reported on 26 July 2010.
Kurdish-Iranian Teacher Executed
Alert Update
Date: 13 July 2010
Kurdish political activist Farzad Kamangir was secretly executed on 9th May 2010, according to reports from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Kamangir had been found guilty of being a Mohareb (one who takes up arms against God) on the 25th of February 2008.
Iranian scholar Emadeddin Baghi released on bail
Alert Update
Date: 25 June 2010
According to reports from Amnesty International, Emadeddin Baghi, prominent Iranian scholar, journalist and human rights activist, was released on bail of 2,000 million Tomans (US$200,000) on Wednesday 23rd June.
Alert Update
Date: 16 May 2010
After being held at the French Embassy in Iran for ten months, Clotilde Reiss has had her sentence commuted to a fine of £208,000, and has been allowed to return to France, the Telegraph reported on the 16th May.
Iranian Scholar Facing Health Problems in Prison
Action Alert
Date: 22 April 2010
Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent Iranian scholar and human rights activist currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran, is reportedly facing serious health issues. Scholars at Risk (SAR) has reported that Mr. Baghi was hospitalised on 20 March after losing consciousness as a result of a respiratory condition worsened by his detention.
Lecturer Sacked for Attending Dissident Funeral
Action Alert
Date: 04 February 2010
Dr. Abbas Kazemi, a Tehran University professor working in the Department of Social Sciences, has reportedly been dismissed from his position after chanting slogans during the funeral procession of prominent dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Montazeri.
Iranian Teacher Unionist Facing Imminent Execution
Action Alert
Date: 19 January 2010
Education International has been informed that the Iranian authorities have threatened imminent execution of Kurdish activists, including teacher Farzad Kamangar. The Iranian-Kurdish teacher and social worker was sentenced to death on 25th February 2008 for supposedly “endangering national security.”
Iranian Student Leader Arrested for Third Time
Alert
Date: 12 December 2009
The Iranian student activist Majid Tavakoli has been arrested for the third time in three years, BBC news reported on the 12th December. Majid was arrested following a protest at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, in which he accused the government of human rights abuses.
Academic Facing Additional Charges of Espionage
Alert Update
Date: 10 December 2009
Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh has again been brought before the Revolutionary Court on further spying allegations. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in October 2009, during a clampdown by the Iranian authorities after the recent presidential elections.
French Academic Appears in Tehran Court
Action Alert
Date: 19 November 2009
French academic Clotilde Reiss appeared before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on Tuesday, three months after being released on bail. She stands accused of “collecting information and provoking rioters” during the widely disputed June elections. The Tehran court did not render a verdict in the case and French officials did not rule out yet another court appearance, AFP News said.
Amnesty Call for Release of Dr Mohammad Maleki
Action Alert
Date: 03 November 2009
Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of Dr Mohammad Maleki who was arrested following his peaceful criticism of the Iranian presidential election. The former chancellor of Tehran University is believed to be seriously ill and in need of urgent medical attention.
Iranian-American Scholar Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
Action Alert
Date: 25 October 2009
Iranian-American scholar, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, has been has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Iran following his arrest almost four months ago. The academic was convicted on charges of ‘acting against national security’ and the courts have reportedly refused to file his appeal.
Alert Update
Date: 07 September 2009
Twenty months after his arrest, Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh has been secretly pardoned and is now living outside the country, The Independent reported on 7th September 2009. The 24-year-old was arrested after downloading an essay which questioned Islam’s treatment of women and prosecutors have pinned their case on claims that he wrote part of the text himself.
Iranian-American Academic Detained in Tehran
Alert
Date: 21 July 2009
Dr Kian Tajbakhsh, a prominent Iranian-American social scientist, has been arrested at his home by Tehran authorities. The agents did not provide any legal justification for the arrest and took him to an undisclosed location. Dr Tajbakhsh had previously spent four months in prison in 2007 on charges of endangering national security.
Arrest of Iranian Academics Condemned
Alert
Date: 30 June 2009
The UK’s University and College Union (UCU) has formally condemned the Iranian government after 70 university professors were arrested as part of the state’s crackdown on opposition protestors. The academics were held on the 25 June after meeting the pro-reformist candidate Mr Mousavi, who has accused President Ahmadinejad of rigging this month's national elections.
Turmoil in Iran Extends to Universities
Alert
Date: 22 June 2009
The violent suppression of protests in the aftermath of the 12th June general election has spread to university campuses across the country. Reports have emerged about an attack on Tehran University dormitories and several universities in the outside provinces have also suffered disturbances.
Iranian Doctors Remain in Prison, Despite Lack of Evidence
Alert Update
Date: 16 June 2009
Copies of court documents obtained by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran clearly show that prosecutors failed to prove the guilt of Dr Kamiar Alaei and Dr Arash Alaei. The brothers were sentenced to jail terms in January 2009, convicted of working in cooperation with the United States government to instigate a 'soft revolution.'
Iranian Doctors Illegally Detained in Tehran Prison
Action Alert
Date: 12 January 2009
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has called for urgent action to free two leading academics from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Dr Kamiar Alaei and Dr Arash Alaei, who have both been committed to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS for many years, have been detained without trial for over six months. On December 31st 2008, the doctors were subjected to a one-day secret army trial in Tehran's Revolutionary Court. They are still awaiting a verdict.
Iranian Teacher Unionist Could be Executed Today
Alert Update
Date: 26 November 2008
Education International (EI) has been informed that Farzad Kamangar, the Iranian Kurdish teacher and social worker sentenced to death on 25th February 2008 for endangering national security, could be hanged today. Reports suggest that he has been taken from his cell 121 in ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison in preparation for execution.
US-Iranian Student Released on Bail
Alert Update
Date: 11 November 2008
US-Iranian student Esha Momeni has been released from Evin prison in Tehran after paying $200,000 in bail. According to the Iranian judiciary, Momeni remains accused of security offences and her case is under preliminary investigation. Reports indicate that she is not allowed to leave the country and must still stand before a political tribunal to face charges.
US-Iranian Student Detained in Notorious Evin Prison
Action Alert
Date: 02 November 2008
A US-Iranian student has been arrested and held in solitary confinement in the notorious section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison, after campaigning for women’s rights. Esha Momeni, a master’s student at California State University at Northridge, was pulled over and arrested 15 October on suspicion of committing a traffic offence, according to Amnesty International.
Scholar of Human Rights and International Law Detained in Iran
Action Alert
Date: 03 September 2008
Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) have expressed grave concern about the apparent detention of Dr. Mehdi Zakerian, an Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Detained Students at Risk of Torture
Action Alert
Date: 14 April 2008
Human Rights Watch have called on the Iranian authorities to investigate claims that Ministry of Information agents and interrogators tortured four detained student activists. Behrooz Karimizadeh, Peyman Piran, Ali Kantouri, and Majid Pourmajid have apparently suffered physical and psychological abuse during detention.
Kurdish Teacher Tortured and Sentenced to Death
Action Alert
Date: 04 March 2008
On 25 February 2008, Branch 30 of the Iranian Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of endangering national security, Human Rights Watch has reported. The prosecution claimed that Kamangar, a teacher from Eastern Kurdistan, is a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Detained French-Iranian journalism student released
Alert Update
Date: 22 January 2008
A Montreal doctoral student who was arrested after travelling to Iran to make a documentary was en route to Paris on Friday, according to the French foreign ministry. Mehrnoushe Solouki, a 38-year-old graduate student was arrested in February 2007 and prevented from leaving Iran for nearly a year after working on a documentary film about the Iraq-Iran war.
Nine teachers sentenced to jail by a criminal court in the province of Hamadan
Alert
Date: 07 January 2008
Education International (EI) has announced that nine teachers - Ali Sadeghi, Yousef Zareie, Majid Fourouzanfar, Jalal Naderi, Yousef Refahiyat, Hadi Gholami, Nader Ghadimi, Ali Najafi and Mahmood Jalilian - have been found guilty of disturbing social order, issuing announcements and holding illegal gatherings.
Doctoral Student held in Iran questioned in closed trial
Action Alert
Date: 19 November 2007
A Montreal doctoral student who was arrested after travelling to Iran to make a documentary, faced a closed trial on Saturday charged with ‘intent to commit propaganda,’ the Free Solouki Group has said. Mehrnoushe Solouki, who has dual French and Iranian nationality and is a Canadian resident, travelled to Iran in December, but is currently prohibited from leaving the country since her arrest in February 2007.
Three Iranian student leaders sentenced to jail terms of up to three years
Alert
Date: 18 October 2007
Majid Tavakoli, Ahmed Ghassaban and Ehsan Mansouri have been sentenced to jail terms of up to three years on vague charges of insulting Islam and its clerics, Iran-Va-Jahan has said. The students belong to the Office for Fostering Unity, one of Iran’s largest reformist student organisations. According to Iran-Va-Jahan, the three students, accused of defaming Islam in a student newsletter, told the court that the newsletter had been fabricated by hardliner students and attributed to reformist students.
US-Iranian Academic Released on Bail
Alert Update
Date: 21 September 2007
Authorities in Iran have released a US-Iranian scholar detained in a Tehran prison for over four months. Kian Tajbakhsh, a planning consultant at the Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute, was freed from the notorious Evin prison on bail for around $100,000. He had been accused of helping to organise a revolution - an accusation that he vehemently denied.
US-Iranian Academic Released on Bail
Alert Update
Date: 27 August 2007
Haleh Esfandiari, a US-Iranian academic, has been released from the Iranian prison in which she was jailed for more than a hundred days on suspicion of promoting a ‘velvet revolution’. She works for the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington and her family paid £160,000 on bail.
Eight Detained Students at Risk of Torture
Alert
Date: 25 June 2007
The students: Ahmad Ghassaban, Meqdad Khalilpour, Pouyan Mahmoudian, Majid Sheikhpour, Majid Tavakoli, Ehsan Mansouri, Abbas Hakim, and Ali Saberi have all been arrested in recent weeks for allegedly defaming Islam in student publications. Human Rights Watch called (HRW) called on the Iranian Judiciary to release these student editors and activists.
Alert
Date: 24 May 2007
Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a senior research fellow at The New School in New York City, and an American citizen, has been held in detention in Iran since 11 May 2007, the information comes from a press statement issued by the Open Society Institute (OSI). The Institute expressed concerns for his safety and called for his immediate release.
Iranian-American Academic Held in Iran
Alert
Date: 11 May 2007
Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, has been under interrogation since December 2006 and is now in a prison in Iran. According to some reports, apparently she stands accused of collaborating with Israel, although the Tehran government has announced no formal charges.
If You Are a Politically Active Student You Might be Barred from Education
Alert
Date: 25 April 2007
Students who criticise the Iranian government might find it difficult to continue their education: at least 17 students have already been refused registration for the new academic year because of their extra-curricula activities. The Iranian Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and the intelligence ministry give one to three penalty points (stars) to the students who criticise the government, according to the threat they pose.
Teachers will continue to Strike despite Threats
Alert
Date: 13 April 2007
Over 300 teachers were arrested during a demonstration on 14 March 2007 held in Iran; they were asking for better pay and working conditions. Education International (E.I.) informs that teachers in the country will continue to stage further strike actions, despite continuous threats by authorities.
Students Flee Fearing for their Lifes
Alert
Date: 19 December 2006
It is reported that after last weeks protests staged against Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, some Iranian student activists have gone into hiding in fear for their lives: supporters of the President have allegedly threatened them with revenge. The Guardian newspaper reports that one student fled after being photographed holding a banner reading, "Fascist president, the polytechnic is not for you", during Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to Tehran's Amir Kabir university.
Students Denied Education Because of Their Political Beliefs
Alert
Date: 24 October 2006
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a paper called ‘Denying the Right to Education’ raising the issue of students banned from Iranian Universities for their political beliefs. The paper informs that only in the last year at least 17 students learned that the government was barring them from registering to take up university places (six during the past academic year and 11 during the current one).
Cyber-Dissident Saminejad Released
Alert Update
Date: 04 October 2006
After 18 months spent in prison for massages posted in his blog, student Mojtaba Saminejad was formally released. He was serving a sentence of two years and 10 months, after being sentenced in March 2005 for "publishing false information with the aim of unsettling public opinion" and "immoral" behaviour and "insulting the Supreme Guide.
Alert Update
Date: 01 September 2006
Ramin Jahanbegloo, director of Contemporary Studies at the Cultural Research Bureau and one of Iran’s most prominent scholars, has been released from Evin prison in Iran on 30 August 2006. He had been held there since April 2006. (see related NEAR Alerts). BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Jahanbegloo, who studied at the Sorbonne, is a philosopher who has written extensively on cultural and philosophical topics, his academic writings include more than 20 books in English, French and Persian.
Iranian Student Dies in Prison
Alert Update
Date: 01 August 2006
The death of Akbar Mohammadi in the notorious Evin Prison on July 31st 2006 has been strongly condemned by Amnesty International, who say he suffered repeated incidents of torture and was given insufficient medical care. Mohammadi had reportedly been on hunger strike since July 21st, and was given a tranquilising drug which may have contributed to his death.
Amir Abbas Fakhravar flees Iran for USA
Alert Update
Date: 09 May 2006
The Iranian dissident, student and journalist Amir Abbas Fakhravar has managed to escape Iran. Following his arrest in 2002 he was allowed to leave temporarily in Spring 2005 in order to finish his degree, but did not return to prison. After hearing reports that he was to be rearrested, he fled Iran in April 2006 and is now in the USA.
Prominent intellectual and academic arrested
Action Alert
Date: 06 May 2006
Ramin Jahanbegloo, director of Contemporary Studies at the Cultural Research Bureau and one of Iran’s most prominent scholar is being held in incommunicado detention for nearly a week, Human Rights Watch informs. He is at risk of torture. Jahanbegloo, who studied at the Sorbonne, is a philosopher who has written extensively on cultural and philosophical topics, his academic writings include more than 20 books in English, French and Persian.
Amir Abbas Fakhravar flees Iran for USA
Alert Update
Date: 06 May 2006
The Iranian dissident, student and journalist Amir Abbas Fakhravar has managed to escape Iran. Following his arrest in 2002 he was allowed to leave temporarily in Spring 2005 in order to finish his degree, but did not return to prison. After hearing reports that he was to be rearrested, he fled Iran in April 2006 and is now in the USA.
Detained Student allowed to sit exams in handcuffs
Alert Update
Date: 27 January 2006
25-year-old Mojtaba Saminejad, communications students and blogger, was taken in handcuffs to sit his exams at the Azad University in Teheran on the 21 January 2006. The student has been in prison since February 2005 for "insulting the Supreme Guide". Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the fact that the Iranian courts have allowed him to continue his university course but repeated its call for his release.
Iran Court send student leader to prison for five years
Alert
Date: 21 December 2005
Abdollah Momeni an Iranian student leader has been sentenced to five years of prison by an Iranian court the 20 December 2005. he is accused of acting against state security. The student commented that one of the charges related to organising student protests in 2002-2003 against a death sentence issued against reformist academic Hashem Aghajari for blasphemy (please see Related NEAR Alerts).
Shi’a Scholar Detained for Publishing Book on Islamic History
Action Alert
Date: 19 October 2005
Grand Ayatollah Yasub al-Din Rastgari, religious leader and scholar, is believed to have been held since 27 April 2004 for publishing a book on Islamic religious history. The International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee is seriously concerned about the detention of the scholar. The organisation first learned of this case in June 2005, and exact details remain difficult to confirm.
Student Mojtaba Lotfi released
Alert Update
Date: 30 August 2005
Reporters without Borders (RSF) has welcomed the release of online journalist Mojtaba Lotfi on 28 August 2005 after more than six months in prison and Mohamad Reza Nasab Abdolahi, a weblogger arrested in February, who was set free the previous day after completing his sentence. However, it remains concerned that both still have prison sentences hanging over their heads.
Iranian Student Jailed for "Insulting the Supreme Guide"
Alert
Date: 15 July 2005
Communications students and blogger Mojtaba Saminejad was acquitted of charges of "insulting the prophets" - for which he faced the death penalty - in June 2005. However, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that Saminejad is serving a two-year sentence for "insulting the Supreme Guide". He has been in custody since 12 February 2005.
Dissidents Situation Worsens in Iran
Alert
Date: 06 May 2005
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) informs that Cyber-dissident Mojtaba Lotfi is gravely ill in prison, and that in the city of Qom a professor has been harassed for his blog. RSF has condemned the latest crackdown on cyber-dissidents and bloggers in the southern city of Qom. Mojtaba Lotfi (please see related NEAR Alerts), who is serving a prison sentence in the city for articles he posted on the Internet, is gravely ill.
Continued Clampdown on Iranian Student Dissidents
Action Alert
Date: 02 March 2005
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN call on Iranian authorities to release the cyber dissidents that have been imprisoned in recent weeks. The use of the internet in Iran has grown extremely rapidly in recent years. As traditional print-forms of communication such as journals and newspapers have been closed down by the Iranian authorities-as many as 100 publications are believed to have been banned in the past five years-the internet has become an alternative medium for exchanging views.
Prison Sentence Confirmed for Dissident Students
Alert Update
Date: 16 February 2005
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Iran is undergoing the biggest-ever crackdown on online expression in the Middle East. Two Iranian Internet users and cyber-dissidents recently have had their sentences confirmed. Cyber-dissident Mojtaba Lotfi was imprisoned on 5 February 2005 after an appeal court upheld a sentence of three years and 10 months in prison for posting "lies" on the Internet (please read Related NEAR Alerts).
Student Imprisoned for Publishing Human Rights Article
Alert
Date: 28 August 2004
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) continues to strongly criticise the Iranian authorities for their continued efforts to gag the internet. After the July 2004 trial against theology student Mojtaba Lotfi they have recently blocked access to three pro-reformist Internet websites and arresting some of their contributors and have closed three internet cafés.
Professor Hashem Aghajari Finally Freed from Jail
Alert Update
Date: 02 August 2004
Dr Hashem Aghajari the university professor twice condemned to death for blasphemy was released, the 31 July 2004, from an Iranian prison after two years of legal battles with judges and mass demonstrations by students. Emerging from prison the history professor told reporters: "I hope that freedom, justice and human rights will be realised.
Iranian Academic, Hashem Aghajari, Sentenced to Five Years For Insulting Islam
Alert Update
Date: 25 July 2004
“By sentencing me to five years in jail and depriving me for another five years of my right to publish and teach, the court’s verdict would in effect bury me alive, even though there it is not a death sentence,” Islamic activist and history teacher Hashem Aghajari wrote in a letter to his family, reacting to the ruling of a Tehran court in his retrial for insulting Islamic sanctities.
Iran's Students Detained for Five Years for Peaceful Demonstrations
Alert
Date: 08 July 2004
Iran's judiciary should undertake an independent and impartial judicial review of the trials of demonstrators convicted after their arrest during the July 1999 student led demonstrations, and the Iranian government should release all student detainees still imprisoned for peaceful dissent, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch declared.
Death Sentence for Iranian Academic Dropped, Prison Sentence to be Reviewed
Action Alert
Date: 01 July 2004
Dr. Hashem Aghajari’s death sentence has been dropped on 28 June 2004 by Iran's judiciary. Dr. Aghajari a professor of history and a prominent human rights dissident, was sentenced to death in November 2002 for apostasy in connection with a university lecture he gave in which he rejected demands to "blindly follow" clerical rule and called for reform within the Islamic clerical establishment.
History professor, Dr Hashem Aghajari, Faces Death Penalty Again
Alert Update
Date: 04 May 2004
A regional court in Iran has reimposed the death penalty on a prominent dissident, Dr Hashem Aghajari the 4 May 2004. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Mr Aghajari, a history professor at a Tehran college, made a speech in August 2002, which was a seen as an attack on the country's Islamic establishment and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Khamenei.
Student/Journalist Ill-treated in Jail
Action Alert
Date: 17 March 2004
The Writers in Prison Commission of International PEN is seriously concerned about reports that student and journalist Amir Abbas Fakhravar is being ill-treated in jail. International PEN seeks immediate details about his well-being and whereabouts, and assurances that he is being given access to any necessary medical care.
Academic Released on Bail in Iran
Alert Update
Date: 10 November 2003
Iranian-American academic Dariush Zahedi, who was detained in Iran on suspicion of spying, has been freed on bail of two billion rials (circa $250,000 dollars) on Sunday 9 November 2003. Mohammad Shadabi, a spokesman for Tehran's prosecution office, said Zahedi, who lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, "is not barred from leaving the country".
Call to Release Detained Iranian Professor
Alert
Date: 24 October 2003
Dariush Zahedi, an Iranian-American academic held without charge by Iranian authorities since July, should be released immediately and unconditionally, Human Rights Watch demanded. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Zahedi traveled to Iran in June 2003 to visit his family. In early July, the 37-year-old professor was attending a meeting at his brother's office in Tehran when it was raided by the authorities.
Lecturer and Human Rights Activist Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Alert
Date: 10 October 2003
The following is the statement given by the Norwegian Nobel Committee supporting the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi for her efforts for democracy and human rights. “As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, [Ms Ebadi] has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders.
Mass Arrests of Students and Student Leaders in Iran
Alert
Date: 26 June 2003
Iranian security services have detained about 80 Students in the wake of recent anti-clerical protests in Iran lasting 10 days. The protests were a direct challenge to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and led to violent clashes between vigilantes, protesters and police. Yesterday Abdollah Momeni, a student leader, was arrested on the campus of Teheran University.
After Violent Student Protests Iran's Intellectuals challenge Supreme Leader Khameini
Alert
Date: 16 June 2003
More than 250 university lecturers, students and writers in Iran signed a statement calling on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to become more secular. The statement was published in the reformist newspaper Yas-e-nou today and made available to the Associated Press. "Considering individuals to be in the position of a divinity and absolute power .
Fear of Ill Treatment or Torture for Professor of Teheran University
Action Alert
Date: 04 March 2003
Amnesty International (AI) fears that Qasem Sho'leh Sa'di, a lawyer, may be facing torture or ill treatment in incommunicado detention following his arrest at Tehran's international airport at 5 o'clock in the morning on 24 February 2003. In an alert issued on 4 March 2003, AI reported on his case as follows: Qasem Sho'leh Sa'di, a lawyer and political science professor at Tehran University, went to France on 6 December 2002, following publication of an open letter addressed to the Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei.
Ayatollah Orders Reconsideration of Death Sentence Handed Down to Academic Hashem Aghajari
Alert Update
Date: 28 November 2002
On 27 November 2002 International PEN issued an update on the case of History Professor Hashem Aghajari, who was sentenced to death on the charge of apostasy. The following is the original version of the PEN alert update, wherein the background information is based on the Human Rights Watch press release on 9 November 2002.
Alert
Date: 22 November 2002
Human Rights Watch stated on 22 November 2002 that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s public threat against peaceful student demonstrators could spark a repeat of 1999 paramilitary violence in Iran. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Speaking at Friday Prayers in Tehran this morning, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran ordered the students to “return to their homes” or “the people will intervene” against them.
Fear for Safety of University Lecturer
Action Alert
Date: 12 November 2002
On 11 November 2002 Amnesty International (AI) issued an alert, fearing for the safety of four men, including Dr Hossein Ghaziyan, who were detained in connection with an opinion poll on US-Iranian relations. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Amnesty International fears that Dr Hossein Ghaziyan, Behrouz Geranpayeh and Abbas Abdi are at risk of ill treatment and possibly torture.
History Professor Faces Threat of Execution
Action Alert
Date: 07 November 2002
Amnesty International (AI) issued an urgent action appeal on 7 November 2002 concerning Dr Seyyed Hashem Aghajari, a history professor at Tehran's Tarbiat Modares University, who is at risk of execution. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Dr Seyyed Hashem Aghajari was arrested on 8 August 2002 following a speech he gave on 19 June 2002 in Hamedan, western Iran.
Researcher Sentenced to Seven Years Imprisonment
Action Alert
Date: 28 October 2002
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN has issues an action alert on 28 October 2002. International PEN is deeply concerned at the seven-year prison sentence reportedly handed down to the journalist and researcher Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousef Eshkevari by the Iranian Clergyman’s Special Tribunal (CST) in Tehran on 12 October 2002.
Akbar Mohammadi Imprisoned and Tortured
Action Alert
Date: 08 July 2001
The medical student Akbar Mohammadi's death sentence was commuted on 30 April to 15 years' imprisonment by order of Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Amnesty International continues to urge the authorities that he be granted a re-trial conforming to international standards for fair trial and that an independent investigation into his alleged torture is carried out.