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FACTS OF THE CASE:

In July 2003, Dariush Zahedi, an Iranian-American political scientist and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, traveled to Iran to visit his family. While in Iran, Dr. Zahedi attended a meeting in his brother’s office in Tehran. Iranian officials raided the meeting and arrested all of the individuals present. The Ministry of Intelligence conducted an investigation and determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and immediately released all of the attendees except Dr. Zahedi.

According to Mohsen Armin, a member of the Iranian parliament who met with Ministry of Intelligence officials, Dr. Zahedi was accused of espionage. The reason for the charge was that Dr. Zahedi had traveled to Iran several times on the anniversaries of the 1999 Tehran University protests. He was apparently being held under suspicion of organizing student protests around this politically-charged anniversary. However, a 40-day investigation conducted by the Ministry of Intelligence did not result in any evidence that Dr. Zahedi had been involved with student protests. The timing of the trips was related to the fact that as an academic Dr. Zahedi traveled during the scheduled summer break of his university.

After being cleared of suspicion, Dr. Zahedi was about to be released, but the Tehran Chief Prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, intervened and transferred the case under the control of the judiciary. The judiciary has continued to hold him in Evin Prison since his arrest, the majority of time he is spending in solitary confinement. The judiciary has not clarified the charges under which Dr. Zahedi has been held and his family has no information about the legal status of his case.

Dr. Zahedi, 37, is a respected academic who has taught at several universities in the United States, including the University of Southern California and Santa Clara University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He is also the director of the West Coast operations of the American Iranian Council (AIC). Chaired by former US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, AIC is a nonprofit educational organization devoted to improving relations between the US and Iran. He has published numerous academic articles focusing on Iran and the Middle East in such journals as Middle East Policy and the Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review and has authored several books on this topic. Dr. Zahedi was scheduled to teach a class this fall at the Peace and Conflict Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley. University of California officials released a press statement expressing their concern for Dr. Zahedi’s safety.

Since learning of his arrest, Dr. Zahedi’s family tried numerous informal efforts to secure his release. The family originally opted to work through informal means because security officials told them that Dr. Zahedi would be harmed if the case was widely publicized. The family was only able to visit him twice in prison, but during each of these brief visits, they were unable to speak freely because of the presence of a guard. Dr. Zahedi does not have a lawyer and the family has no information about his condition in prison. Other political prisoners in Evin Prison have faced torture in attempts to obtain false “confessions.” In October, the family fearing for Dr. Zahedi’s safety decided to bring international attention to the case in the hopes that it would bring pressure to bear upon the Iranian government to clarify the charges or release him.

(Sources of information for this case include: Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch and the University of California, Berkeley.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
• Article 9(4): Anyone who is deprived of his [or her] liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his [or her] detention and order his [or her] release if the detention is not lawful.
• Article 9(3): Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
• Article 9(2): Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his [or her] arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him [or her].
• Article 9(1): Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
• Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [or her] rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him [or her].
• Article 09: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Requesting that Dr. Dariush Zahedi be granted full access to legal representation and any medical care that he may require and that his safety be assured during his detention;
• Requesting that the Iranian government immediately clarify the charges against Dr. Dariush Zahedi and that if no credible charges can be determined that Dr. Zahedi be immediately and unconditionally released and allowed to leave the country; and
• Expressing your concern that it appears that Dr. Zahedi is being held as a political prisoner.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency:

His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami
President of Iran
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 649 5880
khatami@president.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency:

His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 879 6671
irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
Salutation: Dear Mr. Minister:

COPIES SENT TO:

Islamic Republic of Iran Interest Section
Head of Mission
Embassy of Pakistan
2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington DC 20007
Fax: (202) 965-1073
requests@daftar.org

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

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