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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

Date:	5 December 2003
Case Number:	ir0310.zah
Victim:	Dariush Zahedi
Country:	Iran
Subject:	Dr. Zahedi Released on Bail
Issues:	Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; Freedom of association and assembly; Freedom of opinion and expression; Right to a fair and impartial trial
Type of alert:	Update
Related alerts:	4 November 2003

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 9 November 2003, Iranian-American political activist and college lecturer Dr. Dariush Zahedi, 37, was released on a bail of $250,000. Dr. Zahedi, an adjunct faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley, had been detained in Tehran's Evin Prison for almost four months on espionage charges against Iran. A naturalized American and dual citizen to both countries, Dr. Zahedi is free to leave Iran, but he must return for an eventual court hearing, pending the completion of an investigation into his charges. Friends and family believe that Dr. Zahedi intends to stay in Iran rather than leave until his charges of spying are formalized and knows whether or not he will have to face trial.

While in Iran, Dr. Zahedi attended a meeting at 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 spying for the United States on Iran as a result of numerous consecutive trips that he made to Iran. These trips had coincided with anniversaries of the 1999 Tehran University protests and created suspicion among Ministry of Intelligence officials that the lecturer had been organizing student protests around this politically-charged anniversary. The timing of his trips was related to the facts that as an academic Dr. Zahedi was able to travel during his university’s scheduled summer break.

After a 40-day investigation into the charges, which resulted in no evidence, Dr. Zahedi was cleared of suspicion by the Ministry of Intelligence. Dr. Zahedi was about to be released when Tehran Chief Prosecutor Said Mortazavi reportedly then intervened and had Dr. Zahedi’s case transferred to the judiciary. Dr. Zahedi was held in solitary confinement throughout the majority of his detainment in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where in July, an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist was beaten to death after 77 hours of interrogation for taking pictures of student-led protests.

Until his release, Dr. Zahedi’s family was only able to visit him briefly in the prison on two occasions and speak with him once on phone while in the presence of a guard. The presence of the guard prevented the family from speaking freely with Dr. Zahedi. Dr. Zahedi was denied access to a lawyer and his family was given no information about his condition in prison. Told by security officials that Dr. Zahedi would be harmed if the case was widely publicized, the family originally chose to work through informal means and made numerous informal efforts to secure his release. In October, the family finally decided to bring international attention to Dr. Zahedi’s case for fear of his safety, in the hopes that it would bring pressure to bear upon the Iranian government to clarify the charges or for his release.

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

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

No action is recommended at this time. Thanks to all who sent letters of appeal.

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.

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