Washington, D.C.,May 25, 2007
The arrest of Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari by the government of Iran is unjustified and indefensible, Freedom House said today, and urged that she be freed immediately.
While in Iran to visit family, Washington-based scholar Haleh Esfandiari was first interrogated and prevented from leaving the country in early January. She was finally arrested and taken to Tehran’s Evin prison earlier this month, and was formally charged this week with seeking to topple the government of Iran. Ms. Esfandiari is head of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars’ Middle East Program in Washington, D.C.
“The detention of Ms. Esfandiari in the infamous Ward 209 of Evin Prison is a reminder to the international community of the Islamic Republic’s paranoia,” said Mariam Memarsadeghi, Senior Middle East Program Manager at Freedom House. “If it weren’t so tragic, it could be viewed as ironic that a respected scholar who has striven to increase understanding between Iran and the US would be targeted.”
Several other dual Iranian-American citizens are currently being held by the Iranian government in detention or house arrest. They include Kian Tajbakhsh, a consultant for the Open Society Institute, Parnaz Azima, a correspondent for Radio Farda, and Ali Shakeri, founder of the Center for Citizen Peace Building at the University of California, Irvine. None have been charged yet.
The detentions and arrest come amidst an escalating government crackdown on Iranian civil society, especially women’s rights activists, student leaders, labor unionists, and journalists. Last month, four women’s rights activists were sentenced to prison for organizing a peaceful protest, while student activists continue to be summoned to the Revolutionary Court, arrested and convicted on false charges.
“The detention and absurd charges against dual citizens working in the international sphere, and the Iranian Intelligence Ministry’s warnings against US involvement in these cases are disturbing scare tactics intended to prevent Iranian civil society leaders from building bridges with the outside world,” said Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom House. “Countries and organizations that respect human rights must do all they can to ensure that the Iranian government’s efforts are not successful in this regard.”
Freedom House is a cosponsor of the Free Haleh! campaign.
Iran is ranked Not Free in Freedom House’s 2007 edition of Freedom in the World, an annual survey of political rights and civil liberties worldwide. The country received a rating of 6 (on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 as the lowest) for political rights and a 6 for civil liberties, and was given a downward trend arrow in 2007, signaling negative trends that may result in even lower scores if expanded throughout the year.
Freedom House, an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expression of freedom around the world, has been monitoring political rights and civil liberties in Iran since 1972.
