The Nobel Women’s Initiative calls on the Government of Iran to immediately release Haleh Esfandiari from Evin Prison, to drop all charges against her, and to free her to return to her home and family.
Haleh Esfandiari, a dual Iranian-American national, the Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, and a renowned scholar in her own right, was arrested by the Iranian authorities on May 8 and has since been held in solitary confinement at Evin Prison. In violation of the Iranian Constitution, Iranian law and Iran’s international commitments, Dr. Esfandiari has been held in solitary confinement, subjected to tens of hours of interrogation without benefit of counsel, and denied family visits, contact with her lawyer or effective legal representation. Dr. Esfandiari’s lawyer, our sister Nobel Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, has not been allowed to visit her. Dr. Esfandiari is 67 and a grandmother. There is good reason to be concerned about the state of her mental and physical health and her treatment by the prison and security authorities.
Dr. Esfandiari’s harassment began even earlier than her arrest on May 8. Dr. Esfandiari went to Tehran in December 2006 to visit her 93 year old mother. On December 30, on her way to the airport to fly back to her home in the United States, she was stopped by three masked, knife-wielding men who took away all her belongings, including her American and Iranian passports.
Prevented from leaving the country, she was subjected to over 50 hours of interrogation by officials of the Ministry of Intelligence, subjected to intimidation and threatened with graver consequences if she did not “cooperate” with the authorities. Such interrogation methods continued after her unjustified incarceration in Evin Prison.
Iranian authorities apparently wish to charge her with actions against national security. Such charges are entirely without foundation. In her work at the Wilson Center, Dr. Esfandiari has strived to provide a forum for exchanges among scholars, researchers and journalists representing a wide range of views on Middle Eastern issues. She has been a tireless promoter of and believer in dialogue between Iran and the international community. She has devoted a lifetime to the advancement of women’s rights in the Middle East.
Dr. Esfandiari is a published author and editor. Before taking up her present position at the Wilson Center, Dr. Esfandiari for many years taught Persian language and literature at Princeton University. In a letter to the Iranian authorities calling for her release, her former students have noted that it was Dr. Esfandiari who instilled in them a love for the Persian language and Persian literature. It is astonishing that Iranian authorities should subject a woman who has been devoted to Iran all her life to unfair treatment, incarceration and unfounded charges.
Human rights organizations, leading associations of Middle Eastern scholars, university professors, and scientists, international women’s organizations, and leading newspapers all over the world have called for an end to Dr. Esfandiari’s unjustified imprisonment.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative calls on the Iranian government to adhere to its own high principles of justice and fairness. It is time end Dr. Esfandiari’s imprisonment, to restore her freedom, and to allow her to return home.
Take Action!
Amnesty International, print out a letter to send to Iranian officials about Haleh’s case.
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, sign a petition to appeal for Haleh’s release.
More information on Haleh’s arrest and support for her freedom:
Iran widens investigation of two jailed Americans, Washington Post, 11 July 2007
Human rights groups hold vigil for detained Iranian-Americans, Voice of America, 28 June 2007
Hostage in Iran, International Herald Tribune, 11 May 2007
Haleh Esfandiari’s plight, United Press International, 11 May 2007
Link to other NWI pages on women’s rights in Iran:
Take Action Now: Tell Iran campaigned for women’s rights is not a ‘threat to national security’