http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/July10PressRelease.doc
WASHINGTON—The Wilson Center today rejected as totally without merit the suggestion that Iran has discovered new evidence that Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Center’s Middle East Program, acted against Iran’s national security.
Esfandiari was arrested by the Iranian government on May 8, and has been held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison for over two months. She continues to be denied access to her family, her lawyers, the Swiss government, and international organizations like the Red Cross.
“We are deeply disturbed by these new reports from Iran, and by the fact that Haleh remains in Evin prison despite not one shred of truth to any of the charges brought against her,” said Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Wilson Center. “We are gravely concerned about Haleh’s physical and mental state. We have been unable to get anyone in to see Haleh, and to report to us on the state of her health and well-being. The reports we have received are that Haleh has lost weight and that she is not getting the medical attention or the medicines she needs. I ask the Iranian government to end this nightmare for Haleh and the other imprisoned Iranian-Americans. As I have said countless times before, Haleh is a scholar. She is not a spy. Let Haleh go.”
Shaul Bakhash, Haleh’s husband and professor of history at George Mason University, has likewise dismissed the legitimacy of Iran’s recent actions. “It is obvious that the Ministry of Intelligence, lacking any real cause or evidence to keep my wife…is trying to drag things out by claiming continuing ‘investigations,’” he stated in an interview with The Washington Post this morning. “After hundreds of hours of interrogation and so-called investigation, what is left to investigate? The aim of the security authorities is clearly to coerce a false confession; or, out of sheer meanness, they intend to keep Haleh in Evin Prison as long as they can. It is astonishing that Iran’s political leaders allow this charade to continue.” (To read the full Post article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000486.html)
On July 4, Haleh’s lawyer, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, spoke to the prosecutor working on Haleh’s case. To date, Ms. Ebadi has been prevented from communicating with her client. When she inquired again about the possibility of meeting with Haleh, the prosecutor responded by saying that Ms. Ebadi must submit a written request to the court. Ms. Ebadi has submitted this request, along with a request for Haleh’s release from Evin prison, at least on bail. The court promised an answer by this week, though Ms. Ebadi is not sure whether the court will keep its promise.
For up-to-date information regarding the situation of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, please visit the Wilson Center’s media update center at www.wilsoncenter.org/halehnews. To get involved in the campaign to free Haleh, go to www.freehaleh.org. Media with questions may reach Sharon McCarter at (202) 691-4016 or sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org.
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs.