JARAS: Tajbakhsh to be Released from Prison

According to the Jaras website, the most prominent Iranian opposition website, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, top researcher and sociology professor from Columbia University will be released from prison for Norooz, most likely by the end of today.

Citing an unnamed source, Jaras is reporting that Dr. Tajbakhsh will be released by tonight or tomorrow. It appears that the Iranian government is releasing a large number of its political prisoners for Norooz, though the judiciary has set outrageous bail amounts for each detainee. It is reported that Dr. Tajbakhsh’s bail is set at $500,000 US.

Dr. Tajbakhsh, an Iranian American who holds dual citizenship, was arrested in the aftermath of June 2009 disputed election, and has been sentenced to five years in prison for his alleged political activities against the establishment. Following the great international outcry by a variety of human rights organizations, Tajbakhsh’s original sentencing of fifteen years was reconsidered by an appellate court and was later reduced to five years instead.

NIAC has repeatedly called for Tajbakhsh release, as well as for the release of all political prisoners in Iran.

Lawyer says case against Tajbakhsh devoid of evidence

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is asserting that the case against Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh “contains no evidence to support the allegations against him,” based on conversations with Tajbakhsh’s lawyer who has studied the prosecution’s entire case against Tajbakhsh. Tajbakhsh was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “espionage”.

There is apparently no correlation between the evidence in his file and the conviction and sentencing of Tajbakhsh, while the file itself is evidence of the blatantly political and arbitrary nature of the case.  Espionage is closely defined under Iranian law, and guilt needs to be established by evidence that highly confidential documents were passed to foreign governments. There are no references to such documents in the file.The file, only recently seen by Shafie, contains video clips of public demonstrations that Tajbakhsh allegedly emailed which hardly qualify as confidential or classified government documents.  Tajbakhsh had no access to such documents in any event.

The Campaign goes on to document the numerous breaches of Tajbakhsh’s rights. (More below the fold):

Iran Adds Espionage Charges Against Iranian-American

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has more very concerning news about Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh:

Earlier this week, Tajbakhsh was brought in front of the Third Branch of the Security Court,  which is a new court  created and controlled apparently by the Revolutionary Guards to prosecute dissidents. He was charged with new allegations of spying based on emails he wrote to Middle East specialists on the Gulf 2000 list, which includes hundreds of experts, diplomats, and journalists. According to information received by the Campaign, high ranking Revolutionary Guards commanders initiated the new charges against Tajbakhsh. He is currently held in solitary confinement in Evin prison and denied release on bail.

Tajbakhsh has been already sentenced to 15 years in prison by a lower court, which charged him with multiple counts, including “acting against national security, by membership in the internet network related to Gary Sick, a CIA agent, and other foreign elements with the purpose of urging people to riot in presidential elections; spying and connections with foreign elements against the sacred system of the Islamic Republic; accepting a consultancy position with the Soros Foundation aimed at the soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran; propaganda activities against the sacred system of the Islamic Republic by participation in illegal assemblies and causing doubt and giving impression of fraud and cheating in election results; and causing lack of public trust towards the official national organs and the ruling system by instigating rioting, mayhem, fear and terror within the society.” No evidence was presented in Tajbakhsh’s trial to support these grave charges.

NIAC condemned the sentencing of Tajbakhsh last month.

Iranian American pushed to center stage in show trial

State-funded Press TV reports on the latest person to be targeted in the trials today: Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh. Predictably, the forced confession describes a conspiracy to overthrow the Islamic Republic led by Iran’s top reformists.

In a Tuesday court session in Tehran, Tajbakhsh, a former member of the Soros Foundation in Iran, said in his defense statement that former president Khatami and Mohammad-Javad Zarif, the then Iranian envoy to the United Nations, met George Soros, the founder of the network, in 2006.

Tajbakhsh said the meeting was part of a plan, which began in 1997, when Khatami took office, to ‘overthrow’ the system. He added that Khatami has been ‘constantly’ in contact with the Soros Foundation since then.

“Because of the support of some officials from the Reformist camp…a safe place was created for the cooperation of domestic and foreign forces…and American political parties and NGOs found a way to start activities in Iran,” Tajbakhsh added.

NIAC called for the release of Kian Tajbakhsh and other political prisoners last month. You can sign the petition seeking his release here.

Friends, Family of Kian Tajbakhsh concerned about upcoming ‘show trial’

The following comes from an email from friends and colleagues of Kian Tajbakhsh, the Iranian American intellectual detained in Iran.

We are extremely worried about Kian. The following has been approved by the family for posting. We have heard the show trials will start tomorrow, and there seems to be a distinct disconnect between heavy coverage of the upcoming trials in the Persian media and no coverage of them in the western media.

We would like to keep the trials and detainees in the spotlight. Could you please help us? We’ve been in touch with many media outlets as Kian instructed in case he was arrested again.

Please post and direct members to http://www.FreeKian09.org where they can sign the online petition. 

The airing of the much-anticipated show trail(s) featuring forced statements by political prisoners has become a major point of contention between the leadership and opposition, with the Revolutionary Guards Corps determined to hold them, possibly beginning this weekend.

The statement follows:

*Family and Friends of Detained Iranian American Scholar Kian Tajbakhsh Strongly Deny Accusations by Iranian Authorities and Denounce Iran’s Use of Forced Statements by Political Prisoners *

In Iran’s first official acknowledgment of Kian’s arrest on July 9, Iranian Press TV  reported on Monday that “Iranian authorities detained Tajbakhsh on grounds of cooperating with Hossein Rassam, the head of the security and political
division of the British Embassy in Tehran, who is also in custody over post-election turmoil.”

These false accusations are entirely groundless. Those who know Kian understand that his persecution by Iranian authorities is not only tragic but ironic—as a social scientist and urban planner he has always sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides and honor his much-loved homeland. His work is a valued asset that the Government of Iran should seek to protect.

The Iranian state television report on Kian’s arrest also notes that “Iran blames foreign powers, the US and Britain in particular, for what it calls interference in its internal affairs and post-vote disturbances, which have claimed the lives of at least 20 people.”

We are concerned that Kian is being held in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to obtain forced statements from him to use in a televised show trial. It is exceedingly important that we all strongly denounce Iran’s serial practice of extracting forced statements from political prisoners. Such statements are repeatedly extracted under conditions of torture for the sole purpose of staging televised show trials in an attempt to deceive the Iranian public.