Protest Against Civil Rights Violations in Iran

Social Research, Summer, 2000

Another grave violation of civil rights and due process of law has occurred in Iran. Seven well-known and outspoken supporters of the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, attended a Berlin conference on "Iran After the Elections" and were arrested shortly after their return to Tehran. Those arrested included Akbar Ganji, a journalist instrumental in investigating the serial murders of Iranian intellectuals; Mehrangiz Kar, a prominent civil rights lawyer and women's rights activist; Shahla Lahiji, a distinguished publisher and outspoken advocate of women's rights; Ezzatollah Sahabi, a reformist journalist; Hamid-Reza Jalaipour, a senior member of the editorial board of the leading reformist daily, Asr-e Azadegan; Jamileh Kadivar, the recently elected member of the Sixth Parliament; and Ali-Reza Afshari, a leader in the student movement for civil rights.

They were accused of acting against the national security of the Islamic Republic and of "desecrating Islamic sanctifies" by taking part in the conference. The Revolutionary Court issued a statement declaring that during the conference "the sacred Islamic regime of Iran and its principles were insulted." The trumped-up bases for these charges were staged scenes at the conference shown on Iranian State Television, in which those charged were seen at the Berlin conference watching the sexually provocative behavior of a few people intent upon disrupting and discrediting the conference.

While three of those arrested have been released on bail, the others--Akbar Ganji, Mehrangiz Kar, Shahla Lahiji, and Ali-Reza Afshari--remain in prison. Their fate has been made more perilous by the orders indefinitely suspending publication of most of the pro-reformist press--a suspension that virtually eliminates access to information. The situations of Akbar Ganji and Shahla Lahiji are particularly urgent because one suffers from a severe case of asthma and the other from acute angina.

The arrest and imprisonment of these individuals egregiously violate of their civil rights and the due process of law. We call upon President Khatami, the highest democratically elected official in Iran, to demand their immediate, unconditional release. If there are formal charges against them, those charges must be delivered through proper legal channels. The accused must be afforded legal representation and tried publicly, in full view of the national and international press. We also call upon Hojjat al-Islam Mohmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, head of the Judiciary, who is responsible for safeguarding the civil rights of citizens, to immediately end these blatant violations of basic juridical principles.

Signed,

ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN, City University of New York

EDWARD ALBEE, Playwright, USA

ROLAND ALGRANT

GELAREH ASAYESH, Journalist and Author, St. Petersburg, Florida

TIMOTHY GARTON ASH, St Antony's College, Oxford University

DIANA AYTON-SHENKER, PEN American Center, New York

XOCHITL BADA, M.A. Student, New School University, Political Science Dept., New School University

ALI BANUAZIZI, Professor of Cultural Psychology, Boston College, USA

CLAUDIA BEDRICK, Managing Editor, Social Research Journal Donation Project, New School University

PETER BERNSTEIN, USA

JOAN BINGHAM, Grove/Atlantic Press

PAUL BRODEUR, Writer, USA

RACHEL BRONSON, Council on Foreign Relations, USA

MUSA BUDEIRI, Associate Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine

JOSE CASANOVA, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Graduate Faculty, New School University

NOAM CHOMSKY, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

JEROME W. CLINTON, Princeton University

J. M. COETZEE, Writer, South Africa

JOANNA COTLER, Me & Editorial Director, Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins Publishers

HAMID DABASHI, Associate Professor, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, Columbia University

PETER DE JANOSI, Senior Advisor, LEAD International

LISA DREW, Vice President and Publisher, Lisa Drew Books/Scribner

DELINA FICO, Women's rights activist, USA/Albania

NANCY FRASER, Loeb Prof of Politics & Philosophy, Graduate Faculty, New School University

JUDITH FRIEDLANDER, Dean and Professor of Anthropology, Graduate Faculty, New School University

THOMAS FRONCEK, Reader's Digest Association

MS BARBARA A. FROST, Computing Sc., University of Transkei, South Africa

DR. DEBORAH J. GERNER, Department of Political Science, University of Kansas, United States

ANTHONY GIDDENS, London School of Economics

MISHA GLENNY, Writer and Journalist, England

ADAM GOPNIK, Writer, USA

JOHN HOLLANDER, Sterling Professor of English, Yale University GERALD HOLTON, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Harvard University

QUINTIN HOARE

EVA HOFFMAN, Journalist, England

NICHOLAS HUMPHREY, London School of Economics and New School University

MICHAEL IGNATIEFF, Writer, England

CAROLYN KAHN, Associate Director, King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, New York University

IRA I. KATZNELSON, Ruggles Professor of Political Science, Columbia University

NIKKI KEDDIE, Professor of History, University of California - Los Angeles

MEHRDAD KHONSARI Editor & Publisher of IRANFile, England