The Free Haleh campaign recognizes the plight of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh and urges his safe and immediate release from Evin Prison. The following is a brief recount of the unfortunate actions against Dr. Tajbakhsh and his wrongful imprisonment.

Kian is a distinguished scholar, teacher, and international expert on urban planning. He has worked tirelessly to aid the people of Iran and build bridges between them and the international community.

Kian was arrested at his home in Tehran by the Iranian security services on May 11th, and has been detained in the notorious Evin prison since then. Kian has not seen a lawyer and has not been permitted visitors. He has been charged with no crime. We are shocked and saddened by his detention.

Please visit www.freekian.org for more information, links, and to sign a petition for Kian’s release.

Ex Secretary of State Ms. Madeline Albright demands Haleh’s immediate release through a statement issued on May 23rd.

The arrest and imprisonment by Iran of Haleh Esfandiari, a highly accomplished and respected 67-year old academic and program director from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, is offensive and indefensible. Accusations against Ms. Esfandiari of conspiring to foment a revolution in Iran are spurious and ridiculous. The Iranian government should release Ms. Esfandiari immediately and unconditionally. I want to express my admiration for Ms. Esfandieri’s intellectual integrity and commitment to helping the people of Iran and the Middle East, and emphasize the respect of intellectual and academic freedom as a core value of civilized nations.

Professor Saul Bakhash and Robin Wright of the Washington Post were hosted yesterday on the Diane Rehm show. You can listen to the hour long interview about Haleh’s plight here (windows media Player).

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) made a statement on May 11 about Haleh’s arrest, he called for Haleh’s immediate release. Also, Senator Lieberman recognized Haleh for being a voice of moderation and a promoter of peaceful exchange.

Dr. Esfandiari has dedicated decades of her life to the cause of promoting the peaceful exchange of ideas between the Iranian people and the American people. She has inspired untold numbers of American students to study the Persian language and the rich culture and history of Iran.

If the Iranian government sincerely wants to reach out and engage with the American people, it should immediately and unconditionally release this champion of outreach, and it should continue by releasing all other individuals it has detained merely for participating in the free exchange of scholarship and ideas.”

Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called for the immediate release today of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari

“I call for the immediate release of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, the Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her arrest is inhumane. It is also self-defeating, since Dr. Esfandiari has been a courageous voice of reason on Iranian issues for decades. She has struggled to build bridges of dialogue across the widening chasm dividing Iran and America. I urge the Iranian government to release her immediately and allow her to return to her home and her family.”

Professor Noam Chomsky also issued a statement calling for Haleh’s release.

I would like to join Human Rights Watch and the Middle East Studies Association in strenuously condemning the persecution and now imprisonment of Haleh Esfandiari. These actions are deplorable in themselves, and also are a gift to Western hardliners who are trying to organize support for military action against Iran. Now is a time for diplomacy, negotiations, and relaxation of tensions, in accordance with the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans and Iranians, as recent polls reveal. The intolerable treatment of this highly respected scholar and human rights activist severely undermines the efforts of those who are seeking peace, justice, and freedom in the region and the world.

Professor Juan Cole is boycotting a conference he planned to attend in July to protest Haleh’s arrest:

I had been planning to go to a conference in Iran in July, hosted by some French scholars, but I have cancelled in protest against this detention of my friend. I don’t see how normal intellectual life can go on when a scholar at the Wilson Center can’t safely visit Iran.

Emaddedin Baghi is the President of the Committee for Defending Prisoners’ Rights. He has been editor-in-chief, and a writer for eight newspapers all of which have been banned. He has served a jail sentence, been fined and is currently banned from working for a period of 1 year. He has a long track record in defending the rights of prisoners, and shedding light on the legal shortcomings regarding the treatment of detainees.

In his May 17, 2007 article, Mr.Baghi criticizes Kayhan newspaper’s unjustified attack on Haleh Esfandiari. Below are extracts from the article posted on roozonline and his own website.

“How can you [Kayhan newspaper] accuse and condemn someone as a Mossad spy when there has been no case brought against her nor any investigations conducted yet?

… Kayhan is trying to limit human rights and civil society activities. The newspaper is a mouthpiece for hardliners in the regime…Given that Dr Esfandiari has not been prosecuted yet, how can this newspaper, the regime’s mouthpiece, claim that she is guilty?

We have always stated that when you are investigating an individual and interrogating them, a lawyer must be present. If there is no lawyer, even if the accused confesses guilt, that confession holds no weight.…Dr.Esfandiari is an Iranian citizen and as such, she has the right to a lawyer…Unfortunately, she has not had access to a lawyer yet, and we are worried about this situation…

All the claims made against Dr.Esfandiari by Kayhan are fabricated. Dr. Esfandiari’s husband, Dr. Bakhash has denied all the charges specifically and accurately. It is clear that there is no basis. For example, Kayhan says she was working for Mossad in the “Ayandegan’ newspaper in the past. In reality, Dr. Esfandiari was not in Iran during the stated time.

Kayhan claims that I, Emmadeddin Baghi also have an affiliation with Dr. Esfandiari organization, the Woodrow Wilson Center – but I had never heard the name of that Center, nor is there any indication of my involvement with them anywhere on their website. The only reference to me is an invitation to attend a conference at Stanford, California, which I did not even attend. This is all proof of the falsity of the allegations made by Kayhan.

We accept that we should confront a person who received funding from the United States with the specific intent to create instability in Iran, but Dr. Esfaniaris’ case appears to be more about settling political scores and retaliation than anything else. For example, before Dr. E was arrested, she was attacked and her documents and belongings were stolen. Similar incidences have occurred for me and my friends. All these actions are attempts to quash human rights activities and civil society institutions. In our efforts to defend these efforts, the regime is trying to claim that organizations such as mine are affiliated with Israel and Mossad.

Dr. Esfandiari has been traveling back and forth to Iran for years because of her love of this country. Why is it that they attack her now?… I have never met Dr. Esfandiari, but she is renowned for being a very moderate person who would never compromise Iran’s national interest.”

(Released on May 21, 2007)

The arbitrary detention and confinement of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, a prominent Iranian-American scholar and the director of the Middle East program at the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., is the latest distressing episode in an ongoing crackdown by the Islamic Republic against those who, directly or indirectly, strive to bolster the foundations of civil society and promote human rights in Iran. Over the past year-and-a-half, this onslaught has targeted prominent women’s rights activists, leaders of non-governmental organizations, student and teacher associations, and labor unions. In recent weeks, scores of women’s rights activists have been harassed, physically attacked and detained for no greater a crime than peaceful demonstrations and circulating petitions calling for the elimination of discriminatory laws and practices. University students across the country have faced expulsion, arrest, and imprisonment for peacefully protesting the erosion of the administrative and academic independence of their universities.

It is in this context that the months-long harassment, extra judicial arrest and incarceration of Dr. Esfandiari—which was admitted belatedly by the Iranian Government on May 13, 2007 (New York Times, May 14, 2007)—exemplify the relentless campaign by the leaders of the Islamic Republic against the most basic principles of human rights. We find Dr. Esfandiari’s case particularly disturbing because it is tinged with invidious anti-Semitic rhetoric and conspiratorial worldviews. The egregious charges leveled against her by the semi-official daily Kayhan, make Dr. Esfandiari the latest victim in the Iranian government’s repeated and escalating attempts to intimidate and silence human rights activists and promoters of civil society, as well as those who advocate the path of dialogue and moderation in Iran’s foreign policy. In her capacity as the director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, Dr. Esfandiari has been a staunch advocate of peaceful dialogue between Tehran and Washington in resolving their disputes.

We believe that, despite certain internal disagreements among members of its ruling elite, the Islamic Republic of Iran—as any other member of the United Nations—should be held fully accountable for its actions. Only through a clear and united stand against the many breaches of human rights and civil liberties in Iran can one hope to encourage those elements within the Islamic Republic who recognize the importance of human rights for Iran’s standing within the international community.

We call upon all international organizations, academic and professional associations, and other groups and individuals devoted to the promotion and defense of human rights to strongly protest and condemn the arbitrary detention of Dr. Esfandiari, to call for her immediate and unconditional release, and to urge the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect, guarantee and implement the provisions and principles of human rights as specified in international conventions and treaties to which Iran has long been a signatory.

Ervand Abrahamian, City University of New York
Janet Afary, Purdue University
Gholam Reza Afkhami, Foundation for Iranian Studies
Mahnaz Afkhami, Women’s Learning Partnership
Reza Afshari, Pace University
Shahrough Akhavi, University of South Carolina
Kazem Alamdari, California State University
Abbas Amanat, Yale University
Hooshang Amirahmadi, Rutgers University
Jahangir Amuzegar, Independent Scholar
Ahmad Ashraf, Columbia University
Muriel Atkin, George Washington University
Bahman Baktiari, University of Maine
Kathryn Babayan, University of Michigan
Ali Banuazizi, Boston College
Sohrab Behdad, Denison University
Nasser Behnegar, Boston College
Maziar Behrooz, San Francisco State University
Sheila Blair, Boston College and Virginia Commonwealth University
Jonathan Bloom, Boston College and Virginia Commonwealth University
Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Syracuse University
Laurie A. Brand, University of Southern California
L. Carl Brown, Princeton University
Nathan Brown, George Washington University
Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland
Houchang-Esfandiar Chehabi, Boston University
Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Shahram Chubin, Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Juan R. Cole, University of Michigan
Miriam Cooke, Duke University
Natalie Z. Davis, University of Toronto
Kamran Dadkhah, Northeastern University
John L. Esposito, Georgetown University
Farideh Farhi, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Ali Ferdowsi, Nortre Dame de Namur University
Willem Floor, Independent Scholar
Amir Hossein Gandjbakhche, National Institutes of Health
Mark Gasiorowski, Louisiana State University
M. R. Ghanoonparvar, The University of Texas at Austin
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Harvard University
Sondra Hale, University of California, Los Angeles
Hormoz Hekmat, Editor, Iran-Nameh
Kashi Javaherian, Harvard University
Suad Joseph, University of California, Davis
Mehran Kamrava, California State University, Northridge
Mehrangiz Kar, Harvard University
Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, University of Maryland
Farhad Kazemi, New York University
Nikki Keddie, University of California, Los Angeles
Laleh Khalili, SOAS, University of London
Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami, New York University
Dina Rizk Khoury, George Washington University
Azadeh Kian, University of Paris
Stephen N. Lambden, Ohio University
Zachary Lockman, New York University
Ali Akbar Mahdi, Ohio Wesleyan University
Lenore G. Martin, Emmanuel College and Harvard University
Rudi Matthee, University of Delaware
Ann Elizabeth Mayer, The Wharton School
Abbas Milani, Stanford University
Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia
Ziba Mir-Hosseini, SOAS, University of London
Valentine Moghadam, Purdue University
Haideh Moghissi, York University
Azar Nafisi, Johns Hopkins University-SAIS
Rasool Nafisi, Strayer University
Vali Nasr, Naval Postgraduate School
Farhad Nomani, The American University of Paris
Augustus Richard Norton, Boston University
Saeed Paivandi, University of Paris (VI)
Misagh Parsa, Dartmouth College
Samantha Power, Harvard University
William B. Quandt, University of Virginia
Sholeh A. Quinn, Ohio University
Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine
Ali Rahnema, The American University of Paris
Saeed Rahnema, York University
Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Elizabeth Rubin, The New York Times Magazine
Sharon Stanton Russell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert M. Russell, Tufts University
Ahmad Sadri, Lake Forest College
Mahmoud Sadri, Texas Woman’s University
Tagi Sagafi-nejad, Texas A & M International University
Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Ali Schirazi, The Free University of Berlin
May Seikaly, Wayne State University
Sussan Siavoshi, Trinity University
Stephen Spector, Stony Brook University
Ray Takeyh, Council on Foreign Relations
Kamran Talattof, University of Arizona
Richard Tapper, SOAS, University of London
Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, University of Toronto
Majid Tehranian, Toda Institute for Global Peace
Mark Tessler, University of Michigan
Mary Ann Tetreault, Trinity University, San Antonio
Nathan Thrall, The Jerusalem Post
Chris Toensing, Editor, Middle East Report
Nayereh Tohidi, California State University, Northridge
A. L Udovitch, Princeton University
Farzin Vahdat, Vassar College
Lucette Valensi, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
Stephen M. Walt, Harvard University
John Waterbury, American University of Beirut
Lawrence Weschler, New York University
Jenny White, Boston University
Judith S. Yaphe, George Washington University
Said Yousef, The University of Chicago
Hossein Ziai, University of California, Los Angeles
Marvin Zonis, The University of Chicago

Students interested in joining a support letter from Haleh’s ex-students should contact Jon Katz (jkatz[at]oregonstate[dot]edu) or Erin Logan (logan_erin[at]yahoo[dot]com) by Tuesday, May 29th at the latest.

The latest reports indicate that the Iranian government has charged Haleh today with “trying to topple the regime” according to a statement read on Iran’s state television.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry accused Esfandiari, director of Middle East programs at the Smithsonian’s Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, of trying to foment a soft revolution by setting up a network “against the sovereignty” of Iran. Esfandiari was imprisoned May 8 after more than four months under virtual house arrest.

Haleh was allowed a one-minute phone call on Saturday to her mother. she only could say that she was awaiting “clarification of her situation”.

US Senator Sam Brownback, Republican from Kansas and presidential hopeful, issued a statement on Thursday May 17 calling for Haleh’s release.

“In the strongest possible terms, I call on the Iranian government to release Dr. Esfandiari immediately and unconditionally,” said Brownback. “Since traveling to Iran in December to visit her 93-year old mother, Dr. Esfandiari has faced intimidation and harassment, and was sent to the notorious Evin prison, where numerous human rights abuses have been documented. Such gross mistreatment of Dr. Esfandiari is yet another example of how the Iranian regime violates the basic rights and freedoms of the Iranian people.”