Syrian journalist Manar Al-Rashwani wrote an article in the Jordanian Al-Ghad magazine exploring Haleh’s arrest and deploring the detention of such a prominent intellectual.
Esfandiari’s arrest looked more like a kidnapping made by outlaws than it was an arrest made by a state governed by laws. How else can this detention be described? After all Esfandiari has endured four months of interrogations, which started only after her American and Iranian passports were stolen.
For the full text of the article in Arabic, CLICK HERE
In its measure lawmakers demand the immediate release of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari. House lawmakers say Iranian intelligence officials have yet to produce any evidence of wrongdoing on Esfandiari’s part to justify actions against her, and demand her immediate and unconditional release.
“We must remain resolute in our condemnation of the Iranian regime for detaining innocent American citizens for political purposes and demand that the Iranian regime immediately and unconditionally permit all American citizens detained in Iran against their will, to leave,” said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
“Their detention is a gross perversion of the rule of law, and the claim that the Iranian government has made that they seek dialogue and improved relations with the west, is belied by the actions they have taken with respect to these individuals,” said Chris Van Hollen.
To read the full text of the resolution at the Library of Congress site, please CLICK HERE
On Thursday, top global leaders gathered in Vienna for a conference entitled: “Women Leaders Networking for Peace and Security in the Middle East.” Haleh Esfandiari’s sister and Cheryl Benard were there to hand-deliver an appeal for international action on Haleh’s behalf.
Some of the participants included: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Iraqi First Lady Hero Talabani; the Bahraini President of the United Nations General Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa; Pakistani Minister of Women’s Affairs Sumaira Malik; Palestinian Authority representative Hanan Ashrawi; EU Commissioner of External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner; Algerian Minister for Scientific Research Souad Bendjaballah; UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd; and Nouzha Chekrouni of the Moroccan Foreign Ministry.
Here is the text of the letter delivered to these leaders:
Our respected colleague and dear friend Haleh Esfandiari, a 67-year old social scientist educated at the University of Vienna, Austria, currently the director of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington D.C., is being held in Evin Prison in Teheran.
Dr. Esfandiari, a U.S. and Iranian citizen, went to Teheran in December 2006 to visit her 93 year old, ailing mother. Thereafter she was prevented from leaving and subjected to a series of interrogations over a period of months. Twenty three days ago, she was jailed. She has not been permitted to see a lawyer or to receive any visits.
Dr. Esfandiari is well known internationally for her tireless work on behalf of the democratic participation of women. In her seminars, women from all parts of the world have learned the skills of leadership and civic engagement. Additionally, she has been a strong advocate of cross-cultural dialogue and constructive debate. Her seminars and conferences are of the highest academic caliber.
We ask you to take all possible action to obtain the release of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari; to raise the matter with your Iranian counterparts; and to make clear that the political education and enfranchisement of women must not be a cause for persecution.
In a letter addressed to the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamene’i, former students of Haleh’s wrote of their experiences in her classes where they learned to appreciate Iranian culture, history, and literature. In the letter the students also requested Haleh’s release from prison.
Her entire career as a scholar and a teacher has been spent building bridges of understanding between Americans and Iranians. The actions of the government of Iran strain that understanding.
As her former students, we hope that you will consider the goodwill she has built for Iran and preserve that tremendous asset. We ask you to intervene for her release from Evin prison and allow her to return to her family and students in America.
Haleh has now been in jail for nearly four weeks. While her condition in Evin Prison remains unknown, over 5,050 people from around the world have sent letters to Iranian leaders calling for Haleh’s immediate release.
Many of those 5,000+ individuals have chosen to make their names public, and the full list can be found here. The diversity of the individuals who have signed shows the strength of our campaign. People of conscience of many different backgrounds have one common cry: Free Haleh!
In a widely circulated editorial, columnist Thomas L. Friedman comments on the wrongful imprisonment of Haleh;
I thought this regime was powerful and self-confident, and actually felt strengthened since we destroyed its two main enemies — the Taliban and Saddam. That could not be further from the truth. This Iranian regime is afraid of its shadow. How do I know? It recently arrested a 67-year-old grandmother, whom it accused of trying to bring down the regime by organizing academic conferences!
New York, May 31, 2007 – President Lee. C. Bollinger of Columbia University issued a statement today regarding the detainment of Iranian-American scholars Kian Tajbakhsh, a graduate of Columbia University and Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. According to news reports, the scholars have been imprisoned since May 11, 2007.
“Columbia University is urgently concerned about the safety, well-being and human rights of two Iranian-American scholars who are under arrest in Iran. Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh is an expert on urban planning who has worked for multilateral, international, and Iranian public organizations. Dr. Tajbakhsh earned his Ph.D. and Master of Philosophy from Columbia University, where he studied urban planning and sociology. Dr. Haleh Esfandiari is director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. Both were reportedly detained and charged with ‘endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners.’ These reports are deeply troubling to our university community, and we urge that these scholars be released on humanitarian grounds.”
State, Treasury Get Involved In Effort to Unlock Accounts
By Robin Wright
It was a hard enough day for Shaul Bakhash, as he dealt with the ongoing drama surrounding the imprisonment in Iran of his wife, noted American scholar Haleh Esfandiari. Then he found an express letter on the doorstep of his Potomac home yesterday morning announcing that Citibank had frozen his wife’s bank accounts on grounds that she is now a “resident” of Iran.
Ms Ebadi highlights the illegality of Haleh’s detention. She also recounts how the Iranian government denied Haleh’s basic rights protected and recognized by Iran’s own constitution and laws. Representatives from Ms Ebadi’s office were denied acces to Haleh’s file, they were also not allowed to visit her in Evin Prison. Moreover, the investigative judge claims that Haleh has declined the services of a legal counsel. Ms Ebadi also describes the harsh conditions in Evin Prison.
The Woodrow Wilson Center issued a statement on May 29th in which the president and director, Lee H. Hamilton, expresses the organization’s disappointment with the charges made against Haleh and appeals to the Iranian government to release her.
“We are extremely disheartened to receive this news…Haleh is a scholar. The work she does at the Wilson Center is open, non-partisan, and includes a broad range of views. At the Wilson Center, we do not take positions on issues, but rather, we bring all sides of an issue together for dialogue. As director of the Middle East Program, Haleh ensured that there was an open dialogue and that she convened meetings which allowed participants and attendees to discuss all views. We do not engage in propaganda. The Wilson Center receives zero funding from the U.S. government’s fund to promote democracy in Iran. Her detention is an affront to the rule of law and common decency. The Wilson Center’s message to the Iranian government is simple: Let Haleh go.”
