“Ares Amiri,” an Iranian student residing in Britain who had traveled to Iran to visit her family, was arrested before returning to London.
“Mohsen Omrani,” Ares Amiri’s cousin, announced the news through several Twitter messages, stating that Amiri is a graduate student in the field of Philosophy of Art at Kingston University.
Omrani also wrote: “Ares, due to her field of study, was simultaneously working at the British Council.”
According to Omrani’s Twitter messages, the 32-year-old Ares Amiri, who had previously traveled to Iran several times, traveled to Iran on March 9th of last year to visit her sick grandmother, but five days later was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence officers.
Omrani stated that Ares’ parents, who live in Amol, have managed to visit her only three times so far, and emphasized that even after 50 days of detention, the charges against Ms. Amiri have not been disclosed to them. He added that Ares’ lawyer has not yet been able to visit her.
He also wrote: “Ares had friends from artistic groups in Iran through her work and collaborated in organizing exhibitions, film festivals, and generally cultural and artistic exchange between Iran and England. Most importantly, all activities were conducted with the cooperation and coordination of the artistic departments of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.”
In recent years, several Iranians residing in Britain have been arrested after traveling to Iran.
Last week, the Iran Human Rights Campaign confirmed that Abbas Edalat, a professor at Imperial College London and an activist against sanctions and military action against Iran, has been arrested and detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Edalat was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard on April 16th at his home. According to his relatives, although the required bail has been paid, he remains in detention.
Abbas Edalat founded a non-governmental organization in London in 2005 called the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII), calling for the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic and the prevention of military intervention in Iran.
Edalat has traveled to Iran several times in recent years.
Another Iranian residing in Britain who was arrested after traveling to Iran is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, who was arrested two years ago by Revolutionary Guard officers along with her young daughter at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran upon her return to London.
The court sentenced Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe to five years in prison based on security charges. She and her family have rejected these charges.
Source: Voice of America
