Nearly a Year After Environmental Activists’ Arrest; Appeal Made to UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran
Katayoun Rajabian, sister of Sam Rajabian, one of eight environmental activists detained by the Islamic Republic, has called on the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran to address violations of her brother’s civil rights with Iranian authorities through a series of tweets.
Katayoun Rajabian posted on Saturday on her Twitter account, and while addressing the status of her brother Sam Rajabian’s case—one of the detained environmental activists in Iran—wrote to Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran: “All the follow-ups by my family during the one year my brother has been in temporary detention have been fruitless by Iranian authorities, and now I request from you as the UN special representative in the Iran domain to engage with Iranian authorities regarding the violation of my brother’s civil rights.”
Ms. Rajabian further stated in her tweets: “Two months after the arrest, families were informed that interrogation would continue, and since the cases are security-related, we will not be allowed to have a lawyer.”
Previously, Mohammad Hossein Aghassi, defense lawyer for two environmental activists, had stated that Judge Salwati had asked the defendants to change their lawyers.
Furthermore, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, spokesman for the judiciary, also announced on Sunday that the environmental activists’ case has been sent to court, but according to him, no court date has been set yet. Eje’i cited the appointment of a lawyer or selection of an assistant lawyer by the defendant as one of the reasons for not setting a court date.
These eight environmental activists—Morad Tahbaz, Sam Rajabian, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, and Abdolreza Koohpaaye—were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on espionage charges by the IRGC Intelligence Organization.
The charges against these individuals were initially labeled as “espionage,” but shortly afterward, four of the detainees were charged with “corruption on earth.” Another detainee, Dr. Kavous Seyed Emami, was later reported by Islamic Republic authorities to have committed suicide in Evin Prison, but no clear evidence was provided by authorities for this suicide.
This comes as in recent months, activists in various fields have been arrested on charges such as “infiltration” and primarily by the IRGC Intelligence Organization.
Source: Voice of America
