Demand to respond to Seyyed Emami's accusations on television
One year after the death of Kavoos Seyed Emami, one of the defendants in the case of environmental activists in prison, the lawyer for the family of the university professor has called for his family to appear on Iranian state television and answer the charges in the case.
Today, February 7, Iranian media published a letter from Payam Darfashan, the lawyer for the family of Kavoos Seyed-Emami, addressed to the investigator of Branch 9 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office, requesting that Mr. Seyed-Emami's family be allowed to appear on television to respond to the accusations and issues raised by the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr. Darfashani's letter refers to Article 22 of the Constitution and Additional Article 30 of the IRIB statute, based on which "legal rights" to respond to matters raised by its networks would be possible.
Kavoos Seyed Emami was arrested in early February 2017 along with seven environmental activists on charges of “espionage.” On February 9 of the same year, according to judicial officials, he “committed suicide” in Evin Prison.
The university professor's family does not confirm this.
Iranian state television at the time broadcast images of Mr. Seyed Emami's detention center, which were said to have been taken minutes before his "suicide."
The right to respond to untrue content
The lawyer added in his letter: "As Article 30 of the Statute of the IRIB states, if the broadcasted programs contain material that is insulting, defamatory, or untrue to any person, or if the statements of individuals are distorted in any way, the claimant can submit his objection in writing to the IRIB, and if the organization accepts the objection, within 24 hours, the claimant must broadcast his response fairly and for at least twice the time of the original content in the same program and time and on the same network for free."
At the same time, Iranian state television and conservative media outlets made accusations against Mr. Seyed Emami in various interviews with some people they called defense and security experts.
Mr. Derfashan's reference to presenting "untrue, insulting, and defamatory" material could refer to the content of some of these interviews and the allegations such as espionage and "selling information," as well as claims such as "psychosis and depression," and a desire to commit suicide.
According to Mr. Derfashan, if the IRIB and the opposing party do not reach an agreement, the claimant can refer the matter to the IRIB Supervisory Council for consideration as the authority to determine whether insult and defamation have occurred, and this council is also obligated to address the issue as soon as possible.
"Espionage" in the forbidden zone
Previously, Mr. Derfashan had filed a complaint with the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office against Ali Asgari, the head and deputy head of Iranian Radio and Television, as well as the director of Channel 2's broadcast, as well as the producers of the documentary "Forbidden Zone."
The documentary "Forbidden Zone," according to Iranian judicial authorities, has shown the details of Mr. Seyed Emami's "espionage" in covering environmental activities. Conservative media outlets close to the Revolutionary Guards also repeated the claim in their reports that Mr. Seyed Emami was able to infiltrate the most secret areas of the country and transfer information to foreigners.
Mr. Seyed Emami and the seven detained environmental activists were initially accused of espionage, but Iranian media reported, citing some government officials, that they had no evidence that these activists were spies.
Iranian MP Mahmoud Sadeghi also wrote on his Twitter page that the National Security Council, headed by the president, has not recognized the activities of environmental activists as espionage.
The Tehran prosecutor, however, declared the accusation against these environmental activists to be espionage, saying: "These individuals were collecting classified information about the country in strategic areas in the framework of implementing scientific and environmental projects."
Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi attributed Mr. Seyed Emami's "suicide" to the "confessions" of others against this researcher and Mr. Seyed Emami's own confessions, which "unfortunately" led him to commit suicide in prison.
Requests pending response
The request by the lawyer for the family of Kavous Seyed-Emami for his family to appear on television and answer the charges is not the first of its kind. Previously, Ahmad Montazeri, the son of Hossein Ali Montazeri, had objected to the broadcast of the documentary "Qaem Maqam" and demanded to appear on a television program and answer the charges.
The documentary "Qaem Maqam," which was accompanied by reactions, examined the life and activities of Mr. Montazeri and was broadcast at various times on Channel 3 and Documentary TV. Many considered the documentary to be untrue.
The complaint and request of Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the candidates in the 2009 elections, to respond to his opponent's accusations in radio and television debates is also an unresolved request from the IRIB.
Such requests are always rejected by television officials. The Supreme Council for the Supervision of the Performance of the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation has been informed of these requests, but the applicants or their families have not been given an antenna to respond to the issues and accusations.
Many civil society and human rights activists and families of victims of serial killings, the 2009 events, and labor strikes emphasize the accountability of the Iranian Radio and Television. The head of the Iranian Radio and Television and members of the Supreme Council for Oversight of the Performance of the Iranian Radio and Television are appointed by the Leader of the Islamic Republic.
Source: DW
