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By admin, August 1, 2009 3:17 pm

Kian Tajbakhsh, an American citizen, is being charged in an Iranian show trial as an American agent who helped orchestrate the post-election protests. He was arrested in Tehran at 9pm on July 9 in front of his wife and small daughter and has since been held in an undisclosed location without access to a lawyer, family or friends.
[New York Times]

Tajbakhsh’s arrest was first announced on the Iranian state-sponsored, English-language Press TV on 13 July, alleging that he was “cooperating” with Hossein Rassam, the head of the security and political division of the British Embassy in Tehran, in fomenting the post-election turmoil. Hossein has since been released on bail.

Tajbakhsh’s family, friends and hundreds of campaigners working to secure his release vehemently deny the charges being lodged against him by the Ahmadinejad regime. Family and friends have previously warned in a public statement that they fear he is being held in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to obtain forced statements from him to use in a televised show trial, adding that “such statements are repeatedly extracted under conditions of torture for the sole purpose of staging televised show trials”: [Associated Press]. They are distressed by photos of Tajbakhsh published by the Iranian official news agency Fars today, which indicate that he is under intense strain:

Dr. Tajbakhsh is a Columbia University PhD and New School-affiliated social scientist and urban planner whom family and friends say has always sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides. The Iranian state television report on Tajbakhsh’s arrest also notes that “Iran blames foreign powers, the US and Britain in particular, for what it calls interference in its internal affairs and post-vote disturbances.

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Kian Tajbakhsh,family and friends, Iran Arrests, iran crackdown, Iranian elections, Press TV, protests, show trials, televised show trials

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By admin, July 16, 2009 5:37 pm

In Iran’s first official acknowledgment of Kian’s arrest on July 9, Iranian Press TV reported on Monday that “Iranian authorities detained Tajbakhsh on grounds of cooperating with Hossein Rassam, the head of the security and political division of the British Embassy in Tehran, who is also in custody over post-election turmoil.”

These false accusations are entirely groundless. Those who know Kian understand that his persecution by Iranian authorities is not only tragic but ironic—as a social scientist and urban planner he has always sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides and honor his much-loved homeland. His work is a valued asset that the Government of Iran should seek to protect.

The Iranian state television report on Kian’s arrest also notes that “Iran blames foreign powers, the US and Britain in particular, for what it calls interference in its internal affairs and post-vote disturbances, which have claimed the lives of at least 20 people.”

We are concerned that Kian is being held in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to obtain forced statements from him to use in a televised show trial. It is exceedingly important that we all strongly denounce Iran’s serial practice of extracting forced statements from political prisoners. Such statements are repeatedly extracted under conditions of torture for the sole purpose of staging televised show trials in an attempt to deceive the Iranian public.