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By admin, November 16, 2009 9:46 am

The editors of the New York Times have called for the release of Kian and the three American hikers reportedly charged with espionage:

“…The hikers’ case is only the latest example of the Iranian government misusing and undermining its judiciary for political ends.

Scores of protesters and journalists were jailed after major demonstrations over June’s fraudulent presidential elections. Last month, an Iranian court convicted Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar, of fomenting antigovernment unrest and sentenced him to [12 to] 15 years in prison…

Iran has a right to lock up legitimate criminals if they are tried fairly. But the spectacle of three Americans subjected to a show trial will make it even less likely that the world will give Iran the respect it insists it deserves — or even a serious hearing…”

[Full editorial]

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By admin, August 9, 2009 12:40 pm

This LA Times article mentions Kian in the context of the second round of show trials in Iran on Saturday:

“…By provocatively showcasing confessions by the French citizen, Iranian American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh and Iranian Canadian Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari, as well as by British and French embassy staffers, the trials will almost certainly further Iran’s diplomatic isolation, highlight its sometimes erratic political system and reduce its leverage just as the West and Tehran are considering talks on resolving differences over the Iranian nuclear program…”

[Full article: Trial of protesters seems only to hurt Iran, analysts say]

Technorati Tags:
Kian Tajbakhsh, Maziar Bahari, Newsweek, televised show trials, LA Times, embassy staffers

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By admin, August 5, 2009 12:22 pm

Payvand Iran News has published this article mentioning Kian in Iran’s show trials:

“The indictment devoted an entire paragraph to Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar who had previously been forced to give a televised confession while he was detained from May to September 2007. He was released on bail in September 2007, and was rearrested on July 9, 2009.

“It is clear that Iran’s rulers are using this farce of a trial not just to punish those in custody, but also to intimidate anyone who speaks out against injustice,” [Joe] Stork [of Human Rights Watch] said. “There is nothing quite like a show trial and televised confessions to demonstrate the authoritarian tendencies of those running the government.”

[Full article Iran: Show Trial Exposes Arbitrary Detention]

Technorati Tags:
Iran Arrests, iran crackdown, Iranian Election, Kian Tajbakhsh, televised show trials, Payvand, Human Rights Watch, Joe Stork

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By admin, August 4, 2009 2:09 pm

خانواده کیان تاجبخش به شدت اتهامات محاکمه نمایشی را رد میکند

دکنر کیان تاجبخش یکی از متهمان محاکمه نمایشی است که هم اکنون در ایران در جریان است. دکتر تاجبخش در ساعت 9 شب 18 تیر – 9 جولای – در مقابل همسر و دختر خرد سالش دستگیر شد و تا کنون در محل نا معلومی و بدون دسترسی به وکیل مدافع, خانواده و دوستان زندانی است.

دستکیری دکتر تاجبخش اولین بار توسط تلویزیون رسمی و انگلیسی زبان جمهوری اسلامی – پرس تی وی – در روز 22 تیر – 13 جولای – 4 روز بعد از بازداشتش اعلام شد. در این خبر اتهام وی همکاری با حسین رسام رئیس بخش امنیت سیاسی سفارت انگلیس در تهران اعلام شد. حسین رسام اکنون با دادن وثیقه مالی آزاد شده.

خانواده دکتر تاجبخش و دوستان و صدها اضا کننده درخواستنامه آزادی ایشان به شدت اتهاماتی که دولت احمدی نژاد بر وی وارد کرده را رد میکنند. آنها قبلا نیز در بیانیه ای هشدار داده بودند که دستگیری کیان در واقع تمهیدی برای بدست آوردن اقرار نامه دروغین از راه قهر آمیز و برای استفاده در دادگاه های نمایشی است. در آن بیانیه گفته شده بود که ” این گونه سخنان عموما در زیر شکنجه بدست آمده و تنها برای استفاده در محاکمه های نمایشی تلویزیونی است.”

خانواده دکتر تاجبخش از دیدن عکس های او که توسط آژانس رسمی خبری فارس در روز شنبه 10 مرداد چاپ شد بسیار متاثراند چون این عکس ها نمایانگر فشار جسمی و روانی شدیدی است که در این 23 روز بر کیان وارد شده.

دکتر کیان تاجبخش جامعه شناس طراح شهر محقق و نویسنده فارغ التحصیل دانشگاه کلمبیا در شهر نیویورک است. تا قبل از برگشت به ایران دکتر تاجبخش استاد جامعه شناسی در دانشکده تحقیقات اجتماعی در نیویورک New School بود . فعالیتهای تحقیقی وی همواره در پس زمینه بیطرفی سیاسی و در روند ایجاد پلی برای نزدیک کردن فرهنگها است.

برای اطلاعات بیشتر در سایت کیان به ما بپیوندید. آدرس سایت

http://www.freekian09.org/

Technorati Tags:
family and friends, Iran Arrests, iran crackdown, Iranian elections, Kian Tajbakhsh, show trials, televised show trials, Farsi

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By admin, August 2, 2009 7:03 am

The Associated Press has published a story about the show trial in Iran featuring some 100 political prisoners including Kian. The article notes the following about Kian specifically (as reprinted here in the New York Times):

“… Among the others on trial Saturday were two foreign citizens — Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh and Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari, who holds Iranian and Canadian citizenship
…
Pamela Kilpadi, a researcher who is working on a book with Tajbakhsh, said: ”I know for a fact that Kian played absolutely no role in post-election incidents in Iran. He even said he would not vote in the elections. As an independent academic Kian has always sought political neutrality.”

”These current statements have been forced under duress from someone being held in an undisclosed location without access to a lawyer, family or friends, in violation of the human rights treaties to which Iran is supposedly a signatory,” Kilpadi told the AP by e-mail. ”This is a disgrace to humanity.”
…

There was no information on when the trial would end or when a verdict could be expected…

Technorati Tags:
Iran Arrests, Iranian elections, Kian Tajbakhsh, Maziar Bahari, show trials, televised show trials, Pamela Kilpadi, Newsweek, Associated Press, The New York Times

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By admin, July 17, 2009 7:13 pm

The Associated Press just posted an article by Desmond Butler based on the statement by family and friends that was issued yesterday, as published here by ABC News, for example:

“WASHINGTON – The family and associates of an Iranian-American scholar under arrest in Iran say they are worried that the Islamic Republic is preparing to bring him before a show trial.

Iranian state-run Press TV has reported that Kian Tajbakhsh was arrested last week for working with a local employee of the British Embassy, Hossein Rassam, who also is being held in Tehran. Iran has accused other countries, especially the United States and Britain, of provoking unrest and protests that followed disputed June 12 presidential elections.

Family and friends of Tajbakhsh deny the charges and in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press by Pamela Kilpadi, a researcher who has been working on a book with Tajbakhsh, expressed fear he may be facing torture in Iranian captivity.

“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,” the statement says. “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.”

The statement was also posted on a Web site the family and associates have organized to draw attention to his captivity.

Iran accuses Rassam of playing a “key role” in guiding British diplomats during the protests, according to the state-run TV. His arrest has sparked a showdown with European Union countries, which are insisting on his release.

The U.S. government has called Tajbakhsh’s arrest unjust and said he should be released.

Tajbakhsh, a social scientist and urban planner, spent four months in prison in 2007, charged along with three other Iranian-Americans with endangering national security.

[Link to article]
[also translated and republished in Persian media]

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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.