Two associations of philanthrophic organizations, the Philanthrophy Roundtable and the Council on Foundations, have issued a statement calling for Kian’s release:

One of the hallmarks of friendship between nations is the opportunity
for private citizens from one country to engage in lawful charitable
activity in another.

The Philanthropy Roundtable and the Council on Foundations, associations
of American philanthropic foundations, are therefore distressed by the
government of Iran’s imprisonment of Kian Tajbakhsh on trumped-up
charges. Dr. Tajbakhsh, an urban planner and American citizen, was
arrested on May 11 while serving as a consultant for the Open Society
Institute, a private American philanthropic foundation with no ties to
the U.S. government. His work for OSI in Iran has focused on public
health, urban planning, and humanitarian relief, including the
rebuilding of communities after the Bam earthquake.

Dr. Tajbakhsh is now being held in Iran’s infamous Evin prison. The
Philanthropy Roundtable and the Council on Foundations call for his
immediate release.