The American Sociological Association has sent a letter to the Iranian government expressing dismay at the charges against Kian and calling for his release.  The letter can be viewed in PDF format here.  It reads in part:

We are writing on behalf of the more than 14,000 members of the American Sociological Assocation (ASA), a scientific society of academic and professional sociologists, to request that Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a highly respected academic sociologist with dual citizenship in Iran and the United States, and who was arrested on May 11 by the Iranian government, be freed….We are profoundly dismayed by the arbitrary and secretive nature of Dr. Tajbakhsh’s arrest and the vague “espionage” charges against him.