The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat recently published this column by Elias Harfouch on the situation in Iran:
A ‘Velvet Revolution’ in Iran?
1 June 2007
In line with what similar regimes do, Tehran could not find a better way to cut short voices within Iran than ‘uncovering’ a US spy network. These voices had expressed doubts about the dialogue that […]
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The Middle East Studies Association’s Committee on Academic Freedom and the International Society for Iranian Studies’ Committee for Academic and Intellectual Freedom have issued a public letter to the Iranian leadership, rejecting the accusations against Kian and Haleh and calling for their release:
May 30, 2007
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
C/O H.E. […]
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Today’s Washington Post includes a forceful editorial calling for the release of all dual nationals who are being held prisoner in Iran:
Iran Hostage Crisis, Part 2
Tehran should immediately release the American citizens it has detained.
Friday, June 1, 2007
PARANOID that a network of U.S. scholars and thinkers is fomenting a velvet revolution, Iran charged three U.S.-Iranian citizens […]
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We are continuing to gather the comments left on the petition and will be creating an additional page for them soon. Thank you so much for sharing your words. Here are more of the things people have been saying about Kian:
I knew Kian as a young man in London; he spent his childhood in exile in the […]
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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 […]
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We’ve added a new page with some of Kian’s published work, including personal essays and academic writing, on topics ranging from the links between Iran and India to the role of the city as a space for cultural interaction. We will continue to add more of his work to the Kian’s Writing page as we gather copies. If […]
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Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders have released a new joint statement on the detention and harassment of dual nationals in Iran:
Iran: End harassment of dual-nationals - Human rights groups protest detentions and travel bans
(New York, May 31, 2007) – The Iranian government should immediately release two […]
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The journal Social Research, for which Kian has written, has asked its editors, contributors, and readers to sign a letter on his behalf. A number of well-known academics, including Arjun Appadurai, Timothy Garton Ash, Juan Cole, Sir Bernard Crick, Paul Ehrlich, Kurt Gottfried, Edward Hirsch, Eva Hoffman, Stanley Hoffman, Farhad Kazemi, Bob Kerrey, Adam Michnik, Samantha […]
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Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger released this statement today:
New York, May 31, 2007 –
“Columbia University is urgently concerned about the safety, well-being and human rights of two Iranian-American scholars who are under arrest in Iran. Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh is an expert on urban planning who has worked for multilateral, international, and Iranian public organizations. […]
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Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, who is representing Haleh Esfandiari and speaking widely about the detentions, and scholar Muhammad Sahimi have published this analysis in the forthcoming issue of New Perspectives Quarterly:
THE FOLLIES OF BUSH’S POLICY TOWARD IRAN
Shirin Ebadi and Muhammad Sahimi
May 25, 2007
The confrontation between Iran and the West has developed a new dimension over the […]
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A number of prominent scholars from the US, UK, Turkey, India and Lebanon have just released the following statement:
Statement on Behalf of Kian Tajbakhsh and other Iranian Academics Arrested in the Islamic Republic of Iran
The repressive policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards its own citizens has once again targeted innocent academics engaged in sustaining […]
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The Scholars at Risk Network has released an appeal on behalf of Kian. The appeal, which calls for letters to be sent to the Iranian authorities, reads in part:
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about the arrest and detention of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a respected international scholar and researcher. SAR calls for letters, faxes […]
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The Iranian goverment has charged Kian, Haleh, and journalist Parnaz Azima of Radio Farda with “endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners,” according to an AP/New York Times story. The charges are vague and unsubstantiated.
The Open Society Institute has released the following statement about the charges against Kian:
OSI Responds to Charges […]
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Many of you have left comments when signing the petition. We are gathering these statements and sharing them with his family, and will add a page for them soon. Thank you for your support. In the meantime, here are some of the words people have written about Kian:
Kian Tajbakhsh is a scholar, man of letters, musician and […]
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The French daily Libération published this piece, “Tehran holds Iranian-Americans hostage”, about Haleh, Kian, Ali Shakeri, and French-Iranian journalist Mehrnoushe Solouki:
Téhéran prend des Irano-Américains en otages
Ces civils pourraient servir de monnaie d’échange avec les Etats-Unis. Une Française a aussi été arrêtée.
Par Jean-Pierre PERRIN
QUOTIDIEN : samedi 26 mai 2007
Après l’arrestation à Téhéran de l’universitaire américano-iranienne Halah […]
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Americans for Informed Democracy, a student organization that seeks to improve the global consciousness of young Americans, has released the following statement in support of Kian and Haleh:
Everyone at Americans for Informed Democracy is deeply troubled and saddened by the detainment of Kian Tajbakhsh and Haleh Esfandiari. We greatly respect the work of both of […]
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The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has sent the Iranian authorities the following letter, asking them to release Kian immediately. Kian has participated in a number of SSRC projects and conferences, and previously served on the steering committee of its Middle East and North Africa program.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic […]
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The San Francisco Chronicle has published an op-ed about the detentions of Haleh, Kian, and others, by Iranian journalist and human rights defender Omid Memarian:
The solitary confinement of Haleh Esfandiari, the respected scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and this week’s arrest of Kian Tajbaksh, an urban planning expert at George Soros’s Open Society Institute, […]
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The New School, where Kian taught for several years, has issued the following statement:
Statement Concerning the Detention of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh in IRAN
New York, New York: May 25, 2007: The New School strongly objects to the arrest and detention of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh by the Iranian government.
Dr. Tajbakhsh has been a respected member of The […]
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The Wall Street Journal published this editorial about the detention of Iranian-American scholars:
Iran’s Latest Hostages
25 May 2007
The Wall Street Journal
Haleh Esfandiari is no firebrand opponent of the regime in Tehran. As director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., the Iranian-born scholar is known as an advocate of U.S. […]
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Jadi, one of Kian’s former students in Tehran, has written this post about his detention. Jadi says:
Kian Tajbakhsh was my Urban Sociology professor. He returned back from USA around 2 years ago and started teaching us “Urban Sociology” at the university of Allame. He has studied in Columbia University and worked at New School. I remember that […]
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PEN American Center sent the following letter to the Iranian authorities on Kian’s behalf:
May 23, 2007
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Your Excellencies,
On behalf of the 3,400 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers dedicated to protecting […]
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The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemned the detentions:
NIAC condemns arrest of Iranian American scholars
Iranian hardline factions seek to prevent diplomacy through these egregious acts
Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council condemns the imprisonment of respected social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh by Iranian authorities on May 11 and calls for his immediate release. Tajbakhsh is […]
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Human Rights Watch released the following statement about Kian and the other detained scholars:
Iran: Another Iranian-American Scholar Detained
Crackdown Against Iranian Civil Society Intensifies
(New York, May 24, 2007) – The increasing arrests and detentions of Iranian-American scholars in Iran points to an Iranian government campaign to deter local civil society activists from interacting with Iranians based […]
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