[Marxism] Another Iranian Researcher Jailed

[Dennis Brasky]

On Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 9:35 AM, Middle East Report Online <
meronline-service at merip.biglist.com> wrote:

> NEWS RELEASE
> July 2, 2009
>
> Middle East Research and Information Project
> 1500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 119
> Washington, DC 20005
> www.merip.org
>
> Another Iranian Researcher Jailed
>
> The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) condemns the
> arbitrary arrest and detention of the economist Bijan Khajehpour by
> authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khajehpour was snatched from
> the Tehran airport on June 27 upon arrival from Britain. His whereabouts are
> thus far unknown to his wife, two young children, family, friends and
> colleagues.
>
> His arrest fits into the deeply disturbing pattern on display since the
> Islamic Republic moved to quash popular dissent from the official "result"
> of the June 12 presidential election. On June 30 the Guardian Council, an
> unelected and unaccountable clerical body, "certified" that "result" on the
> basis of an internal review of only 10 percent of the ballots. Hundreds, if
> not thousands, of Iranian citizens are in jail because they have spoken out
> for more transparent democratic procedures and the rule of law in Iran.
>
> Khajehpour is chief executive officer of Atieh Bahar Consulting, a highly
> respected firm based in Tehran, and author of tens of articles on Iranian
> political economy. He suffers from diabetes, and MERIP is very concerned
> about his health while in detention.
>
> "It's impossible to know what is happening in the hardliners' 'black
> sites,'" remarked Kaveh Ehsani, an editor of Middle East Report, where
> Khajehpour's work has been published. Reports of torture during the
> post-election crackdown are so numerous as to be impossible to dismiss. The
> Islamic Republic has an execrable record of maltreatment of prisoners, one
> no better than that of the regime it replaced.
>
> MERIP points to articles of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of
> Iran which prohibit such maltreatment, outlaw the persecution of individuals
> for their beliefs, protect freedom of speech and the press and permit the
> free holding of public gatherings. These articles correspond to legal
> protections enshrined in the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to
> which Iran is a signatory.
>
> "Unfortunately, the powers that be in today's Islamic Republic seem bent on
> flouting the constitution, with a brazenness unseen in recent years,"
> continued Arang Keshavarzian, another Middle East Report editor who was in
> Iran during the June 12 voting. The Guardian Council's opaque and incomplete
> review of ballots is the most recent signal to this effect.
>
> "Anyone who is still attuned to the hardliners' 'anti-imperialist' siren
> song should ask themselves why so many principled Iranians are in jail for
> closing their ears to it," added Chris Toensing, executive director of
> MERIP.
>
> MERIP calls upon all defenders of human rights to press for an immediate
> halt to the crackdown on the Iranian dissenters and the prompt release of
> all persons unjustly detained.
>
> "Protest and Regime Resilience in Iran," Khajehpour's analysis of a
> previous episode of pro-democracy dissent, is available on the MERIP website
> at: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero121102.html
>
> For background on Iran, see the spring 2009 issue of Middle East Report,
> "The Islamic Revolution at 30," accessible online at:
> http://www.merip.org/mer/mer250/mer250.html
>
> See also Kaveh Ehsani, Arang Keshavarzian and Norma Claire Moruzzi,
> "Tehran, June 2009," Middle East Report Online, June 28, 2009.
> http://www.merip.org/mero/mero062809.html
>
>
> .
> Middle East Report Online is a free service of the Middle East Research
> and Information Project (MERIP).
> .
>
>