Ahmad Batebi, Imprisoned Student, in Poor Physical Condition

Ahmad Batebi, an imprisoned student, is in poor physical and mental health, according to the National Coalition for Democracy, whose headquarters is in Washington. The Iranian authorities have rejected his family's request for medical treatment. Batebi managed to meet with Mr. Ligabo, a UN representative investigating human rights conditions in Iran and the Islamic Republic's prisons, during a short leave from prison last November, but he disappeared for several days after this meeting and eventually reappeared in the Islamic Republic's prison. Batebi was initially arrested during the student protests in 1999. Government agents used a photo taken during the student protests on December 9, where Batebi was holding the bloodied shirt of another student, as evidence against him. He was initially sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to 15 years in prison. The National Coalition for Democracy has requested that the United Nations appoint a special representative to monitor Iran's human rights practices. This group states that the humiliation of prisoners' families in Iran is not only common but also one of the tools used by authorities to pressure prisoners into making confessions.