Amnesty International: Evidence of Possible Murder of Seyed Emami is Being Concealed

Amnesty International considers the "prevention of independent investigations" into the "highly suspicious death" of Kavous Seyed Emami as a sign of a "deliberate and planned effort to conceal any evidence of torture and murder." Meanwhile, the government spokesperson reported on Hassan Rouhani's concern and follow-up regarding recent suicides in prisons. Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for North Africa and the Middle East at Amnesty International, reacted on Monday, February 12, to reports that officials have refused to hand over the body of Kavous Seyed Emami, a university professor and environmental activist, to his family, imposing the condition that burial must occur quickly and without an independent autopsy. She stated, "The authorities' prevention of independent investigations into the highly suspicious death of Dr. Seyed Emami indicates a deliberate and planned effort to conceal any evidence of possible torture and murder." Earlier, Payam Darvishan, one of the two lawyers for Seyed Emami's family, announced in an interview with Radio Farda that the "examination report" prepared by forensic medicine in suspicious death cases has "not yet been issued." He said that this report must be issued first before further steps can be taken. Previously, Aladdin Boroujerdi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, stated that the Seyed Emami family did not request an autopsy. This is while Arash Keykhosravi, one of Seyed Emami's lawyers, rejected the parliament member's statement in an interview with Shargh newspaper published on Tuesday, February 13, saying, "The family requested an autopsy; however, Mr. Shahriari, the deputy prosecutor and head of District 27 prosecutor's office, said that forensic medicine would routinely request an autopsy." Meanwhile, Fars News Agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted Kamran Seyed Emami, Kavous Seyed Emami's brother, saying: "I and the late's wife have seen the body, and at the insistence of the deputy prosecutor, we examined it and aside from the signs of hanging visible on the body, which is clearly evident in the prison footage, there is no other issue." He stated that he does not agree to an autopsy of Mr. Seyed Emami. Previously, some media outlets affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards published interviews quoting some families of those who were killed in the past, which have been denied. In this context, ILNA news agency reported that Payam Darvishan, one of Seyed Emami's family lawyers, announced the autopsy of his body, stating: "We watched the cell camera footage along with his family and other lawyers of the case, but because it does not provide a good view of the toilet in this cell, his act of suicide is not clear; however, it is evident in the footage that he went to the toilet wearing a shirt." Mr. Darvishan, rejecting theories that claim Seyed Emami was killed in prison, said: "The reason why he was compelled to commit suicide is very important and must be clarified. The criminal prosecution office is also pursuing this matter." He criticized the security nature of Seyed Emami's case and the provisions of Article 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code, saying: "In such cases where the entry of a lawyer is not permitted, the situation for the accused is very difficult because when they do not allow a person to have a lawyer, they may exert pressure during investigations, leading them to do anything. It is the lawyer who calms the accused in the first 48 hours and explains the situation to them, and the deprivation of this right causes such incidents to occur." Meanwhile, Magdalena Mughrabi, in another part of her remarks, stated that Kavous Seyed Emami "was in Evin prison, where detainees are under continuous surveillance and all personal belongings are taken from them, making suicide in such conditions nearly impossible." She emphasized: "The presence of signs of crime such as torture on Dr. Seyed Emami's body or any clues related to the reasons for his death is of serious concern to us." In this regard, Amnesty International also urged the Canadian government and the international community to pressure Iranian authorities to conduct "independent investigations" into the circumstances of Kavous Seyed Emami's death "in accordance with international human rights standards" so that "those responsible, along with those in positions of leadership and oversight, must be brought to justice." According to reports, Mr. Seyed Emami held Iranian-Canadian citizenship. The death of Kavous Seyed Emami is the third case reported as a "suicide" in detention following the protests in December. Before him, Sina Ghobari and Vahid Heydari, two detainees from the December protests, lost their lives in Evin and Arak prisons, with judicial officials claiming they committed suicide. Meanwhile, Magdalena Mughrabi stated: "The increasing number of deaths in custody and the authorities' refusal to conduct independent and transparent investigations provide a deeply alarming picture of the criminal justice system in Iran, where the lack of regard for human life and the accountability of officials prevails." Amnesty International also noted that the Tehran prosecutor's statements regarding Mr. Seyed Emami's confessions "intensify existing concerns about the use of torture against him." Human Rights Watch also called for "immediate independent investigations" into the suspicious deaths of prisoners in Iran on Monday. "Concern and follow-up" from Hassan Rouhani. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, on Tuesday regarding the situation of prisoners and recent suicides in prisons stated that the government has two approaches in this regard: "First, non-interference in the judiciary's work, which must oversee such incidents, and its responsibility also lies with the judiciary, and second, that the President is concerned about some social and judicial events and continues his duties within the framework of constitutional legal activities." According to ISNA news agency, he added: "I must admit that the country faces various dangers, so when a prisoner is in the custody of the judiciary, they are our trust. Enemies exploit these incidents, and we must know that when a prisoner is in our custody, we must take care of and protect them." The government spokesperson added: "Therefore, if there has indeed been a fault or negligence, it is expected that this follow-up will take place, and Mr. Rouhani is also pursuing this matter." However, he did not provide any explanation regarding this issue. Previously, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, head of the Environmental Faction in Parliament, and some university associations rejected the judiciary's officials' statements regarding Mr. Seyed Emami's "espionage," with Mr. Tabesh stating that "the detainees were not political and did not have access to classified information." Meanwhile, according to the website Emtedad, Ali Shakouri Rad, Secretary-General of the Union of Iranian Parties, said on Tuesday: "Common sense suggests that if enemies want to place spies, they would target sensitive institutions with confidential information, not environmental NGOs." Iranian officials have previously made accusations of "espionage" against several political and civil activists, and some of these activists have reported after their release that their interrogators pressured them to accept these accusations. Reports from some media in Iran on Monday indicated that "IRGC intelligence experts," the agency that detained Mr. Seyed Emami, presented a film in Parliament that allegedly shows the university professor engaging in actions indicative of his possible intention to "commit suicide." Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a member of the principlist "Resistance Front" faction in Parliament, said about this film: "Mr. Seyed Emami prepares his shirt in a loop and commits suicide. Everything is clear and evident in the film." However, according to Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the duration of this film is seven to eight minutes, but the "moment of suicide is not evident." Payam Darvishan, one of the two lawyers for Seyed Emami's family, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that he and his clients have watched the film in full but found no scene of "suicide" in it. Arash Keykhosravi, another lawyer for Seyed Emami's family, also said in an interview with Shargh newspaper on Tuesday that "the film was shown to Mr. Seyed Emami's family as well. There is no indication of suicide in the film." Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Hope Faction in Parliament, stated: "It was decided that if there is a more accurate film, it should be provided to the representatives." Also, according to Kazem Jalali, another member of Parliament, "this incident occurred in the toilet, and the visual position related to the cell is not visible, and the toilet is not visible." According to Parliament representatives, Mr. Seyed Emami was imprisoned in a Revolutionary Guards cell referred to as a "suite," which also has a toilet inside. Meanwhile, Nahid Khodakarami, a member of the Tehran City Council, said: "Before the terrifying and horrifying sentence of suicide in prison becomes a common news report, the judiciary should clarify the situation." Earlier reports indicated that in addition to Kavous Seyed Emami, two of his colleagues at the Wildlife Institute, Hooman Jokar, the Asian cheetah project manager, and Morad Tahbaz, an environmental and cultural heritage activist, were also detained. Kayhan London newspaper identified another detainee as Niloufar Bayani, Hooman Jokar's wife and former head of activities and planning and former advisor to the UN Environment Program.