Ejei: The Case of Environmental Activists Has Not Yet Gone to Court

The spokesperson of the Iranian judiciary has announced that months after the detention of several environmental activists, no indictment has been issued for the defendants in this case. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei added in a press conference on Sunday (October 14) that the case of these detainees has not yet gone to court. This judicial official attributed the long delay to 'deficiencies' in the case, which he stated are 'being resolved' and for which no indictment has yet been issued. Ejei did not provide any explanation regarding what he referred to as 'deficiencies.' His remarks come at a time when a significant number of environmental activists were detained in various cities in February 2018 on charges of 'espionage.' The judiciary and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accuse them of this charge, while the Ministry of Intelligence and Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, have repeatedly stated that their assessment of these individuals does not confirm the allegations attributed to them by the judiciary. Previously, the IRNA news agency had noted the prolonged process of handling the case of these activists, questioning whether this delay is related to a lack of sufficient information about the case from the judiciary. Mahmoud Sadqi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also reported that despite the completion of 'investigation and interrogation' of the environmental activists, they have been handed over to the prosecutor's office, but 'it is unclear why their detention has continued.' At the end of September, the families of eight detained environmental activists in Iran wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, requesting access to 'lawyers and fair trial conditions.' This letter was written by the families of Amir Hossein Khalighi, Sam Rajabi, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, Niloufar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz, Hooman Jokar, and Taher Ghaderian, who were arrested in February 2018. In the letter, the families expressed concern about the situation of the detainees, stating that their efforts to access the Tehran prosecutor have been 'fruitless.' They further requested their release from Ayatollah Khamenei and called for the removal of 'restrictions,' 'access to a lawyer,' and the provision of 'fair trial conditions.' The families of these environmental activists had previously written letters to several other officials of the Islamic Republic, repeatedly requesting the release of their children, who have been accused of 'espionage.' Ebrahim Kalantari, the head of the Iranian Environmental Organization, also stated that 'we are not saying to release or execute these individuals, but we are asking for clarification on their situation, which is part of our civil rights.' Mr. Kalantari emphasized that 'the Minister of Intelligence is the only official authority to declare individuals as spies, and he has officially stated that these individuals are not spies.' On February 10, 2018, the family of Kavous Seyed-Emami, a university professor and environmental activist who was detained along with these eight individuals, was informed that he had 'committed suicide' in prison. Mr. Seyed-Emami's family denies this claim, and Amnesty International has stated that 'preventing independent investigations' into the 'very suspicious death' of this university professor is a sign of 'deliberate and planned efforts to conceal any evidence of torture and murder.' '196 individuals' have been arrested in connection with currency disruption. Mohseni Ejei continued his remarks on Sunday by stating: 'In Tehran, to combat disruptors in the currency sector, the country's currency regulations, and organized smuggling, 196 individuals have been arrested from the beginning until now, of which 13 were arrested in recent days.' The spokesperson of the judiciary added: 'In Tehran, 49 indictments have been issued, some of which have multiple defendants, and 100 individuals have been scheduled for hearings.'