Human Rights Campaign Calls for International Investigation into Suspicious Deaths of Prisoners in Iran

The Human Rights Campaign in Iran issued a statement holding the judiciary responsible for the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, an Iranian-Canadian citizen, and called for a UN investigation into suspicious deaths in Iranian prisons. Kavous Seyed Emami, a university professor and environmental activist, was arrested about two weeks ago along with several other environmental activists, and the judiciary eventually announced that he had committed suicide in prison. In the past two months, this is the third individual whose suicide has been reported by judicial authorities following their arrest. On Saturday, the 21st, coinciding with the announcement of Kavous Seyed Emami's death by his family, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public prosecutor of Tehran, stated that several individuals were arrested for collecting classified information in strategic areas under the guise of executing scientific and environmental projects. The Tehran prosecutor confirmed on Sunday that Mr. Seyed Emami was one of these detainees and claimed that he had 'committed suicide' after making confessions about himself or others. The Human Rights Campaign in Iran stated in its statement that the judiciary is 'responsible for the death' of Mr. Seyed Emami and called for 'international investigations' led by the UN 'regarding the three deaths that occurred in Iranian prisons over the past forty days.' Hadi Ghaemi, the director of the Human Rights Campaign, referred to the suspicious deaths of prisoners in Iran, saying: 'The increasing deaths in Iranian prisons are catastrophic. This reflects an unaccountable judicial and intelligence system that shows no respect for the lives of prisoners. Interrogators and the judiciary are directly responsible for the right to life of prisoners, and therefore, in addition to independent investigations to identify the cause of death and autopsy, those who played a role in such incidents must be held accountable in a transparent process.' The Human Rights Campaign in Iran reminded that Kavous Seyed Emami is the second Iranian-Canadian citizen to die in Iranian prisons. Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and photographer, was arrested in front of Evin prison in 2003 but did not come out alive. The Sixth Parliament's investigative committee identified Judge Saeed Mortazavi as the primary suspect in the case of Zahra Kazemi's death, which was not pursued. The Human Rights Campaign also mentioned that currently about 11 dual citizens or permanent residents of other countries are held in Evin prison. Sina Ghanbari and Vahid Heydari were two other prisoners whose suicides were reported by judicial and law enforcement authorities after their arrests in Evin and Arak prisons. These two had been arrested during recent protests. While the judiciary announced that a video of Sina Ghanbari's suicide exists in Evin prison, Alireza Rahimi, one of the visiting representatives, stated that such a video does not exist. He wrote on his Telegram channel: 'This video has been mistakenly referred to as the suicide video of Sina Ghanbari in various places, while the video contains hours of footage of the prison's bathroom area, and there is no footage of the incident that led to the death, and there is fundamentally no suicide video.' In addition to Kavous Seyed Emami, two other colleagues of his at the 'Wildlife' Institute, named Houman Jokar, the Asian cheetah project manager, and Morad Tahbaz, an environmental and cultural heritage activist, have also been arrested. The London-based Kayhan newspaper identified another detainee as Niloufar Bayani, the wife of Houman Jokar and a former head of activities and planning and advisor to the UN Environment Program. According to Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, Kaveh Madani, the deputy for international affairs, innovation, and social-cultural participation of the Department of Environment, was also arrested on Saturday, February 21. Reactions to the death of Kavous Seyed Emami in prison On Saturday, the Iranian Sociological Association issued a statement expressing deep sorrow over the death of Kavous Seyed Emami in prison, urging Iranian officials to explain the circumstances of his death. The statement from the Iranian Sociological Association noted that Kavous Seyed Emami 'had not only profound knowledge but also good ethics and exemplary calmness. Therefore, the news published about him is unbelievable, and it is expected that the responsible authorities will be accountable for this painful loss and explain it to public opinion.' Based on information published by Imam Sadiq University about Kavous Seyed Emami on its website, this environmental activist studied at universities in the United States and obtained his PhD in sociology from the University of Oregon in 1991. Meanwhile, four scientific associations sent an open letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, demanding that the responsible institutions for the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, a sociologist and environmental activist, be held accountable. The Political Science Association, the Sociological Association, the Peace Studies Association, and the Iranian Association for Cultural Studies and Communications, in their letter to the President of Iran, called on him as the executor of the Constitution to clarify and resolve such ongoing and distressing sufferings that make society worried and anxious. These four scientific associations stated in their open letter to Hassan Rouhani that 'the continuation of security perspectives towards higher education institutions and scientific and international activities and disregard for the laws and regulations related to due process' is inconsistent with his slogans and emphasized that this leads to nothing but despair and skepticism. In this context, according to ILNA news agency, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, announced on Sunday that there are two narratives regarding the death of Kavous Seyed Emami: 'It has been said that the family of this Imam Sadiq University professor was contacted and informed that Mr. Seyed Emami committed suicide. The other narrative is that this sociologist died of cardiac arrest.' Mahmoud Sadeghi added: 'According to the parliamentary deputy of the Minister of Intelligence, the arrest of these individuals is not related to the Ministry of Intelligence, and it is likely that their arrest was carried out by other intelligence agencies.' This member of parliament stated that he had contacted Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, for follow-up inquiries and said: 'Unfortunately, contrary to usual practice, I have received no response.'