Lawyer for Kavous Seyed-Emami's Family Reports on Forensic Opinion Regarding His Cause of Death

On Wednesday, June 19, the lawyer representing the Seyed-Emami family stated that the forensic report on the cause of Kavous Seyed-Emami's death in prison has been finalized. Payam Darvishan, the lawyer, told the IRNA news agency that the final forensic report indicates bruising around his neck. The lawyer added that the cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation and pressure on the neck. Several environmental activists, including Kavous Seyed-Emami, a dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, Imam Sadiq University professor, and director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute, were arrested in February of last year. Two weeks after his arrest, on February 10, his family was informed that he had 'committed suicide' in prison. Iranian judicial authorities claim that Seyed-Emami committed suicide in jail, while Amnesty International has described the prevention of independent investigations into Seyed-Emami's 'highly suspicious' death as a sign of 'deliberate and planned efforts to conceal any evidence of torture and murder.' The Tehran prosecutor and the judiciary spokesperson have accused Kavous Seyed-Emami and the arrested environmental activists of 'espionage.' The Seyed-Emami family's lawyer also stated that in the video shown to them, the camera does not capture the part where the death occurred. Payam Darvishan responded to the question of whether the prosecutor's office was supposed to show another video of Seyed-Emami's suicide to his family by saying that they have followed up on this matter several times but have not yet been shown another video. The Seyed-Emami family's lawyer emphasized that recently the Minister of Intelligence announced the results of a four-member committee appointed by the President regarding this case and explicitly stated that these individuals are not spies. Since the Minister of Intelligence is the only official security authority in the country, when he declares that these individuals are not spies, it is conclusive. Payam Darvishan also mentioned that in the coming days, he will file a complaint against state television and the news program '20:30' for publishing falsehoods. He stated, 'State television and the news program 20:30 have unlawfully defamed and, while broadcasting private photos of Seyed-Emami, referred to him as a spy and a fishing lure as a telecommunications antenna.' After the arrest of these environmental activists, the Islamic Republic's state television claimed that Mr. Seyed-Emami and his colleagues used cameras for photographing leopards to capture images of IRGC missile sites and provided information about these sites to foreign intelligence agencies. Isa Kalantari, the head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, however, dismissed this accusation, stating that these cameras are only capable of capturing images of a limited area around them. The arrest of environmental activists and the suspicious death of Mr. Seyed-Emami in custody have drawn criticism both inside and outside Iran. Among them, UN officials have called on Iran to respect environmental activists. Last December, when Maryam Mombini, Kavous Seyed-Emami's wife, and their two sons attempted to leave Iran for Canada, Mrs. Mombini was prevented from exiting at the airport.