Lawyer of Environmental Activists: Alleged Spy Equipment of Seyed Emami Was a Fishing Hook

The lawyer for several detained environmental activists states that no specific 'breakthrough' has occurred in their situation, and the 'spy device' that Iranian television claimed belonged to Kavous Seyed Emami was merely a 'fishing hook.' Payam Darvishan, in an interview with ILNA news agency, said: 'In a video aired on the 20:30 program of Iranian television against Seyed Emami, an 'antenna' was displayed, and it was claimed that Seyed Emami was sending 'classified information' to foreigners through it.' He added: 'However, this alleged antenna is merely a fishing rod on which Seyed Emami's family installed a radio during their outings outside the city to listen to the radio.' Hooman Jokar, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghadiyan, Niloufar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz, Kavous Seyed Emami, Hassan Ragh, Aref Zare, Mohammad Zare, and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh were arrested in Bahman and Esfand of 1396 (2018). Two weeks after Kavous Seyed Emami's arrest, the family was informed that he had 'committed suicide' in prison. Some of the detained environmental activists had collaborated with Seyed Emami's institute, while others active in different parts of Iran had no connection with him or his institute. While judicial officials, including the Deputy Chief Justice and the Prosecutor of Tehran, have accused Kavous Seyed Emami, who was Iranian-Canadian, and other detained environmental activists of 'espionage,' Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that experts from the Ministry of Intelligence found no evidence of these individuals being 'spies.' Mohammad Reza Tabesh, head of the Environmental Fraction, also quoted Isa Kalantari, head of the Environmental Organization, saying there is a disagreement between the Ministry of Intelligence and some agencies regarding the espionage of the detained environmental activists. However, security officials prevented Maryam Mombini, Seyed Emami's wife, from leaving the country and traveling with her two sons to Canada. According to Mr. Darvishan, Mrs. Mombini is 'banned from leaving the country and is currently hospitalized due to her poor health condition.' He stated that the families of some detainees have 'only' managed to have phone conversations with their loved ones, and in-person visits have been possible for 'a few.' Mr. Darvishan, stating that 'we have not witnessed any specific breakthrough in the situation of these individuals,' reported the release of two of them on bail. The lawyer for the detained environmental activists referred to Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, stating that these individuals are 'not spies' and added that the prosecutor's office does not respond to a four-member committee formed by Hassan Rouhani to follow up on their case. Previously, the head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization expressed ignorance about the situation of the detained environmental activists and the lack of transparency from parts of the government regarding this case, saying: 'Unfortunately, one side has power and is not willing to engage in dialogue.' Mostafa Torkhamdani, a former lawyer for these activists, also resigned from representing the environmental defendants in late Farvardin. He wrote on Twitter: 'What result does questioning an unrepresented defendant after 70 days of solitary confinement have other than discrediting the investigations and wasting time and resources?' Meanwhile, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, without mentioning details, claimed that some defendants in this case had 'made significant statements.' Dowlatabadi also added, without referring to any specific individual, that the exit of one of the individuals related to this case was due to the results of the investigations. It seems he was referring to Kaveh Madani, the deputy of the Environmental Organization, who resigned from his position while traveling abroad. According to some reports, he was also briefly detained during the arrest of environmental activists. After that, reports emerged regarding the detention of Mr. Madani and the access of security agents to his social media accounts. Meanwhile, Madani stated in his resignation letter that upon entering Iran, without a judicial order, 'all of his personal hardware and social media accounts' were 'plundered' by the 'concerned' elements of the Islamic Republic. Mahmoud Alavi, the Iranian Minister of Intelligence, rejected the security and espionage accusations against Kaveh Madani and stated that the Ministry of Intelligence is the authority for determining espionage issues. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, also announced that the lifting of Kaveh Madani's travel ban had been requested by a relevant deputy in the Ministry of Intelligence.