Leonardo DiCaprio Supports Detained Environmental Activists in Iran

Leonardo DiCaprio, the Hollywood star and environmental activist, on Wednesday urged his followers to express their concerns over the continued detention of eight imprisoned environmental activists in Iran. DiCaprio shared a tweet about the detention of the environmental activists, stating: "Environmental activists around the world continue to be unjustly prosecuted. We must stand with those who risk their lives to protect the future of our planet and its inhabitants." The Hollywood star further asked his followers to voice their concerns regarding the ongoing detention of the eight environmental activists in Iran by signing an online petition. The eight activists, named Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khalighi, Hooman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghaderian, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, and Morad Tahbaz, have been in "temporary detention" by the IRGC Intelligence Organization for over a year. The third court session for these environmental activists is scheduled for February 12. On Saturday, the second court session for these eight individuals was held under the presidency of Judge Salavati, during which they were deprived of their right to choose a lawyer and were forced to accept lawyers appointed by the judiciary. Initially, the judiciary had charged these environmental activists with "espionage for foreigners," but months later, the charge of "corruption on earth" was raised against some of them, which could carry the death penalty. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, wrote on his Twitter page on Sunday night that the Supreme National Security Council also did not consider the activities of the environmental defendants as espionage. However, Sam Rajabi's sister stated on her Twitter page that Niloufar Bayani, one of the environmental defendants, announced during the court session on Saturday that she had confessed under pressure and threats from interrogators. The Khabar Online website reported that for months, the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, a university professor and head of the Persian Wildlife Institute who died in IRGC custody, was not disclosed to these detainees for further confession extraction. The IRGC claimed his death was a "suicide." While the government of Hassan Rouhani, including Isa Kalantari, head of the Department of Environment, asserts that these individuals are not spies, the judiciary and the IRGC insist on their claims.