Mahmoud Sadeghi: Deputy of the Environmental Protection Organization has been arrested

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, confirmed the arrest of his deputy, Kaveh Madani, citing Isa Kalantari, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization. Meanwhile, various reactions have emerged regarding the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, a detained environmental activist, in prison. On Sunday, February 11, Sadeghi tweeted that while investigating the circumstances surrounding Seyed Emami's death, he learned that Kaveh Madani, the deputy for international, innovation, and social-cultural participation at the Environmental Protection Organization, was also arrested on Saturday, February 10. He also told ILNA news agency that in a call with Kalantari, the latter confirmed Madani's arrest. When asked if Madani was arrested due to his dual nationality, Sadeghi stated that necessary inquiries had been made about him and there seemed to be no specific issues in this regard. He added that Kalantari mentioned that the reason for Madani's arrest had not been disclosed. Meanwhile, journalist Shahrzad Hemmati tweeted, quoting Omid Alizadeh from the Environmental Protection Organization's public relations, that 'the news of Madani's arrest is not true,' referring to his phone and Telegram communications. This denial has not yet been officially published on the Environmental Protection Organization's website. Kaveh Madani, a professor at Imperial College London, was appointed as the deputy of the Environmental Protection Organization in September. According to the Environmental Protection Organization's information portal, Madani was elected as the vice president of the third United Nations Environment Assembly representing the Asia-Pacific group, which took place in Nairobi from December 4 to 6 of this year, and became a member of the bureau of the third United Nations Environment Assembly. ISNA news agency reported about two years ago that the European Union of Earth Sciences had named Kaveh Madani as one of the four outstanding young scientists in Earth sciences in 2016. Conflicting reports about Madani's arrest have emerged following the arrest of several environmental activists and the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, one of those detained. Meanwhile, ILNA reported that Gholamhossein Esmaeili, the head of the Tehran judiciary, announced on Sunday that new individuals may be arrested in this case. He stated, 'A group of those who collected information and provided it to foreigners have been identified, and some have been arrested, while others may be arrested in the future. The case is in its initial stages, and details cannot be disclosed.' Reactions to the death of Kavous Seyed Emami in prison were expressed by the Iranian Sociological Association in a statement on Saturday, expressing deep regret over Seyed Emami's death in prison and urging Iranian officials to explain the circumstances of his death. Previously, Ramin Seyed Emami, Kavous Seyed Emami's son, reported that his father died in prison two weeks after his arrest, with prison authorities declaring the cause as 'suicide.' The Iranian Sociological Association's statement noted that Seyed Emami 'had deep knowledge, 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 to public opinion.' According to information published by Imam Sadiq University about Kavous Seyed Emami, this environmental activist studied at universities in the United States and obtained his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oregon in 1991. In this context, ILNA reported that Mahmoud Sadeghi stated on Sunday that there are two accounts regarding the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, saying, 'It has been said that the family of this Imam Sadiq University professor was contacted and informed that Seyed Emami committed suicide. The other account is that this sociologist died of a heart attack.' He also noted that the parliamentary deputy of the Minister of Intelligence informed him that the arrest of seven environmental activists does not pertain to the Ministry of Intelligence and speculated that the arrest of these individuals might be through other intelligence agencies. This parliament member stated that he had also contacted Mr. Alavi for further inquiries but unfortunately received no response, contrary to the norm. Meanwhile, Hanif Mazrouei, a journalist in Belgium, stated in an interview with Radio Farda regarding the death of Kavous Seyed Emami in prison that 'the claim of this university professor's suicide in prison is ridiculous,' adding, 'In the past two months, this is the umpteenth time that the judiciary has declared the cause of death of a security prisoner as suicide in prison, and this raises serious questions for international bodies regarding the circumstances of the deaths of these political and security prisoners.' This journalist further stated, 'According to protocol, security prisoners who have political charges are always under strict surveillance during detention, and the claim that one of them could commit suicide under these circumstances is not only unacceptable but also indicates a cover-up to hide the reality of what happened. Since the oversight bodies of the Islamic Republic do not have the necessary independence to investigate this incident, international bodies should conduct an independent investigation into the suspicious deaths of security prisoners in recent months and report the results to public opinion.' Meanwhile, according to a report by AFP, a university professor who requested anonymity noted that 'everyone is in shock,' stating that Seyed Emami had been summoned several times by authorities since his return from Canada to Iran. The report did not specify which security or intelligence agency had summoned him. Mahmoud Sadeghi, in another part of his conversation with ILNA, stated that the arrested individuals are 'the elites of Iran's environment' and were working on the project to preserve the Iranian cheetah, saying, 'Even if these individuals have the heaviest charges, the responsibility for preserving the lives of the accused lies with the judiciary. Even in the constitution, an accused person who is condemned by law is under the protection of the law and should be treated within the limits of the law.' This parliament member added, 'A prisoner, according to prison regulations, is entitled to rights and should be informed of the charges against them within a maximum of 48 hours after arrest and has the right to have a lawyer, but unfortunately, according to the families of these individuals, they have not been able to establish any contact with them or introduce a lawyer, which is a clear violation of the constitution and the criminal procedure law.' Sadeghi stated that the prosecutor should be accountable for these behaviors, saying, 'Assuming that these individuals have committed the heaviest charges, firstly, it is an accusation, and an accusation cannot punish someone until proven. Even if proven, it is punishable within limits, and a prisoner, regardless of the crime for which they have been imprisoned, is entitled to rights, and prison and judicial officials must be accountable for the lives of individuals, especially a cultured person who was a university professor at a completely trusted university of the regime, namely Imam Sadiq University.' He also announced that tomorrow (Tuesday) in parliament, they will follow up on this issue, and at least several ministers should be questioned through parliament. Meanwhile, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, regarding the news of Kavous Seyed Emami's suicide told ILNA, 'This individual was one of those accused, and given that he knew that many confessions had been made against him and he himself had made confessions, unfortunately, he committed suicide in prison.' Earlier reports indicated that in addition to Kavous Seyed Emami, two of his colleagues at the Wildlife Institute, Hooman Jookar, the project manager for the Asian cheetah, and Morad Tahbaz, an environmental and cultural heritage activist, have also been arrested. The Kayhan London newspaper identified another detainee as Niloufar Bayani, Hooman Jookar's wife and a former head of activities and planning and advisor to the United Nations Environment Program. Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said on Sunday, 'Behind the activities of specialized agents of some NGOs in areas such as welfare, women, environment, and water, there is a veil of ambiguity in their communications that is being investigated.' He also stated that he has no information regarding the details of the environmental activists' arrests. Hanif Mazrouei, a journalist in Belgium, describes the accusations against a group of environmental activists and those who work in this field as 'ridiculous and unbelievable excuses,' stating to Radio Farda that this issue 'shows more than anything the narrow-minded and prejudiced view of the Islamic Republic and the judiciary towards the activities of NGOs.' On the other hand, ILNA reported that Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs and former head of the Environmental Protection Organization, in response to a question about the reasons for the arrest of some environmental activists, said, 'I prefer not to comment on this matter at the moment, but I am very concerned.' Meanwhile, Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, also tweeted on Sunday, 'Neither sociologists nor wildlife advocates commit suicide.' The report regarding the death of an environmental activist in prison, just two weeks after their arrest, comes at a time when recently, following the arrest of hundreds during the nationwide protests in December of this year, reports have emerged regarding the deaths of some detainees in detention centers, and even some members of parliament have warned of the possibility of a 'second Kahrizak.' While human rights sources report the number of these individuals as between three to five, judicial officials have only confirmed the deaths of two detainees and declared the cause as 'suicide.' In recent years, other reports of the deaths or killings of detainees in Iranian prisons have emerged, including the deaths of individuals such as Sattar Beheshti, Hadi Saber, Mohsen Rouhalamini, Mohammad Kamerani, Amir Javadi Far, Ramin Aghazadeh Ghahremani, Zahra Kazemi, Zahra Bani Yaghoubi, Akbar Mohammadi, and Omidreza MirSiyafi.