Mother of Omid Kokabi Writes to Khamenei: Free My Son for the New School Year

The mother of Omid Kokabi, a distinguished PhD student in physics at the University of Texas in the USA who has been imprisoned in Evin Prison since 2010, has written a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic requesting her son's release on the occasion of the new school year. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, which published the letter, reported that Omid Kokabi has not had a single day of leave during his five years of imprisonment in Iran and has faced various health issues during this time. Safar Bibi Haqnezari, Omid Kokabi's mother, reminded Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in her letter, published on the first day of the academic year 2015-2016, that for the fifth consecutive year, as universities reopen, they wonder whether Omid should be in a classroom and university in a country where the leader emphasizes scientific advancement or in a corner of a prison. She added, 'Do not let us repeat this question again this year.' In her letter to the Supreme Leader, she requested that he order the release of her son, Omid, who is a child of this land and was honored by Khamenei in a meeting with elites in 2003 for achieving an Olympic medal and ranking first in Region 3 as a distinguished physicist. Omid Kokabi, now 30 years old, is a graduate of Sharif University of Technology and a postdoctoral student in atomic physics at the University of Texas, who was arrested on January 30, 2011, at Imam Khomeini Airport while leaving the country. He spent a long time in solitary confinement, and his family and lawyer were not allowed to contact him. After 15 months of temporary detention, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court presided over by Judge Salavati on charges of having connections with 'hostile governments.' After two and a half years of imprisonment, Omid announced in a letter that his arrest and imprisonment occurred after he rejected an offer to collaborate with the military-security apparatus of the Islamic Republic on a military research project. In January 2015, an appellate court of the Islamic Republic rejected the Supreme Court's agreement to review Omid's case and upheld his 10-year sentence. In her letter to the Supreme Leader, Omid's mother pointed out that even if her son were guilty, he has served five years of his 10-year sentence, and according to the law, after serving one-third of his sentence, he should have been eligible for conditional release or included in one of the pardons during festive occasions, but this legal right has also been denied to him. Ms. Haqnezari noted that her son is not allowed to read physics and academic books in prison, and Omid has not had even one hour of medical leave or the opportunity to visit his family or meet with his lawyer for consultation regarding his case. She added that her son has faced multiple health problems in prison: 'He has passed kidney stones four times with severe pain and without any treatment, suffered from severe stomach issues, lost four of his teeth, and especially due to the immense pressure of prison, has developed heart palpitations and heart problems. Despite the prison doctor's prescription and emphasis on the necessity of treatment outside prison, he remains deprived of treatment.' In the five years since Omid Kokabi's imprisonment, numerous domestic and international requests for his release have been made, including a letter from 18 Nobel Prize-winning physicists urging the Supreme Leader to free him. All these requests have so far been in vain.