Omid Kokabi and the 'Unacceptable' Accusations

Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson for the judiciary, emphasized on Sunday the 'espionage charges' against Omid Kokabi, stating that his 10-year prison sentence is final. Meanwhile, according to ILNA news agency, Saeed Khalili, his lawyer, says that Omid Kokabi has been in prison for over five years and three months and has been denied leave despite the harsh treatment he has faced. Omid Kokabi, a postdoctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin, was arrested in Tehran in February 2011 on charges of having connections with a hostile government while visiting his family. He was recently hospitalized due to cancer, and doctors removed his right kidney. Hossein Qayemi has discussed Omid Kokabi's situation with Mohammad Maleki, the former president of Tehran University after the revolution, and Ali Afshari, a political analyst in Washington. Mohammad Maleki, who is active in a campaign for Omid Kokabi's freedom, considers the espionage charges to be unfounded and quotes Omid Kokabi as saying that he was asked to cooperate with the Islamic Republic's nuclear program in Iran, and because he refused to do so, he was imprisoned. Ali Afshari also deems the 'connection with a hostile government' accusation unacceptable, as he states that the U.S. government is not considered a 'hostile government' from the perspective of Iranian foreign ministry officials.