Ramin Seyed Emami: My Mother Was Threatened Not to Speak to the Media About My Father's Death

The son of Kavous Seyed Emami, an environmental activist who died in security forces' custody last week, claims that judicial agents interrogated and threatened his mother for three hours, warning her not to speak to the media about her husband's death, or she would be arrested as well. On February 10, it was announced that Kavous Seyed Emami, a professor at Imam Sadiq University and CEO of the 'Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute,' who held dual Iranian-Canadian citizenship, had died in prison two weeks after his arrest. Mr. Seyed Emami was arrested on January 24, and two weeks later, his wife was informed of his death, labeled as a 'suicide.' Ramin Seyed Emami provides more details in a note on his personal blog, stating that the 27th District Prosecutor's Office summoned his mother on Friday, February 9, 2018, and told her to come to 'see her husband.' Before announcing Kavous's death, they interrogated and threatened her for three hours and ultimately obtained a written commitment from her not to speak to the media, or they would arrest her as well. He added, 'Such threats to Kavous after his arrest had caused us to remain silent until that time. From the same prosecutor's office, my mother, along with my uncle Kamran, was taken to the morgue and shown my father's body.' The environmental activist's son stated, 'At the 27th District Prosecutor's Office, my brother and I met with a man for two hours in the presence of our lawyers, who cooperated with us. The lawyers requested to see the evidence—video from the cell or what they called a 'suite' and the contents of the file. I was the only family member who saw the video. I want to emphasize here that contrary to scattered reports, my uncle has not seen the video. Also, none of my uncles spoke to the media, and the statements attributed to them are not correct.' This part of Ramin Seyed Emami's statements contradicts a report published by the Tasnim news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, citing his uncle. According to this news agency's account, Kamran Seyed Emami, Kavous's brother, stated, 'Myself and the late's wife have seen the body, and at the insistence of the deputy prosecutor, who said, 'Look at the body and examine all matters,' we did this. Besides the signs of hanging visible on the body, which is also clearly shown in the prison video, there is no other issue, and the suicide by hanging is quite evident.' In another part of his note, Ramin Seyed Emami, referring to the video related to his father's cell, wrote, 'What is seen in the video is that my father is nervous and restless. He is a world away from his true self. He keeps going from one side of the cell to the other. He is agitated. I can firmly say that the man who walked on his own and alone to the adjacent room, which we were told was the 'toilet,' is not in a good mental state. Seven hours later, a body is brought out of that same room. The lawyers' request to see this cell was denied.' He added that on the morning of February 12, he, along with several family members, went to the Kahrizak forensic medicine center and 'received Kavous's body after meeting again with the head of the center. The certificate given to us by this center states that the cause of death is 'under investigation.' Mr. Seyed Emami emphasized that 'our request, above all, is to clarify the reasons for my father's arrest, the conditions of his interrogation, and to see his security file.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public prosecutor and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, announced that the cause of Kavous Seyed Emami's death was 'suicide.' Simultaneously with the publication of his report, Ramin Seyed Emami tweeted about the cancellation of his father's memorial ceremony by the mosque where it was supposed to be held. He wrote that 'the Al-Ridha Mosque called and said that the memorial for my father cannot be held there tomorrow.' Mr. Seyed Emami did not provide further details about this conversation and the reason for the mosque management or security agencies' opposition to holding this ceremony. The body of this environmental activist was buried on Tuesday, February 12, in the Imamzadeh cemetery located 40 kilometers from Tehran.