Sadeqi: The Ministry of Intelligence Has Not Found Evidence of 'Espionage' Among Environmental Activists

A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly states that experts from the Ministry of Intelligence have not found evidence of 'espionage' among the detained environmental activists, while unconfirmed reports have emerged about the 'continuation of detentions' of environmental activists in Hormozgan Province. Mahmoud Sadeqi, a representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, announced on Wednesday, May 8, via a Twitter message that the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic has informed a parliamentary commission that the detained environmental activists are not spies. The tweet stated: 'In yesterday's meeting of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, anti-espionage experts from the Ministry of Intelligence explicitly, logically, and with evidence stated that they found no reason for their espionage.' Officials from the judiciary and the IRGC Intelligence Organization have not yet reacted to Mr. Sadeqi's announcement. On February 8 of last year, news was published that Kavous Seyed Emami, an Iranian-Canadian citizen, university professor, and environmental activist, died in prison two weeks after his arrest. The IRGC Intelligence and then other officials of the Islamic Republic described Mr. Seyed Emami's death in prison as a 'suicide,' but international organizations, citing statements from parliamentary representatives who have seen a video of the final moments of this university professor, are calling for clarification on the details of this case. Judicial officials, including the Deputy of the Judiciary and the Tehran Prosecutor, have accused Kavous Seyed Emami and other detained environmental activists of 'espionage.' Besides Kavous Seyed Emami, Hooman Jookar, the project manager for the protection of the Asiatic cheetah, Taher Ghaderian, Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khaleqi, and Niloufar Bayani, environmental activists, along with Sepideh Kashani, Hooman Jookar's wife and former advisor to the UN Environment Program, are still imprisoned. Previously, Mostafa Torkhamdani, the lawyer for these detained activists, announced on April 17 in a tweet that his efforts to accept the defense of these environmental activists had failed, and he would withdraw from their representation. According to the 'Iran Human Rights Campaign,' citing an 'informed source,' 'most of the detainees are local activists, and almost anyone associated with the Laristan mouflon conservation project has been arrested. This project is one of the projects of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute.' On the website of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute, Kavous Seyed Emami is introduced as the CEO of this institute. The office of this institute was sealed after the arrest of the first group of activists at the beginning of February last year. Simultaneously, new reports have emerged about the detention of several other environmental activists in Hormozgan Province. The 'Iran Human Rights Campaign' reported on Wednesday, May 8, citing an informed source, that 'more than 40 environmental activists' have been detained in the cities of Lavardin, Bandar Lengeh, Janah, and Bastak in Hormozgan Province. Meanwhile, Mojgan Jamshidi, an environmental activist, announced on her Twitter account that the number of detainees is '55.' In her tweet, Ms. Jamshidi also quoted Azar Sedaghat, another environmental activist, stating: 'In the past two days, 40 local activists and rangers from Bandar Lengeh have been arrested.' In the same tweet, Mohammad Saleh Ahmadi was mentioned, who 'was arrested ten days ago in Janah, Hormozgan, and there has been no news of him since.' In another tweet, Mirhasam Khaleqi, an environmental activist and brother of Amir Hossein Khaleqi, who was previously detained, confirmed the arrest of about 40 'local individuals and also two rangers from Bandar Lengeh and surrounding villages' and reported the confiscation of 'communication devices' from all these individuals. The 'Iran Human Rights Campaign' identifies the IRGC Intelligence Organization as the responsible party for the arrest of all these activists. However, the news of the 'continuation of detentions' in the environmental sector in Iran is published while there is still no news of trials and sentencing for activists detained in February 2018. The report from the Iran Human Rights Campaign states: 'Alireza Farahzadeh, a photographer and documentary filmmaker and an activist in the nature school sector, Morteza Aryan Nejad, an activist in nature conservation, Abdolreza Koohpayeh, a mountaineer and nature photographer, Hassan Ragh, Aref Zare and Mohammad Zare, environmental assistants in the Bandar Lengeh and Bastak region related to the protection of the Laristan mouflon have been detained since March 7, 2018. Alireza Farahzadeh met with his family on Tuesday, April 6, but there is no news of other detainees in southern Iran, and their families are in complete ignorance.