Three More Environmental Activists Arrested in Iran

Simultaneously with the fifth session of the trial of eight environmental activists, reports have emerged regarding the arrest of Youssef Farhadi Babadi, an environmental activist in Shahrekord, and Arman Vafayi and Shaho Faraji, two environmental activists in Sanandaj. According to reports from various news sites, this member of the environmental campaign "The Sound of Water" and his brother were arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Shahrekord on Sunday, February 17, while returning from a funeral ceremony. The reports indicate that two vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Intelligence stopped Farhadi Babadi's car and "intimidated his companions while violently arresting him and his brother." The Telegram channel "The Sound of Water" expressed concern about "security scenarios" against environmental activists following Youssef Farhadi Babadi's arrest. According to this channel, earlier, the Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and some channels close to security institutions had published reports against this campaign and its activists. Mr. Babadi had previously been summoned and arrested on May 9 due to complaints from members of the Isfahan Representatives Assembly and was released after nine days on bail. The "Sound of Water" campaign has undertaken significant activities to counter the water transfer projects of Karun and Zayandeh Rud. In January, 13 environmental activists and members of the National Unity Party were also arrested in Kurdistan province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported on Tuesday that Reza Asadi and Fazel Gheitasi, two of these environmental activists, were released on bail of 300 million tomans after 47 days of detention in solitary confinement. The site reported that on Sunday, Arman Vafayi and Shaho Faraji, two environmental activists and members of the Kurdistan branch of the National Unity Party, were arrested by security forces in Sanandaj. According to this report, Shaho Faraji was arrested in one of the central streets of Sanandaj, and Arman Vafayi was arrested at his home. These environmental activists were arrested while, after a year, Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khalighi, Hooman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghaderian, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, and Morad Tahbaz are still in "temporary detention" by the IRGC Intelligence Organization. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the fifth session of these eight environmental activists was held in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. In these court sessions, the lawyers appointed by these environmental activists are not present, and only three "trusted" lawyers from the judiciary are supposed to defend them. Meanwhile, Kazem Hosseini, one of these lawyers, reported on Sunday in an interview with the IRNA news agency that IRGC agents do not even allow these lawyers to speak with the environmental activists during the court session. He said, "So far, we have not been able to speak with our clients because the agents have not allowed us to talk to them, and we have only had contact with them to the extent of greetings." Mr. Hosseini added, "We hope that in the next sessions, they will allow verbal communication with our clients; however, this action by the agents is illegal because the investigation of the case has been completed." According to reports, Niloufar Bayani, one of the eight imprisoned environmental activists, stated in the second court session that she had confessed under pressure and due to threats from interrogators. After that, it was announced that Ms. Bayani had not attended subsequent court sessions. Meanwhile, Mr. Hosseini said, "The previous court session was also held with the presence of seven defendants and five lawyers, and one of the female defendants was not present, the reason for which we do not know." Previously, the Human Rights Campaign in Iran reported, citing "an informed source," that security agents intended to film Niloufar Bayani at a shopping center and villa to portray her as "having a good time." According to this report, Ms. Bayani rejected the agents' proposal to appear in these venues, and they were unable to make this film. While several government officials and members of parliament have repeatedly denied the accusation of "espionage" against these environmental activists, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, raised the issue of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference when asked about this matter and evaded answering the question. In this context, the Tehran prosecutor stated that the presidential committee has no right to comment on the environmentalists' case.