UN Experts: Iran Must Stop Crackdown on Environmental Activists

UN human rights experts have protested the detention of members of the 'Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute' and the death of its CEO, Kavous Imamian, in prison, urging the Iranian government to halt the 'new and concerning' trend of targeting environmental activists. The statement released on Friday, March 4, claims that 'based on observations, Iranian authorities are detaining and interrogating peaceful activists and scientists for their invaluable efforts to protect the environment.' The UN experts stated, 'It is difficult to understand how efforts to protect plants and animals in Iran could be linked to espionage against Iran's interests.' Iranian officials have accused detained environmentalists of espionage, with Hassan Firouzabadi, a senior military advisor to Iran's leader, going so far as to suggest that any environmental activist or agricultural scientist 'could potentially' be a spy. He elaborated that these individuals might seek to determine, for instance, 'through the skins of desert animals, where we have uranium mines and where we are working on nuclear activities.' However, UN human rights experts have rejected such claims and called for the 'immediate release' of environmental activists and the dropping of charges against them. The statement then addresses the death of Kavous Imamian in custody, which Iranian authorities claim was a suicide 'after his confession.' The statement notes, 'Mr. Imamian's death is very distressing, not only because he was detained on unfounded and unacceptable charges, but also because his death in custody indicates a dirty game.' The UN experts further urged Iranian authorities to allow for an impartial investigation into the circumstances leading to Mr. Imamian's death. Previously, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Iranian parliament, reported that seven environmental activists remain in custody, a point echoed in the UN experts' statement. Hooman Jokar, the director of the Asiatic cheetah project, and Morad Tahbaz are among those detained, who have collaborated with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute. Ultimately, the UN experts emphasized that 'the detention and prosecution of environmental activists for their efforts to protect nature is unjustifiable and should not be equated with espionage or treated as a crime anywhere in the world, including Iran.' This statement is signed by John H. Knox, David Kaye, Michael Forest, and José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez.