Iran Human RightsTwo US-Iranians jailed in Iran on spying charges

Two US-Iranians jailed in Iran on spying charges

-

AFP: Iran on Tuesday announced it was holding a second US-Iranian scholar on charges of spying for foreigners alongside the US-Iranian Middle East expert Haleh Esfandiari.
TEHRAN, May 29, 2007 (AFP) – Iran on Tuesday announced it was holding a second US-Iranian scholar on charges of spying for foreigners alongside the US-Iranian Middle East expert Haleh Esfandiari.

Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said that social science scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, 45, was being held on the same charges as Esfandiari, namely acting against the Islamic republic and spying for foreigners.

Esfandiari, who was detained on May 8, has been formally accused by the intelligence ministry of “acting against the security of the country through propaganda and espionage for foreigners,” he told reporters.

“The same goes for Mr Tajbakhsh. He is being kept in detention,” said Jamshidi, confirming that Esfandiari was also still being held. Both detainees have US and Iranian passports but Iran does not recognise dual nationality.

An expert in urban planning who has taught in the United States and Iran and worked for the World Bank, Tajbakhsh was according to US press reports arrested on May 11.

He has also worked for the Open Society Institute of US billionaire George Soros which is accused by Iran of seeking a “Velvet Revolution” in Iran similar to the ousting of communism in eastern Europe.

Jamshidi’s comments were the first time Iran has confirmed Tajbakhsh’s detention and his charges.

US media and Human Rights Watch have said that a third US-Iranian, Ali Shakeri, has been detained in Iran in recent weeks but Jamshidi said that Shakeri “is not detained”, without giving further details.

However the judiciary spokesman added that Parnaz Azima, another US-Iranian who works for the US-funded Persian language arm of Radio Free Europe, was facing the same charges as Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh.

Azima, who like Esfandiari was visiting Iran to call on a sick relative, has had her passport confiscated by the authorities and is unable to leave the country after paying a 440,000-dollar bail bond.

“Ms Azima is not detained. She is at liberty but bears the same accusations,” as two detained scholars, said Jamshidi.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Man hanged in volatile Iran province

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Nov. 11 - A man...

Iran spy cells operate in Gulf states: Kuwaiti MP

AFP: A spy network Kuwait busted for allegedly working...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you