Iran's American Detainee: The Case of Kian Tajbakhsh

At 9 p.m. on 9 July, Iranian security forces arrested Kian Tajbakhsh, the only American detained in connection with Iran's post-election the crisis, in front of his wife and young daughter at their home in Tehran. His arrest was first announced on 13 July on state-sponsored Press TV English, which alleged that he was cooperating with Hossein Rassam, the head of the security and political division of the British Embassy in Tehran, to foment post-election turmoil. Rassam has since been released on bail, but Tajbakhsh continues to be detained in an unknown
location.

Then, on Saturday, Tajbakhsh appeared in a press conference after the Tehran trial of almost 100 defendants (there is no indication that Tajbakhsh was amongst the defendants). Family and friends of Tajbakhsh had previously warned in a public declaration that they feared he was being held in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to obtain forced statements from him, noting that “such statements are repeatedly extracted under conditions of torture for the sole purpose of staging televised show trials”. They are distressed by photos of Tajbakhsh published by the Iranian official agency Fars News, which indicate that he is under intense strain.

Tajbakhsh, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, is a social scientist and urban planner affiliated with the New School in New York. He has always been noted as an academic who has sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides. However, Iranian state television is now pointing to his American citizenship to blame foreign powers, especially the US and Britain, for interference in its internal affairs and post-election disturbances.

Those seeking more information on the case can find it at the "Free Kian '09" website.

Comments

[karimkhan]

At the risk of spreading innuendo about someone who is clearly unfairly and unjustly accused, and who is almost certainly suffering from torture or other forms of mistreatment. I have had occasion to meet Mr Tajbakhsh and to hear him speak in private, and the impression I have had is not necessarily that of a person "who has sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides". It bears note that he once was a fairly outspoken and rather strident supporter of US policy in the region during the Bush years, and that he has worked for various NGOs involved in public policy/development work on Iran, including some that are on the right in international policy terms. However, that is not a justification for him to have suffered as he has, at all. I simply raise this in order to point out that the Iranian regime does have particular reasons for targeting specific individuals, and regretfully Mr Tajbakhsh has fallen within the target sights of those who are leading the current clampdown. I wish him strength and look forward to hearing of his release, unharmed.