Freethought & Rationalism Archive

11-18-2002, 04:49 AM

I received the following appeal today by email. Yet another victim of fundie islamists. Please do your bit for this professor. (N.B. the appeal is written by an Indian, so the language is slightly exotic in places.)

Quote:

45 year old Prof.Hashem Aghajari is a professor of History at Tabiat-e-Modarres University in Teheran. He is also one of the leading members of the reformist political party: Islamic Revolution Mujahadeen and is a close ally of the President of Iran, Mr.Muhammad Khatami.

Prof.Aghajari was arrested on 8th August at Hamedan, in Western Iran on charges of insulting Prophet Muhammad and questioning in last June the hard-line interpretations of Islam by the clerics. After a closed hearing on 7th November 2002 a single judge imposed death sentence against the academic and reformist. Aghajari was also sentenced to 74 lashes, banned from teaching for 10 years and exiled to three remote Iranian cities for eight years. It had been the custom of Iranian courts to issue multiple sentences in cases of blasphemy and where it wants to make an example of the accused. However, in cases where death sentences are imposed such long-term punishments are not carried out. According to Aghajari’s lawyer Mr.Nikbakht Prof.Aghajari made no insulting remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

Though it is heartening to hear about the protestations of university students and political leaders, including the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, against the death sentence in view of the power of the Islamic Council of Guards and its practice of hounding reformists and
freethinking journalists, writers and scholars to the last one cannot be rest assured of Aghajari’s release. We may recall here the imprisonment
of Mr.Hamid Naini, editor of Payam-e-Amruj, of Ms Fatimeha Hakikatju, who is sentenced to 22 months, and Ms Tahamine Milane, a Film Director,
who are languishing in jails. All of them were charged with criticism of one or the other ugly features of the Islamic system. All these three dissenters had good lot of public support in Iran but that could not help their release and despite the fact that reformists form the majority in the Parliament. This is due to the fact that the Iranian Constitution empowers the Islamic Council of Guards to fire any legislation or act that it believes contradicts the spirits of Islam.

In the light of the facts explained I, on behalf of the recently formed Committee to Protect Freethinkers request you to write letters to the following distinguished officials to secure the release of Mr.Aghajari:

His Excellency Mr.Muhammad Khatami
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Teheran, Iran.

Write to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Special Rapporteur is mandated to take the case up with the concerned government. Please write to:

Dr.Abdul Fateh Amor
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax No.(41-22) 917-9016.

If you are living in the United States please write to:

Office of International Religious Freedom
(DRL/IRF), Room 4829
US Department of State, Washington DC 20520.

The law obliges the IRF to take up the case with the U.S. Ambassador in Teheran and to pursue the matter.

If your country is a member State of the European Union please present the case before the Union, urge upon it to take immediate steps for the release of Mr.Aghajari.

The life of Prof.Aghajari is in danger. Please do what best you could do to save him. Please send a copy of all your Messages to
icpf_campaign@rediffmail.com.

International Committee to Protect Freethinkers is a loosely formed new organization with an objective to strive for the Rights of Freethinkers, viz Atheists, Humanists, Rationalists, democrats and social reformers.

I read about this case in the press a few days ago. Students in Iran are agitating on behalf of Professor Aghajari, but obviously some external pressure would be useful.

Toto · 11-18-2002, 09:13 AM

A modern day Giordano Bruno.

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/18/international/middleeast/18IRAN.html" target="_blank">"Iran to Reconsider Death Sentence"</a>

Quote:

Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered an appeals court to review the death sentence issued for a liberal scholar, the daily newspaper Jomhouri Islami reported.

The death sentence for the scholar, Hashem Aghajari, has set off the largest and most sustained student protests since 1999. . . .

Mr. Aghajari refused to appeal and challenged hard-liners to carry out the sentence. He is a war veteran and an outspoken pro-reform activist who had called for separation of religion and state.

. . .

"We do not want behind-the-scene negotiations for Mr. Aghajari's release, we want freedom of speech to be respected, and we will continue our protests until that is achieved," said Mehdi Habibi, a member of the leading student association, the Office for Consolidating Unity.

"We feel the country is reaching a stage of political stagnation, and religious democracy is nothing but religious dictatorship," he added.

11-19-2002, 04:26 AM

Bumped to keep this in view. We still need protest from outside Iran to help save Professor Aghajari.

Toto · 11-19-2002, 08:02 AM

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran19nov19,0,5274210.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2D world" target="_blank">Students in Iran Clash With Regime Backers</a>

Quote:

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a review of Aghajari's case Sunday in an apparent effort to defuse such protests. Analysts said Khamenei's intervention revealed how concerned the leadership had been about the student protests.

Some student leaders responded to Khamenei's move by ordering an end to the protests. But others boosted their demands to include an apology from judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi.

11-19-2002, 01:24 PM

Ayatollah Khamenei has apparently quashed the death sentence, but the student protests are continuing. I don't have further details at the moment.

Toto · 12-05-2002, 01:42 PM

<a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=46&t=001591" target="_blank">Thread in Politics Forum</a>

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11-19-2002, 04:26 AM	#3
DMB Guest Posts: n/a	Bumped to keep this in view. We still need protest from outside Iran to help save Professor Aghajari.

11-19-2002, 01:24 PM	#5
DMB Guest Posts: n/a	Ayatollah Khamenei has apparently quashed the death sentence, but the student protests are continuing. I don't have further details at the moment.

12-05-2002, 01:42 PM	#6
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	<a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=46&t=001591" target="_blank">Thread in Politics Forum</a>

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