Majid Tavakoli’s Family Unable to Visit Him Due to Distance

The family of Majid Tavakoli, an imprisoned student who was arrested on National Student Day 2009 (7 December) at Amirkabir University of Technology, has not received any news from him for several months. His family lives in the city of Shiraz and has been unable to travel to Karaj to visit him. Last week, Tavakoli issued a message for Student Day.

Ahmadinejad’s Media Blitz Unfolds as Young Activists Receive Harsh Sentences

While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proclaimed Iran’s respect for human rights and freedoms during his current New York media blitz, several prominent young Iranian students, human rights defenders, and journalists received harsh jail sentences in recent days, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

In several cases, young Iranians have been jailed for “insulting the President,” the Campaign emphasized. Overall, at least 500 prisoners of conscience are held in Iranian jails.

Release Prisoners of Conscience on Hunger Strike

(4 August 2010) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately release seventeen prisoners of conscience who have been on hunger strike for the past ten days and whose health is deteriorating daily, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The seventeen prisoners include prominent student leaders, journalists, and human rights activists.

“These prisoners have committed no crimes and are in prison solely because of their opinions and beliefs. Iran should release them immediately,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Judge Accuses Eight Detained Students of Cooperation with Terrorist Organization Mojahedin-e Khalgh

(29 April 2009) The Deputy of the Security Prosecution Court, Judge Haddad, announced in a 28 April 2009 interview with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that eight detained students have been charged with cooperating with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK), which is considered to be a terrorist group by Iran and numerous Western governments. The eight students, all from Amir Kabir University, include Majid Tavakoli, Hossein Torkashvand, Esmael Salmanpour and Koursh Daneshyar, Ahmad Ghasaban, Nariman Mostafavi, Mehdi Mashayekhi, and Abbas Hakimzadeh.

Majid Tavakoli

Majid Tavakoli, arrested on May 9, 2007, is a student at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University and a member of the central council of the university’s Islamic Association. After being released in August 2008, Tavakoli was arrested again on 5 February 2009 after attending a ceremony to honor the Islamic Republic’s first prime minister. He is reportedly being held in Evin Prison.

Lives of Four Students on Hunger Strike Are at Risk

(21 February 2009) The lives of four Amirkabir University students, Majid Tavakoli, Hossein Torkashvand, Esmaiel Salmanpour and Kourosh Daneshyar, who went on hunger strike to protest their arbitrary detention, are at risk. The students should be released immediately and unconditionally, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The four students are among a group of around twenty people arrested on 5 February 2009, at a ceremony to honor Mehdi Bazargan, the first Iranian prime minister after the revolution of 1979.

Judiciary Must Review the Sentencing of Ehsan Mansouri, Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Ghasaban

(20 April, 2008) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is appealing to the head of Iran’s Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, to review the sentencing by an appeals court of three students, Ehsan Mansouri, Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Ghasaban to prison terms.