The Foundation for Democracy in Iran deplores the arrest of Mr. Sepehr Sanjabi, an activist of the Iran Nation's Party, by the Islamic Republic authorities. According to the INP, Sanjabi was arrested at his home in Kermanshah on Sunday evening, Aug. 25, by agents of the Intelligence Ministry. He is the head of the Party's Youth Organization for the Kermanshah region, and is also a prominent leader of the Sanjabi tribe, a Kurdish tribe in Kermanshah province.
Mr. Sanjabi had been under close surveillance by the Intelligence Ministry for some time prior to his arrest. According to an INP statement released in Tehran on Aug. 27, he was "brutally beaten" by agents of the Intelligence Ministry while participating in the annual memorial service held in honor of his uncle, Dr. Karim Sanjabi, on July 4. Dr. Sanjabi was a well-known nationalist figure who played an instrumental role in the 1979 revolution against the Shah.
The Iran Nation's Party, to which Mr. Sanjabi belongs, is a non-violent political group seeking democratic change in Iran. It advocates free and fair elections under international supervision, and a stronger role for the Iranian armed forces. The party leader, Mr. Darioush Forouhar, briefly served as Labor Minister in the Barzargan government in 1979, and was jailed by the regime authorities in 1982. Since his release some 18 months later, he became an outspoken opponent of the regime. Despite his advocacy of non-violent protest against the regime, Mr. Forouhar has systematically been denied access to the Iranian media.
The Foundation calls on the Islamic Republic authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Sepehr Sanjabi. Furthermore, the Foundation calls on the Islamic Republic to lift the ban on free speech that has been in force for the past 17 years, and to allow non-violent political opponents free and fair access to the Iranian media.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director (exec@iran.org). FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org/.