Mohammad Habibi, a 29 year-old teacher, was arrested on March 3, 2018 in front of his students by the Revolutionary Guards. Habibi has since been sentenced for 10.5 years in prison for “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security,” “spreading propaganda against the system,” and “disturbing public order.” Habibi is an active member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association. It is unclear why Habibi was singled out for such punishment. CCS has written Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Head of the Judiciary, requesting that he review this case, drop the charges and release Habibi, allowing him to return to teaching.
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
Head of the Judiciary
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi
Above Pasteur Intersection
Vali Asr Street
Tehran, Iran
Your Excellency:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We write to express our concern for Mohammad Habibi, a 29-year-old teacher arrested on March 3, 2018 at the Tehran school where he taught. During his arrest it is alleged that he was beaten by Revolutionary Guards in front of his students, and has since been sentenced to 10-and-a-half-years in prison for such vaguely defined crimes as “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security,” “spreading propaganda against the system,” and “disturbing public order.”
Mohammad Habibi is an active member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), a legal and authorized organization. It is unclear to us as to why he has been targeted for exercising his rights of freedom of expression and association.
Iran’s obligations as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) includes guaranteeing fair trials and protecting the rights to freedom of belief and association. As an international community of scholars, we believe It is imperative that the fundamental rights of our colleague, Mohammad Habibi, are respected.
We urge you to assure that his conviction is overturned and that he is released and allowed to resume not only his teaching, but his peaceful political activities as is his rights under both international and Iranian law dictates.
We thank you for your attention to this most serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
cc:
H.E. Gholamali Khoshroo
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 687-2020
Fax: (212) 867-7086
Email: iran@un.int
Hassan Rouhani
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: media@rouhani.ir
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_ir (Persian)