In 2018, several biologists were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, falsely accused of espionage, and summarily tried by the Revolutionary Court. Niloufar Bayani, graduate of McGill and Columbia Universities, was sentenced to ten years in prison.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00995-7
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202206214952
February 13, 2023
Ebrahim Raisi
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency,
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: media@rouhani.ir
Dear President Raisi:
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 urgently write regarding the imprisonment of conservation biologist, Niloufar Bayani. Ms. Bayani, along with several colleagues from Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, was arrested and charged with espionage in January 2018 after placing camera traps in a remote area to monitor wildlife. She has now been a prisoner for five years.
Educated at McGill University, and with an M.A. in Conservation Biology from Columbia University, Niloufar Bayani has always been passionate about her endeavors. She has been described by those who met her as possessing “pure joy for life and scientific curiosity.” Importantly, she was also described as “staunchly proud of her Persian heritage.”
During her trial, Niloufar Bayani stated on record that she was threatened with torture if she would not sign a confession. She received a ten-year sentence for “contacts with the U.S. enemy state”, when in fact she received her education in the U.S. with the purpose of serving her native country. No evidence has been presented at the trial that she broke any law.
We request that she be released from prison on humanitarian grounds as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
Cc:
Saeed Iravani
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
Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Twitter: @ABlinken
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Imam Khomeini Street, Imam Khomeini Square,
Tehran, Iran
Email: info@mfa.gov.ir