Iran Should Free Environmentalists Detained Without Evidence

Since January 2018, at least eight environmentalists have been detained in Iran even though the country’s own Intelligence Ministry has admitted there’s no evidence to support the politically motivated charges the detainees are facing. They include Sam Rajabi, Niloufar Bayani, Morad Tahbaz (also holds American citizenship), Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh.

“The detention and punishment of environmentalists for their work to conserve and protect the natural environment cannot be justified,” said several UN human rights experts in a joint in a February 2018 statement. “Nowhere in the world, including Iran, should conservation be equated to spying or regarded as a crime. Detention of human rights defenders for their work is arbitrary in nature.”

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