- Target:
- Ahmed Shaheed, Ban ki-Moon, Navil Pillay, UN, European Parliament, State Department, EU, HRW
- Region:
- Iran
- Website:
- iranian.com
Keyvan Rahimian, a Baha'i faith citizen and a Professor at the Baha'i Online University, presented himself on September 30, 2012, to the Shahid Moghaddasi Court at Evin Prison in Tehran, to begin serving five years in prison.
His initial court was held on June 11 without his lawyer in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court and this Bahai citizen was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and cash fines of 97 million Rials.
Earlier, Kamran Rahimian, brother of Keyvan Rahimian and his wife Faran Hesami were each sentenced to four years in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court on similar charges of "membership in Bahai community" (Article 499) and "assembly and and collusion with the intent to disturb national security" (Article 610).
It should be noted that after the lower court ruling, the appeals court upheld the verdict and Kamran Rahimian was transferred from Evin prison to Rajaee Shahr prison. When Faran Hesami returned to the court at Evin Prison for administrative followup of her husband, she found out that the court has already approved her sentence. Therefore she was arrested and transferred to the Women's Ward of Evin prison on the same day.
As a follower of Bahai faith, Keyvan and Kamran Rahimian's father was executed in 1984.
WHEREAS: The conviction and imprisonment of Professor Rahimian is a flagrant violation of Articles 55 and 56, of the UN Charter, Article 18 of the UN Covenant On Civil and Political Rights and Freedom of Speech, and Article 24 of the Iranian Constitution.
AND WHEREAS: Professor Rahimian is clearly a prisoner of conscience imprisoned soley for adherence to his Baha'i faith, and his efforts to provide higher educational opportunities to Baha'i youth-- opportunities systematically denied to them by the Islamic Republic regime in gross violation of international law;
THEREFORE: We the undersigned demand that the international community bring all pressure to bear upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to IMMEDIATELY and UNCONDTIONALLY release Professor Keyvan Rahimian, rescind his convictionand drop all charges against him.
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The Free Iranian Professor And Baha'i Faith Citizen Keyvan Rahimian petition to Ahmed Shaheed, Ban ki-Moon, Navil Pillay, UN, European Parliament, State Department, EU, HRW was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.