democracyarsenal.org: Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh

August 14, 2007

Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh
Posted by Moira Whelan

From Anita---

I work for an organization that aims to stop the slaughter and displacement of millions of innocents in Darfur and elsewhere. And while I am dedicated to providing a voice to those silenced by war and strife, I have been rendered speechless by the unjust incarceration of one individual in Iran. On August 15th, my friend and colleague Haleh Esfandiari will spend her 100th day of solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison. She stands accused of using her position as director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC to support activities to over-throw the Iranian government.

Since being arrested in Tehran on May 8 and formally charged soon after with espionage, Haleh is interrogated ceaselessly, kept in harsh conditions and denied access to her lawyers, medication and even visits by her 93 year-old mother. In mid- June, she and another imprisoned Iranian-American Kian Tajbakhsh, "confessed" in a government sponsored TV program entitled "In the Name of Democracy.” In the most recent development, the official Iranian news agency reported that Iran's judiciary concluded its investigation, but had not decided whether to put the two on trial.

According to Tehran Deputy Prosecutor Hasan Haddad, the two scholars now had "some written work" to do before a decision is made about their fate, but did note elaborate. What this means is anyone’s guess. Haleh and Kian are two of five Western-based scholars and NGO officials who have now been detained. The Women’s International Perspective, The WIP, outlines several motivations for these arrests: including the notion that the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program and the Soros Foundation, were trying to foment a ‘soft’ revolution in its country to playing tit for tat for the five Iranians arrested by American forces in the northern city of Irbil in Northern Iraq. Whatever the rationale, the outcome is clear: all voices of opposition will be silenced.

While few people in Iran are speaking out in their defense, a muted response in the United States and Europe has occurred as well. In an attempt to balance behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts with keeping their cases in front of the media, Haleh’s and Kian’s supporters have limited their activities to high level advocacy—urging other international actors to lobby on Haleh's behalf—, and keeping up media pressure. While this makes perfect sense given the dismal state of U.S.-Iranian relations, the result has been that few people know their plight. Public events have been limited to a June vigil in front of the United Nations and press conferences organized by the Wilson Center You can however sign the online petition at www.FreeHaleh.org and write to your elected officials and media outlets to keep their cases front and center. There is discussion to hold a similar vigil in Washington, DC and ramp up the activism component, but we’re all hoping this won’t be necessary.
In addition to the efforts of her family, Haleh’s friends and colleagues are vociferous defenders of her work. The staff of the Wilson Center, led by former Congressman and director Lee H. Hamilton, has never wavered in their efforts to secure Haleh’s release.

As I mentioned earlier, Haleh’s imprisonment and her connection to the Wilson Center affect me personally. I directed the Conflict Prevention Project at the Wilson Center from late 2000 to early 2005, taking 2003 off to work in Iraq with the International Organization for Migration. Haleh and I, in close partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Initiative for Inclusive Security (then called Women Waging Peace), organized a series of meetings on the role of women in peace building. In particular we brought together Iraqi women from numerous political, ethnic and religious backgrounds to promote dialogue and encourage their participation in Iraqi’s new political and economic arena.

Haleh, a strong, intelligent and passionate proponent of women’s rights, served as an inspiration. Indeed she was a constant force in my life, unwavering with her support, mentoring and motherly concern for my career decisions to move to Iraq and then Indonesia after the devastating tsunami. If there was any democracy promotion going on by Haleh, it was through our work with Iraqi women. However we weren’t working to over through the Iraq government, or any government for that matter. Indeed we focused “on the substantial role women can and should have in building a new Iraq.” I was often critical of the U.S.’s assertion that it had liberated Iraq’s women and urged the State Department to fulfill its promises. Haleh, in her usual manner, was much more tempered and in pure Wilson Center fashion, preferred to promote dialogue and sharing of ideas without passing judgments. For this reason, I am certain Haleh languishes unjustly in prison. As we commemorate her 100th day of incarceration, please join me in supporting efforts to free Haleh and her colleagues. They have suffered enough.

Anita Sharma is one of those people you should definately know.

August 14, 2007 at 04:38 PM | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e200e398281a3c8833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh:

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use

August 14, 2007

Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh
Posted by Moira Whelan

TrackBack

Comments

Post a comment

Disclaimer

August 14, 2007

Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh Posted by Moira Whelan

TrackBack

Comments

Post a comment

Disclaimer

Important Guest Post by Anita Sharma: Free Haleh
Posted by Moira Whelan