Students petition University of Texas for Ph.D. student jailed in Iran
A group of students at University of Texas in Austin have posted an online petition (link here) trying to get the Physics Department to make an official statement on Omid Kokabee, the Department's Iranian Ph.D. student who was imprisoned during his trip to Iran in February 2011.
The reformist Website Daneshjoo News reported in August that Mr. Kokabee, of Torkman Sunni minority, was arrested in Tehran and convicted to a 10-year prison sentence on charges of collaboration with Israeli Intelligence Services. However, he later sent a letter to Iran's Chief Justice and called his confessions "forced." The source also reports that Kokabee had rejected, prior to his admission to University of Texas, a job offer from Iranian Military to work on communications and laser projects.
The new petition by the University of Texas students includes the following introduction:
"Many in the University of Texas at Austin community are extremely concerned with UT's silence on the case of Omid Kokabee, who was a doctoral student at UT when he was arrested in Iran while visiting his family. He was arrested suddenly without clear explanation, suffered a prolonged detainment at Tehran's Evin Prison, and was convicted without evidence, suggesting a disregard of international standards of due process, fair trial and detention, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is signatory. ... a former inmate with Kokabee recently brought to light the fact that his health is deteriorating and the Iranian government has been denying him medical care, making his case much more urgent... anybody can sign the petition.
Details
Omid Kokabee is a talented physicist in the field of optics with a Masters in photonics from the Institute for Photonic Studies in Barcelona, Spain and a strong interest in high-tech startups. He was just beginning his studies at UT Austin before his arrest at the Tehran airport in February 2011 while attempting to travel back to Austin to start his second semester. He was taken to Iran's Evin prison, a common destination for political prisoners including journalists, academics, researchers, and political activists.
After Kokabee's trial was repeatedly delayed for over a year, Kokabee was convicted on May 13, 2012 on charges of conspiring with enemies of Iran and receiving “illegitimate funds.” He was tried en masse along with 14 other defendants, 13 of whom made videotaped confessions that were broadcast on Iranian state television, and many of whom received death sentences. However, Omid Kokabee refused to make any public confession and has stated his innocence even under intense pressure while in custody. It has been reported by reliable sources that during the trial no evidence was presented against Kokabee, and his lawyer stated that he was not permitted to meet with him. Many organizations, including the American Physical Society, have attempted to clarify that the contacts alleged in his charges actually consisted of normal professional interactions with international scholars, and that the allegedly illegitimate funds he received concern a publicly accounted for scholarship for his graduate studies. .."
Related to Iranian Americans
