Release Iranian/American Scholar Haleh Esfandiari From Prison in Iran

I received this from Burns Weston at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.

"I forward the following plea for help received from the son of my former law school colleague, Alan Widiss, on behalf of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, a personal acquaintance. As a rule, I don't send petitions via our UICHR listservs, but I don't usually get ones close to home like this one either. Please sign, and, if you know anyone who can do anything to help, please also pass this message on to them and ask for their assistance to the extent possible.

Thank you, Burns H. Weston

"As many of you know, Haleh Esfandiari, a 67 year old Iranian-American, who is Director of Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center forInternational Scholars in Washington, D.C., was arrested on Tuesday in Tehran, Iran and jailed in the notorious Evin Prison. We believe that the authorities are trying to coerce her into signing false statements. Her arrest has been condemned by the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the International Herald Tribune, and Human Rights Watch.

Her colleagues from around the world are concerned for her health and her safety. Please join the petition/letter writing campaign to free Haleh Esfandiari."

Just click on the site http://www.freehaleh.org/ and follow the directions.

Please forward the link to everyone you can think of.

Amnesty International provides this summary of the circumstances.

US-based academic Haleh Esfandiari was detained on 8 May after being summoned for questioning by Ministry of Intelligence officials. She is believed to be held without charge in Evin Prison's Section 209, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. On 12 May the newspaper Kayhan accused her of spying for the US and Israel and of trying to incite a democratic revolution in the country. Amnesty International considers her a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for her peaceful activities, including her academic work. Amnesty International fears that she is at risk of torture or ill-treatment, including a prolonged period of solitary confinement, in order to place pressure on her to "confess" to the allegations against her.