IRAN: Prominent scholar released on bail

Roisin Joyce 04 July 2010

Emadeddin Baghi, Iranian scholar, journalist and human rights activist, was released on bail on 23 June. According to reports from Amnesty International he was released from Tehran's Evin prison on bail of US$200,000 after 180 days in prison.

Baghi will face trial this week on new charges of undertaking "propaganda against the state" and "colluding to commit acts against national security".

Baghi was arrested at his home on 28 December. He was detained without charge and has since been held in solitary confinement without access to medical care, legal representation or family.

The 2009 recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for human rights activists, Baghi is the founder of the Association to Defend Prisoners' Rights, which compiles information on torture and other abuses of detainees.

The suddenness of his arrest, the lack of any credible public evidence for his detention, and the number of arrests of academics in Iran following the June 2009 elections raise major concerns about the ability of scholars and intellectuals to work freely in Iran.

Amnesty International has called on the Iranian authorities to drop all charges against Baghi.

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