Professional background
Author, translator, and attorney Dr. Nasser Zarafshan is a member of the Iranian Writers' Association Kanoon and a distinguished member of the Iranian Bar Association. His numerous translations and articles have appeared in important periodicals in Iran. He has also acted as the legal representative of two of the families of Iranian writers who were assassinated in November 1998 in what came to be known in Iran as the 'serial murders' case. The murdered journalists included Majid Charif, an editorialist with the monthly Iran é Farda, writer-journalists Mohamad Mokhtari and Mohamad Jafar Pouyandeh, and a couple, Darioush and Parvaneh Forouhar, who were freedom of expression activists. It is reported that Zarafshan has been extremely critical of the shortcomings in the official investigation into these murders.
Case history
Zarafshan was arrested by members of the Judicial Organization of Armed Forces (JOAF) in October 2000 after giving a speech in the city of Chiraz in which he stated that the intelligence services had murdered five Iranian intellectuals in 1998 in Tehran. He was initially charged with publishing information about the assassinations, imprisoned in December 2000, and was released after a month pending trial. In February 2002, he was tried in a military court behind closed doors with his lawyer present; the presiding judge was a prosecutor with the JOAF. While in detention, Zarafshan's office was reportedly searched, and weapons and alcohol were allegedly found. He was sentenced on March 19, 2002, to five years' imprisonment (two years for disseminating state secrets, three for the possession of firearms) and 70 lashes for the possession of alcohol. Zarafshan denies the firearms and alcohol charges and claims these were planted in his office by the authorities.
On April 6, 2002, Zarafshan reportedly told the Iranian Students News Agency that he would appeal against his sentence and request a retrial. However, on July 16, 2002, an appeals court upheld his sentence and Zarafshan was again arrested on August 7 shortly after leaving his home.
Iranian judicial organizations failed to explain why Zarafshan, a civilian, was brought before the JOAF, the purpose of which is to try members of the armed forces and Revolutionary Guards for violations of the military code. It is reported that the Chair of the Iranian Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights has protested against the use of a military court in these circumstances, branding it "unconstitutional."
During Zarafshan's imprisonment, he was denied medical care for an urgent kidney disease and held in a cell with prisoners of violent crimes. On June 7, 2005, Zarafshan started a hunger strike to protest the absence of medical treatment. After a significant deterioration in his health, he ended his hunger strike and was hospitalized for an operation on his kidney in July 2005.
Current status
Nasser Zarafshan was released on March 17, 2007.
|
