Emad Baghi

Emad Baghi is an Iranian human rights activist and founder of the Association for Defense of Prisoners’ Rights. Among Baghi's published books are "The Tragedy of Democracy in Iran," "Clerics and Power," and "a study that criticizes the government on its own terms, using Islamic teachings to indict Iran's justice system and its arbitrary arrests and executions," according to Boston.com. [http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/30/iranians_taste_freedoms_on_own_terms/ Iranians taste freedoms on own terms, Dissidents shun US assistance] ] As of September 2008 he is serving a one-year sentence for articles he wrote a decade ago opposing the application of the death penalty. He was convicted of “publishing insulting material with unacceptable interpretation of Islamic rules,” and “dissemination of falsehoods with intention of disturbing public opinion.” [http://www.iranhumanrights.org/themes/rights-crisis-escalates.html RIGHTS CRISIS ESCALATES, September 18, 2008] ] Baghi suffers from severe heart and kidney ailments. On August 7, 2008, a prison doctor recommended strongly that he be taken to a hospital to receive treatment for his illnesses. On the same day, the authorities transferred Baghi to solitary confinement in Section 209 of Evin Prison, where intelligence agents interrogated him for three weeks.

As Baghi’s health deteriorated considerably, on September 16, 2008, the authorities released him for medical treatment. It is not clear if he will be returned to prison again.

He was one of six political prisoners highlighted in International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran's September 18, 2008 document "Rights Crisis Escalates, Faces and Cases from Ahmadinejad's Crackdown." On the subject of American aid to Iranian dissidents, Baghi told an American reporter, "The best thing the Americans can do for democracy in Iran is not to support it."

References

ources

* [http://www.iranhumanrights.org/themes/rights-crisis-escalates.html RIGHTS CRISIS ESCALATES, September 2008]

External links

* [http://www.emadbaghi.com/en/ English website]