OSI Responds to Reports of Alleged New Evidence Against Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh

NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute is dismayed by the Iranian government’s announcement of new allegations against Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, an internationally respected scholar and American citizen who has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since May 11.

In the two months since his arrest, the Iranian authorities have offered nothing to substantiate any allegations of wrongdoing by Dr. Tajbakhsh. These vague allusions to new evidence in the case against him are equally unfounded.

Dr. Tajbakhsh, 45, is an urban planning expert serving as a consultant for the Open Society Institute, and has also worked for other international organizations including the World Bank and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities. The Open Society Institute retained his services in 2004 as a consultant to facilitate public health, humanitarian assistance, and urban planning projects that we undertook openly and with the knowledge of the Iranian government.

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The Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation, works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. OSI works in over 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as in the United States.