OSI Responds to Staged Television Appearances of Detained Iranian-American Scholars

NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute is disheartened by the Iranian government’s decision to stage television footage of coerced statements made by Iranian-American detainees Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh and Dr. Haleh Esfandiari.

Any charges against these renowned scholars are wholly without merit.

That Dr. Tajbakhsh and Dr. Esfandiari appear dressed in civilian attire in a residential setting is a deliberate attempt to deceive the Iranian and world public by disguising the fact that they are being held in an Iranian prison infamous for human rights violations.

Statements obtained through interrogations conducted unilaterally under the control of Dr. Tajbakhsh’s captors and without access to legal counsel can be given no credence.

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. None of OSI’s or Dr. Tajbakhsh’s activities in Iran have been funded or initiated by the U.S. government. Indeed, the Iranian authorities themselves requested the help of the Open Society Institute in the fields of public health and earthquake relief.

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.