On December 28, 2009, Emadeddin Baghi was re-arrested along with hundreds of people suspected of being pro-reform, in a crackdown following widespread protests in Tehran and other cities marking the Shi'a religious observance of Ashoura. A member of the Iranian Sociology Association, Mr. Baghi has written many books on religious, historical, and sociological issues, and he worked as a university teacher for eight years before being dismissed under pressure from the military. He has since been prevented from teaching and has served a previous prison sentence in 2000-2003 as a result of his journalism. For his work on human rights he is a recipient of the Northcote Parkinson Fund's Civil Courage Award (2004) and the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights Award (2005), and it was in relation to his role in the Association in Defense of Freedom of Press and the Association for Defending the Rights of Prisoners in Iran that he was called to the public prosecutors office and arrested in October 2007. He was released on health grounds, after suffering from two heart attacks, in January 2008.

Please sign the following petition on his behalf organized by Amnesty International:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/iran-must-release-activist-emadeddin-baghi

Scholars at Risk recommend that letters, emails, and faxes be sent

• respectfully urging authorities to ensure that Iran's obligations under international law are upheld with regard to Mr. Baghi;
• respectfully urging authorities to ensure Mr. Baghi's well-being including ensuring immediate and regular access to legal counsel of his choosing, to family and to any necessary medical treatment; and
• given the public reports surrounding his detention, respectfully urging authorities to explain publicly the reasons for Mr. Baghi's detention or absent this, to arrange for his earliest release.

To view SAR's letter, please visit: http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/Documents/LOA_Emad_Baghi_04-19-2010.pdf

APPEALS TO:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Mohammad Khazaee, Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadeqh Larijani
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh
(Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave. (south of Serah-e Jomhouri)
Tehran 1316814737
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir