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Husband and wife, Karan Vafadari and Afarin Nayssari, after being held in Tehran’s Evin prison for more than one-and-a-half years, have recently been unjustly sentenced behind closed doors to 27 years and 16 years of imprisonment respectively, hundreds of lashes, thousands of dollars in cash fines, and seizure of their tangible and real properties by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Salavati, ostensibly for being a dual national and belonging to the Zoroastrian faith, one of the world’s oldest religions.
Husband and wife, Karan Vafadari and Afarin Nayssari, after being held in Tehran’s Evin prison for more than one-and-a-half years, have recently been unjustly sentenced behind closed doors to 27 years and 16 years of imprisonment respectively, hundreds of lashes, thousands of dollars in cash fines, and seizure of their tangible and real properties by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Salavati, ostensibly for being a dual national and belonging to the Zoroastrian faith, one of the world’s oldest religions.
Karan and
Afarin are ordinary people with ordinary lives. Karan is an Iranian with US citizenship. Afarin has permanent resident status in the
United States. Karan is
Zoroastrian, Afarin is from a Muslim family.
Karan’s dual citizenship status and his belonging to a religious minority are the basis for the couple’s arrest and incarceration, interrogation and frame-up by one of Iran’s security apparatus, Sepah Pasdaran or Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and its judicial branch; and sentencing them to long imprisonment along with cruel punishment of lashes and seizure of all their wealth.
The charges and
the imprisonment of Karan and Afarin are a violation of the rights of citizens
of Iran as dual nationals, and also the violation of the rights of a member of
a religious minority in Iran.
Karan and Afarin
are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Free Karan and
Afarin!
INCARCERATION & SENTENCING FOR HOLDING DUAL NATIONALITY
The arrest and
sentencing of Karan, as a dual national, contradicts the elementary
rights of all Iranians. Their sentencing comes at a time of an
intense campaign of harassment against dual nationals, spearheaded by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard and carried through the Iranian media.
Many in the
leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the last nearly 40 years, have
been or are dual nationals with long histories of living in Iraq, or Western
Europe, or the United States. This includes members of the original Provisional
Government, the President, Foreign Minister, cabinet ministers, members of the
legislative branch and the Islamic Revolutionary Judiciary. To use dual
nationality as a reason for suppression is quite arbitrary. Like all
dictatorial actions, there is disregard for the law by the IRGC and its
judicial supplements in matters of their interest.
An example is
the former Head of Iran’s Judiciary Ayatollah Shahroodi, a leading clergyman,
Dual nationality is being used as a means to eliminate political or economic rivals among competing factions of the clerical-led government, namely the coalition of the Bazar, Mo’talefeh and Sepah Pasdaran (IRGC). Karan and Afarin have never held any government position, neither did they work for any institution, nor did they own any sizable business. They had a small art gallery, managed by Afarin with proper government permit and up-to-date approval of the exhibitions, yet they became the target for suppression. According to the District Attorney “this [Karan’s incarceration] will serve as a warning to ALL dual citizens.”
Dual nationality is being used as a means to eliminate political or economic rivals among competing factions of the clerical-led government, namely the coalition of the Bazar, Mo’talefeh and Sepah Pasdaran (IRGC). Karan and Afarin have never held any government position, neither did they work for any institution, nor did they own any sizable business. They had a small art gallery, managed by Afarin with proper government permit and up-to-date approval of the exhibitions, yet they became the target for suppression. According to the District Attorney “this [Karan’s incarceration] will serve as a warning to ALL dual citizens.”
Sadly, the
Iranian government has detained dual citizens as a leverage to demand
concessions like ransom and sanctions relief or “exchange of prisoners” presented
by the entire ruling spectrum from the IRGC to the President Rouhani/Foreign
Minister Zarif Administration. The representatives of the government speak of
using prisoners inside Iran as an exchange for Iranian prisoners held in
foreign countries. This illegitimate activity is presented as a valid response
to Washington’s actions against Iran. Stripping Iranian patriots of their right
to citizenship through de facto exile is against Iran’s civil law. Dual nationals, as citizens of Iran and the United States, Western
Europe, Australia and other countries, comprise of millions of Iranians (5 to 6
million). (According to a 2009 IMF report, the outflow of Iranian migrants, chiefly
minorities, specialists and the educated, is about 150,000 per year.)
It is now a
bitter banter amongst Iranians, whereby expat dual nationals are invited by the
government to return and are encouraged to work or invest in Iran, adored and
welcomed as prized citizens of the State, but shortly thereafter, are condemned
as spies! Just in recent weeks, a vice minister of Environment, invited to
return to Iran by the President to serve, was arrested on charges of spying,
and was released shortly after due to intervention from the top. Karan states: “Despite
our innocence, especially now, it is obvious that the IRGC wants to use us to
make loud and clear statements: No more
dual-citizens (in or out of the government)”—who are NOT with “us”! Karan
and Afarin have been living in Iran for the last 15 years occupying their time
with the pursuit of their work in the arts (with artists and art world) for the
last 6 years. They did not choose to live in Iran based on anybody’s
invitation, but felt it to be their inalienable right as Iranians.
After their
arrest, their treatment as prisoners has been based on familiar methods used
during incarceration by any repressive security apparatus: solitary confinement,
isolation and pressure through police tactics to break prisoners who are guilty
of no wrongdoing, by showering them with accusations after accusations. The
IRGC plays all sorts of tricks and uses illicit interrogation tactics to label
this couple as “spies”. These accusations range from the made-up charges of
having travelled to Israel, which they have not, to “espionage”, and
“identifying and recruiting spies”, “working with foreign governments against
Iran’s interest”. All of the accusations brought against the couple are
baseless, based on no proof and corroborated by no evidence. The IRGC then
tries to charge Karan with money laundering and intervention in the country’s
financial system, which is punishable by the death sentence. This fabricated
charge was dropped. There was no evidence whatsoever. This charge was followed
by the charge of possession of antiques in their home. The charge of possessing
antiques, punishable by death which “was their intention from the very first
day that I was arrested” according to Karan. This charge was also
dropped—after experts’ report that a broken jar in their home was nothing but a
broken jar.
During the
interrogations Afarin is placed under tremendous pressure in order to make her
falsely testify against her husband, Karan; to say that he works for a foreign
government secret service, specifically MOSSAD and CIA, which carries the death
sentence, and Afarin herself is ordered to spy for the IRGC security apparatus
among the foreign ambassadors in Iran, who at times are clients of their small
art business. Afarin tolerates the harsh incarceration and does not bend to the
pressure. The spying accusation is dropped.
Eventually
Judge Salavati sentences Karan with the falsified and fabricated charge of
“collusion to conspire against national security”; a charge that requires no
proof! This bogus charge used against Karan can be used against anyone because
it is based on “intent” as interpreted by the prosecution and judge, and is not
based on any proof or the accused’s actual actions. All it takes to become a candidate for such
an ordeal is to be a dual national. Needless to say, this is the most widely used
national security charge and carries a 2 to 5-year prison term—a charge for
which Karan has received a 7.5 years sentence.
Based on an
obsolete Article (989), in January 2018, Judge Salavati delivers the verdict
not only to “null” and “void” Karan’s US citizenship, but also declares that
they will confiscate and sell all his belongings, home, automobile, etc. that he
owns in Iran for being a foreign national.
This is beyond all logic. Karan and Afarin have not renounced their
Iranian citizenship, and if he is no longer a “foreign” national, according to the
judge’s ruling, then how can he be stripped of all of his belongings and
livelihood?
Article 989 is in contradiction with the
Iran’s current Constitution. The judgment
in this case is based on this Article of the Iranian Civil Code, introduced in
1928 by the self-declared Pahlavi king, Reza Shah, in regards to dual
citizens. At the time, some of the close associates of the ruthless king,
fearing for their lives, were taking sanctuary in European countries. This
article was passed under the rule of the autocratic shah, to strip such
individuals of their belongings and properties while they were abroad. This
obsolete article was re-approved in 1985 by The Islamic Republic of Iran’s
Majlis (Parliament). After the 1979 revolution, many reactionary laws from
the Pahlavi period (1920-79) became the basis of the Islamic Republic’s
penal and civil code in relation to women, religious minorities, national
minorities, workers, farmers, and in regards to civil and political
liberties. These old laws enhanced with supplemental penalties, the
adoption of cruel and unusual punishments such as lashings,
dismemberment of body parts like hands or fingers, and blinding by gauging eyes
out, are among the practices of the Islamic Revolutionary judiciary. According to Tehran’s District Attorney’s
press conference that was held on January 15th, 2018, Karan was the
very FIRST person ever convicted under this law! Karan says from prison after
being sentenced: “No one knew about this Article until now. I was not even
charged with it when arrested!”
Prosecution
and the trial are merely mediums of insult and threats against the defendants. The
verdict, as in this case by Judge Salavati, does not get presented to the
defendants in writing. Once a sentence is passed, the prosecution and judge in
the IRGC apparatus have been known to look for opportunities to execute the
prisoners in the ensuing years—as demonstrated repeatedly during the last
nearly 40 years, or have them “commit suicide.”
Holding dual
citizenship is not a crime.
Free Karan and Afarin!
INCARCERATION
& SENTENCING FOR BEING A RELIGIOUS MINORITY
In Iran, Zoroastrians, an ancient religion with thousands of years of roots in the region, are now a religious minority and subject to routine discrimination and societal abuse. What has remained of them is an increasingly small minority who still speak in their unique Dari language.
In Iran, Zoroastrians, an ancient religion with thousands of years of roots in the region, are now a religious minority and subject to routine discrimination and societal abuse. What has remained of them is an increasingly small minority who still speak in their unique Dari language.
In the past
couple of centuries, after the conquest of Arabs (7th century AD),
Zoroastrians become a stateless religious group scattered throughout the
Middle East under different titles. Especially during the Qajar dynasty
(1794-1925) the Zoroastrian’s population continue to decline. During the rule
of Agha Mohammad Khan, a blood-thirsty and brutal founder of the dynasty, many
Zoroastrians were killed and some were taken as captives to Azerbaijan. Before
the Qajar dynasty, in the early 16th century the Safavids
(1502-1736) declare Shiism as the state religion, and ultimately suppressed and
obliterated Zoroastrians in Isfahan (Safavid’s last capital) along with Jews,
when they ordered universal conversion to Shia Islam.
In Iran’s
modern history, various methods have been used to convert Zoroastrians to
Islam. Zoroastrians are regarded as outcast, impure and untouchable. They
find it hard to secure jobs or engage in trade. Thus, many Zoroastrians are
forced to convert or live in misery. On top of that, a heavy religious tax
called Jaziyeh is imposed on them. Jaziyeh, which was annulled in 1892 by the
Qajars, was reinstated unofficially by the Islamic Republic since their establishment
in 1979. Due to the unregulated corruption amongst tax officials, at times
twice and even three times the official figure is collected, because every
intermediary has to receive his share. This continues to be the case as
Zoroastrian property and belongings are viewed by the IRGC as Halal
(permissible) booty that has to be split amongst the usurpers. According to Judge Salavati’s ruling, 40 % of
Karan and Afarin’s belongings will be awarded to the IRGC, and 60% to a host of
others. What takes place is plain robbery, corruption, and coercion dressed as
court rulings and the booty is divided among various parties from the judge to
this or that person, this or that prosecutor and finally the IRGC.
In Iran where
Shia Islam is the official government religion, Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians,
Sheikhieh, Baha’is, Sufis, and Sunnis, are viewed as expendable
and have minimal rights. This
continues to be true up to and including the birth of the Islamic Republic when
religious minorities were announced to be second class citizens. In civil
Sharia law practiced by the government of Iran, a person belonging to a
minority religion is not viable to be a witness in a court of law. The marriage
of a Muslim to a member of minority religion is not allowed or registered by
the government. The Islamic Republic of Iran, at its outset, ordered religious
minorities to put signs on their businesses to be clearly marked as
minority-owned. In recent years many Zoroastrians have been detained for even
talking about their religion. In Yazd Zoroastrians are denied access to public
swimming pools. Violent dispute by a person of
minority religion against a Muslim can be punished up to and including death. In the Bazaar, which is the economic hub of
the country, religious minorities like Jewish and Zoroastrian traders, have
been forced to convert to Islam to be able to thrive economically during much
of the 20th century. Conversion from Islam to other religions, like
Zoroastrianism, is punishable up to and including death.
People of a
religious minority are out of the mainstream society, be it in everyday
discourse, jobs or business. They are far away from the fierce economic
competition of the ruling rich and government foundations at the top. As Karan
states, “before incarceration we did not even know IRGC has a security unit.
Nor did we know the name of anybody associated with Human Rights; or the
various propaganda radios beamed against Iran”. However, being a person of
a minority religion, all one has to do is to walk the life of a minority to
find him or herself denied higher education, job or life opportunities or in
the solitary confinement of the political police led by the IRGC. The stigma of
belonging to a minority religion, is used as an obstacle in the everyday life
of many of Iran’s citizens. The judiciary system is supposed to protect
religious minorities, but on the contrary; clampdowns, persecution,
incarceration and conviction take place based on minority identity--as in the
case of Karan and Afarin.
A recent
example of the clampdown on religious minorities is when a Zoroastrian man, the
only non-Muslim, who ran for the City Council of Yazd was elected by the people
of his hometown for the third time, however, the security apparatus disallows
him from attending to his duties. He is prohibited from serving as a member of
the City Council after a “complaint” by the losing candidate who had called for
the disqualification of the councilmember due to his religion. Being a Zoroastrian
is the only reason for his disqualification as openly stated.
Late Professor
Kasra Vafadari, our eldest brother, was barred from serving as Zoroastrian
representative in the Islamic Majlis (parliament) after he gained 90% vote (the
highest majority vote ever), by the IRGC and security apparatus. Kasra was
later murdered (2005) during a trip to Paris in his sleep, the night before
returning to Iran. The assailant had a background in the IRGC.
When it comes to Zoroastrianism, a
non-Abrahamic religion, there are many differences with Islam; whether in dress
code, lifestyle, singing and music, relationships between men and women, how
they intermingle, or consume alcohol in times of joy or sorrow. Making and
drinking wine is not forbidden for Zoroastrians, like Christians, and it is
considered a holy drink to be served at various ceremonies, a practice
performed for thousands of years. The Zoroastrian calendar is full of holy
days, feasts and festivals, giving Zoroastrians the reputation of being a
joyful religion full of celebration. Festivals are a very prominent aspect of
Zoroastrian worship and are closely linked with the seasons. The spring
equinox, Norooz—Persian New Year— is one of those days celebrated by all
Iranians across the globe nowadays. The elementary duty to protect all
religions, and respect religious differences, is shunned by the government, and
Zoroastrians are targeted for celebrating their festivals some of which are
shared by the majority of Iranians.
Karan and
Afarin, lead their normal lives in the privacy of their home. Upon arrest, IRGC
agents ransacked their home, took all their passports, bank account statements,
and birth certificates; smashed the art pieces in their home on the spot, and
accused them of a litany of charges based on their normal, private lifestyle.
Afarin’s personal belongings, such as jewellery, documents and photo albums, family
heirlooms, their cars and basically everything of value were confiscated. They
have been sentenced to lashes and have spent time in prison for having
“alcoholic beverages”, “inappropriate CDs,” “inappropriate artwork,” “playing
cards”, “feminist videos” in their home, and “showing and selling distasteful
art against Islamic values”, — all of which can be found in uncountable homes
of residents of Iran, and none of which is forbidden inside the home of a
Zoroastrian.
To be a religious
or national minority is not a crime. The State must cease encouraging slander
and suppression of non-Shia, differing Shia, non-secular and secular citizens
of Iran.
Humanity and
freedom, the rule of law should protect and not criminalize citizens regardless
of their ethnicity or religion.
Free Karan and
Afarin!
FAMILY HISTORY
INCARCARATION OF MOTHER AND ASSASSINATION OF BROTHER
Karan’s family is
well known for their love of their country and kindness towards all.
Mehrangiz Firoozgar, our mother, loved her country. She handed out
flowers and sweets the day that the Shah left Iran. Although she was later
imprisoned for 7 months for being a Zoroastrian and subject to Jaziyeh (Islamic
tax on non-Muslims), she continued living in Iran.
Goshtasb Firoozgar, our grandfather, was a Mughanni (traditional
engineer in qanat and irrigation) and electrical work was his craft. The
patches of land he worked on and bought during his lifetime at practically nil
value outside of Tehran, in Vanak, became more and more valuable over the years
as Tehran expanded.
Goshtasb Firoozgar was a kind man who endowed the well-known Firoozgar
Research and General Hospital to the Ministry of Health in 1954 to provide
medical services to the needy. After he passed away from cancer, our mother,
Mehrangiz Firoozgar, a midwife, was elected as the representative of the family
to the supervisory board of Firoozgar Hospital. She worked as a pro-bono
midwife, devoting her life to women in need in Tehran and other cities in Iran.
Our eldest brother, Professor Kasra Vafadari, like the rest of the
family, supported and took part in the 1979 revolution against the Shah’s
dictatorship, which was brought to power by the US with the 1953 coup d’état.
Kasra’s dream was to work among young Iranians and fellow Zoroastrians. To
learn from them and to teach them what he had learned from his years of
research and study abroad. During the first years of the revolution he worked
as an assistant professor at the formerly Melli, now Shahid Beheshti
University.
During the first days of the revolution Kasra became a member of
neighborhood committee Basij at Saeed-Abad (outside Tehran) where he lived with
his family at our small family-owned dairy farm, until he was pushed out of the
organization for being a Zoroastrian.
In later years, Kasra left his teaching position at Paris University at
Nanterre to return to his beloved Iran. He helped and encouraged Iranian youth
to discover and understand their roots through study groups in music, theatre,
and art. He was adored by the many of the youth who joined his programs. During
these years, and during a trip to visit his family in Paris, he was murdered in
his sleep in his apartment by a knife stab in his heart. All he had done was to
shine light on the ancient history of Iran and the traditions of Zoroastrians.
The assailant culprit was an Iranian, arrested and tried in Europe, who had a
background in the IRGC. Under Iranian Sharia law, a religious minority being
murdered by a Muslim is viewed as expendable and of little concern.
The Iranian government portraying Karan and Afarin as representatives of
wealth is a hoax and a hollow justification for suppression.
During the Asiatic history, for over a millennium prior to the 20th Century,
Zoroastrians (with the exception of few traders) subsisted on the periphery of
the society. This generally applied to all non-Muslims in the old urban
setting. During the modern era, the old state authority and landed aristocracy evolved
into land ownership—purchase and sales—led by the Shia Muslims (Makaseb) and
the merchants.
Since mid-20th century, the ownership of land in urban areas procured by
Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Sheikhieh, Baha’i and in part Sunnis became
common. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the Iranian
government targeted the minority owners to seize their properties. This policy
and practice continues to this day and is evidenced by imprisonment and
sentencing of Karan and Afarin and the seizure of all their properties.
After many years, Karan had finally obtained a court ruling to vacate the
IRGC from an office building which he had inherited. The building was
arbitrarily leased by the Jihad for Construction (a government organization
created after 1979) since the early years of the Revolution. The office
building was finally vacated when the IRGC occupied it by force and moved in.
Upon securing a vacate order against the IRGC, Karan was arrested and framed
with all kind of false charges.
WHO ARE KARAN AND AFARIN?
Karan Vafadari, an
Iranian-American dual national, was born into a Zoroastrian family in Iran.
Karan is father
to three children, two sons and one daughter, who live in the United
States. Karan's three children are worried and long to see their father again.
Karan attended
Alborz High School in Tehran. He continued his studies in the US and received
his Bachelor of Science from New York University in Computer Science. He
received a Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1987. In 1989, he
received his MBA in Business Administration and Management from the UCLA
Anderson School of Management.
About 15 years
ago, when Karan was traveling between Iran and US to take care of our elderly
mother, he met Afarin in Iran. Karan and Afarin were married in 2002
in a civil court in the State of Nevada.
Afarin is an
architect who owns and runs Aun art gallery. The gallery has been shut down and
officially sealed ever since their arrest in 2016. Aun Gallery was established
in Tehran in 2009 in accordance with all official rules and necessary permits,
to promote talented young Iranian artists and to support their contribution to
Iran's rich tradition in the arts and culture. Besides the art gallery, they
also hold a permit from the Ministry of Culture & Islamic Guidance, for
Hookht publishing, “Aun Negarestan” (publication for contemporary visual arts)
with the aim of promoting Iranian art and culture in Iran and at the
international level.
Karan and Afarin
have devoted their lives to promoting Iranian art and culture in Iran and
beyond and are respected for their hard work and contributions to the
contemporary Iranian art scene.
A SYSTEM OF DISREGARD FOR THE LAW
ARREST, INCARCERATION AND FABRICATED CHARGES, INTEROGATION AND FRAME-UP
More than a
year and a half ago, in July 2016, Mrs. Nayssari was arrested by the IRGC
Intelligence Organization at Tehran’s airport when she was about to
board a plane to travel to Europe to participate in an art show. Karan received
a call from his wife, Afarin, and when he went to meet her, he too was
arrested. Ever since, they have been kept in the notorious Evin prison. The
pattern of arrest and incarceration speaks volumes on the treatment of citizens
who have done no wrong and are going about their everyday life. Karan writes on
behalf of Afarin and himself about their “illusion in fairness, justice,
legality and/or independence of the judiciary system of Iran”.
Karan and Afarin
were arrested without warrant or charges. The Iranian Government and Judiciary
does not provide any independent and impartial tribunal. Government, Judiciary,
and the security apparatus have a total disregard of the law. They have not had
any public hearings. Court sessions are closed to the public and the press. The
right to choose their own lawyer does not exist. Their appointed approved
attorney, which is now hired by Karan and Afarin, does not have the right to
speak in the court. The lawyer cannot report the proceedings or the charges
leveled by the state or present the defense offered by the defendants.
The support of
the Iranian public, the people of the Middle East and, the citizens of the
world is Karan and Afarin’s only hope.
The truth must
come out and justice demanded for Karan and Afarin.
Free Karan and
Afarin!
Kateh Vafadari
February 2018
