Family of detained Iranian student appeal to Ban Ki-moon

Majid Tavakoli

Family of detained Iranian student activist, Majid Tavakoli urged the United Nations Secretary-General in a letter, to speed up the visit of the UN Special Rapporteurs to probe into the situation of political prisoners in Iran.

Majid Tavakoli is a student of Amir Kabir University in Iran who has been in prison since last November and has recently started a hunger strike.

His family expresses grave concern over his well-being and reports that the detainee is currently hospitalized. They urge Ban Ki-moon to prevent the death of their son inside Evin Prison.

They write that Majid Tavakoli has spent four months in solitary confinement and throughout that time, “he was deprived of the most basic rights such as fresh air, telephone calls or family visits.” They also add that “Majid has also been denied access to an attorney.”

The Islamic Republic has sentenced Tavakoli to eight and a half years in prison as well as a five-year ban from political activity and travel abroad.

He was arrested during the student protests in Tehran last November. State media released pictures of him dressed in female attire and they claimed he was trying to escape the campus in disguise.