9 April 2010 The New Year’s furlough of Kian Tajbakhsh has been extended. Tajbakhsh is a researcher and an author who was arrested after the Iranian presidential elections and was sentenced to five years in prison after he made confessions against himself and others in show trials. He was supposed to return to prison in the first week of April, but with prison authorities’ agreement, his furlough was extended. Announcing the news during an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Kian Tajbakhsh’s attorney said that he hoped the furlough would continue and that through legal actions, Tajbakhsh’s five year prison term would change, too. Tajbakhsh was released on an $800,000 bail for a two-week furlough. Background: Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American researcher who had initially been sentenced to fifteen years in prison, received a five-year sentence in an appeals court. Charges made against him are actions against national security, espionage, relations with foreign elements against the state and accepting to consult for the Soros Foundation in Iran aiming for a soft overthrow against Islamic Republic of Iran, propagation against the regime and creating doubt about elections fraud and compromising general trust toward government and official authorities of the country, disrupting public order and creating fear and intimidation in the society. Source: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/04/kian-tajbakhsh-furlough-extended/
