Ahmad Batebi

Status: Political prisoner

A 28-year-old film studies student, Ahmad Batebi made international headlines in 1999 when a photograph of him holding a bloodied shirt belonging to a fellow student circulated on magazine covers around the world, most notably The Economist (the famous photograph is available below). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Batebi was arrested, charged with soiling the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to 15 and then 10 years in prison.

In March 2005, Mr. Batebi was allowed to leave prison for a medical leave. Though still in a sensitive medical condition, according to a letter written by his doctor, he was re-arrested under dubious circumstances on July 27, 2006. His whereabouts were unknown until August 12, when his family was informed of his new arrest. They have only been allowed to visit Mr. Batebi in prison three times.

He is currently being held in the secretive Section 209 of Evin Prison, where he has endured psychological abuse and physical torture in the past. In the past "he wrote that soldiers had bound his hands to plumbing pipes; beat his head and abdominal area with soldiers' shoes, and held him under a drain full of excrement for so long that he was unable to breathe."

Please help draw awareness to the case of Mr. Batebi, whose only crime has been being photographed while holding up a t-shirt.

• Fear for safety/Medical concern/Incommunicado detention: Ahmad Batebi - [Amnesty International]
• Release Ahmad Batebi Now! - [Maryam Namazie]
• A cause without effects - [The Guardian]
• Concerns about health of former student activist Ahmad Batebi - [Payvand News]