U.S. Calls for Immediate Release of Jailed Iranian Activist

Kuwait News Agency:

The United States calls for the immediate and unconditional release of jailed Iranian activist Akbar Ganji as well as his immediate access to medical assistance and legal representation, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Thursday. Over the past week the United States has received reports that the health of Ganji is at serious risk, McCormack said during a department briefing.

"This is consistent with his wife's charge in late October that Iranian authorities are continuing to beat Ganji, and similar non-governmental organizations report that he was abused even while hospitalized following his August 2005 hunger strike," McCormack said.

Ganji has spent more than five years in prison due to his peaceful advocacy for free speech and democracy, McCormack said, and his imprisonment and any inhumane treatment are serious violations of fundamental human rights. "Ganji is one of many courageous Iranians, like Ahmed Batabi, Hoda Savair, Taki Rahmani, and Reza Alajani, who have challenged the clerical regime's repressive policies and who have suffered dire consequences for their efforts to advance the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people," McCormack said.

The United States calls on the international community to continue to press for the release of all political prisoners in Iran, he added.