If you go
What: Film by Honors College’s Scholars and Journalists at Risk class
When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29
Where: Room 101, Derthick Hall
Admission: Free
Information: Dr. Jessica Auchter at Jessica-Auchter@utc.edu
Students in the Honors College’s Scholars and Journalists at Risk class have put together a short film on the arrests of an Iranian-born Ph.D. student and a physician on what appear to be trumped-up charges of espionage.
Hamid Babadei and Ahmadreza Djalali were arrested by the Iranian government and accused of collaborating with enemy countries, but both vehemently deny the charges.
The film is being screened at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Room 101 in Derthick Hall. The event is free.
A Ph.D. student at the University of Liege in Belgium, Hamid Babadei was detained in August 2013 shortly after he returned to Tehran. He was charged with “communicating with hostile foreign governments and spying” and sentenced to six years in prison. He has maintained that he was imprisoned for refusing to operate as an informant in Belgium for Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Ahmadreza Djalali, a scientist and physician, was arrested on April 25 and has been threatened with the death penalty. Iranian officials say he also collaborated with enemy states. He lives in Sweden and was arrested when he came back to Iran for a conference. Several European governments have protested his arrest and possible death sentence.
Scholars at Risk is a non-governmental organization that advocates for wrongfully imprisoned scholars around the world. Based in New York, its stated goal is to “protect threatened scholars and promote academic freedom” by arranging temporary research and teaching positions at institutions located outside of oppressive regimes and governments.
