Fwd: [wvns] Iranian scholar beaten by Cambridge, MA police

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: WVNS <ummyakoub@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Subject: [wvns] Iranian scholar beaten by Cambridge, MA police
To: wvns@yahoogroups.com

 

Professor Afrasiabi does wonderful and courageous work defending Iran from Zionist propaganda and lies. There is a clip of Professor Afrasiabi around the time of the election speaking on CNN at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQjjaaeLP-k

Iranian scholar brutaly beaten by Cambridge, MA police
Jun 30, 2010

[Folks, i've spoken to Kaveh today and will be doing all i can to help him; i will be asking for your help, too a bit later. Kaveh has been in and out of the hospital since this happened on Sunday. This Press TV article has errors, eg the location of arrest (Cambridge, MA). Kaveh was handcuffed, thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, taken on high-speed ride during which the police came to an abrupt stop, which sent him into metal bars, causing extensive injures. Stay tuned.... ]

NY [Cambridge, MA] police 'beat up' Iranian professor
Wed, 30 Jun 2010

A US-based Iranian university professor and senior political analyst, Kaveh Afrasiabi, says he has been brutally beaten up by police officers in New York [Cambridge, MA]

Speaking to IRNA on Tuesday, professor Afrasiabi explained about the unusual manner in which he was arrested, saying that he was handcuffed and sent to jail under the pretext that he had not paid his traffic ticket.

"While handcuffed I was pushed to the front. Then my head hit a metal rod and I was seriously wounded. I was then sent to the hospital in an ambulance due to severe injuries," said Afrasiabi who could hardly speak.

After he was discharged from the hospital, the police took him to court where the judge ordered his release.

Afrasiabi said his arrest came over a traffic ticket which he had to pay 25 years ago.

Afrasiabi has taught political science at Tehran University, Boston University, and Bentley College. He has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, UC Berkeley and Binghamton University.

The Iranian professor, who is a former consultant to the UN program of Dialogue Among Civilizations, has appeared on numerous television talk shows, including Press TV, CNN, MSNBC and Al-Jazeera. He has also worked as a consultant to CBS's 60 Minutes program.

He has also authored the book After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy and is a co-author of Reading in Iran Foreign Policy After September 11.

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sign petition: Iranian scholar arrested, suffers concussion in police custody - Cambridge MA (mayor claims: 'no record of arrest'!!)

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protestiranianresearcherabuse/

The Petition

On Tuesday, June 29, 2010, American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC) sadly learned that one of its senior members, Dr. Kaveh Afrasiabi, a former political science professor at Tehran University and author of several books and numerous scholarly articles, has been physically injured while in Cambridge police custody in Boston on Monday, June 28.

Dr. Afrasiabi had gone to the police precinct in Cambrige, his hometown, to file a complaint surrounding racist mistreatment at a local restaurant. Instead of processing the complaint, the police turned the tables around and charged Dr. Afrasiabi with an outstanding traffic violation dating back to 1986 - 25 years ago! On the basis of that allegation, the police proceeded to arrest him and placed him in jail, refusing to allow Dr. Afrasiabi to use his constitutional right of making one phone call to either his lawyer or family to inform them.

On Monday morning, he was to be taken to court before a judge. The police then separated him from all other persons who were being taken to the court, handcuffed him with his arms behind his back, threw him into a separate police van. Then the police stepped on the gas, driving at break-neck speed, slamming on the brakes, causing Dr. Afrasiabi to fly into the iron gate full force.

He sustained a major head blow according to the Cambridge Hospital, where he was taken by ambulance for treatment. Due to his head and neck injuries, the judge postponed the case until Tuesday, when he returned to court.

Four days later, Dr. Afrasiabi is suffering from a concussion and is unable to function normally, which may have long term ramifications.

Given the amount of negative propaganda in the media, and hostility emanating from the Congress and the White House against Iran and the Iranian people, the behavior of the Cambridge Police officers is an extention of this anti-Iranian atmosphere. Dr. Afrasiabi has given hundreds of interviews on American and International TV networks often critical of U.S. foreign policy, he is the founder of an NGO - Global Interfaith Peace - has been a consultant to UN's "Dialogue Among Civilizations" Program, and is also a former consultant to CBS's "60 Minutes". Incredibly, the office of the mayor of Cambridge has informed Dr. Afrasiabi that there is no record of his arrest by the Cambridge police and that the Cambridge police denies that they ever arrested him!

Another unbelievable element is that although a reporter and photographer from the Cambridge Chronicle, a local newspaper, came to Dr. Afrasiabi's home when he got out of the hospital, did a lenghy interview and took several photos of his injuries, the editors are now refusing to print the story or photos, no doubt to prevent the Cambridge police from being in the public eye in another embarrassing case in light of last year's arrest of a pre-eminent African American Harvard professor - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

We the undersigned strongly protest the racist and abusive treatment by the police officers who must be brought before the Cambridge Police Review Board for an investigation, and we call upon the office of Mayor David P. Maher to also investigate the violation of Dr. Afrasiabi's civil rights while in the custody of the Cambridge police. We ask signatories to this petition to also call the following numbers to protest the abusive treatment of Dr. Afrasiabi:

Police Review Board - Executive Secretary Marlissa Briggett at (617) 349-6155;

Office of Mayor David P. Maher (617) 349-4321 and email him at: mayor@cambridgema.gov

Sign the petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protestiranianresearcherabuse/

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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
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