We are addressing you concerning a serious situation for Omid Kokabee, an Iranian post-doctorate student and experimental laser physicist at the University of Texas at Austin who is imprisoned in Iran with baseless charges.
Omid has endured arbitrary imprisonment, experienced religious and ethnic discrimination, and has been denied access to his lawyer or a fair trial. He has been diagnosed with a type of kidney cancer due to a malignant tumor in his right kidney. A few days ago, he has undergone an urgent nephrectomy surgery and his right kidney has been removed. Omid’s health condition is such that he shouldn’t stay any longer in prison.
Please sign the petition to urge the Iranian regime to release Omid and let his family to decide where he is to receive further treatment.
We are addressing you and calling on your sense of humanity to take action against an iniquity. Omid Kokabee, born in 1982, is an Iranian physicist and a postdoctoral student in atomic physics with a focus on laser research at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2011, he traveled back to Iran to visit his family but was arrested on January 11th, 2011 upon leaving Iran in the airport. He was sentenced to 10 years of prison and is currently serving time.
The main reason for his incarceration is his refusal of cooperating with the Iranian regime in its military projects. He was condemned based on absurd charges such as relations with the Academia and scientific circles and institutions abroad. He has taken a strong and heroic position by resisting pressures and even withstanding prison instead of treading underfoot his moral principles as not to use his scientific knowledge for destructive purposes. He's been saluted so far by multiple human rights awards. He is a brilliant physics student with no record of political activity who has undergone serious psychological and physical harms in prison. He's been suffering from an acute kidney disease for two years, but the prison's officials have denied him access to advanced medical treatment. A few days ago, we were struck by the most dismal news: Omid's lawyer announced that unfortunately, he has been diagnosed with a type of kidney cancer (Renal Cell Carcinoma) due to a malignant tumor in his right kidney. Omid has undergone an urgent nephrectomy surgery and his right kidney has been removed. The Iranian regime is responsible for Omid’s health and should account for anything unfortunate happening to him. Regarding Omid’s particular situation as an Iranian with a sensitive scientific specialization, and as he himself expressed in a letter to the public prosecutor, there is serious concern that some invisible hands don’t want him to come alive out of prison.
Omid’s health condition is such that he shouldn’t stay any longer in prison and deferral of his release would cause him irreversible harms. The Iranian regime should be urged to release Omid and his family should decide where he is to receive further treatment. We are writing this letter to call your attention to Omid's case, and ask you to use all available means to have Omid released from prison.
Waiting for your favorable action to save Omid's life, we remain.
Best regards,
