Hashem Aghajari

Hashem Aghajari ( _fa. هاشم آغاجری) also Seyyed Hashem Aghajari (born ~1957) is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the Islamic Republic's government who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostacy for a speech he gave on Islam urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics. ["Iranian Court Again Spares Professor's Life"BURTON BOLLAG. "The Chronicle of Higher Education". Washington: Jun 18, 2004. Vol. 50, Iss. 41; p.A.41] In 2004, after domestic Iranian and international outcry, his sentence was reduced to time in prison.

Overview

Hashem Aghajari served in the Iran-Iraq War where he lost his right leg below the knee. ["Liberal martyrdom in Iran", Charles Paul Freund. "Reason". Los Angeles: Feb 2003. Vol. 34, Iss. 9; pg. 18, 2 pgs]

He was a history professor at Tarbiat Modares University, [ [http://www.juancole.com/2002/11/amnesty-international-appeal-for-dr.html Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Amnesty International Appeal for Dr. Aghajari ] ] a teacher-training college in Tehran. In June 2002 Aghajari gave an address in Hamadan commemorating the 25th anniversary of the death of Dr. Ali Shariati, criticized some of the present Islamic practices in Iran as being in contradiction with the original practices and ideology of Islam, and calling for "Islamic Protestantism" and reform in Islam. He was arrested 8 August, convicted of apostasy by a regional court and on November 6, 2002 was sentenced to death by hanging, banned from teaching for 10 years, exiled for eight years to three remote cities, and 74 lashes. ["Iran/Iraq"Nizar Wattad, Paola Rizzuto. "The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs". Washington: Oct 2003. Vol. 22, Iss. 8; pg. 39]

Although other controversial death sentences have been reduced on appeal, Aghajari refused to appeal the ruling, announcing though his lawyer that "those who have issued this verdict have to implement it if they think it is right or else the judiciary has to handle it." ["Liberal martyrdom in Iran", Charles Paul Freund. "Reason". Los Angeles: Feb 2003. Vol. 34, Iss. 9; pg. 18, 2 pgs] While in prison his family reported that Aghajari's amputated leg stub was bruised and infected and that he was "unable to stand up, walk or use the prison's hygiene facilities." [ [http://www.juancole.com/2002/11/amnesty-international-appeal-for-dr.html Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Amnesty International Appeal for Dr. Aghajari ] ]

The death sentence was denounced by both the Iranian parliament and President Mohammad Khatami and provoked the biggest student protests in Iran in three years. ["Iran/Iraq"Nizar Wattad, Paola Rizzuto. "The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs". Washington: Oct 2003. Vol. 22, Iss. 8; pg. 39] The trial was criticized not only for its harshness but for falling "far short of international standards of due process," being "conducted behind closed doors", and giving the defendant "only limited access to his lawyer." ["Statement Protesting the Sentenced Execution of Professor Hashem Aghajari"; [1] Hamid Dabashi, Arien Mack, David Bromwich, Noam Chomsky, et al. "Social Research." New York: Winter 2002. Vol. 69, Iss. 4; pg. IX, 5 pgs] According to "The Economist" magazine, Supreme leader Khamenei ordered the judiciary to review Aghajari's death sentence, but "hardliners in the judiciary at first ignored" his order "then assigned their least lenient judges to the review." ["International: Hard centres; Iranian conservatives", "The Economist". London: Dec 21, 2002. Vol. 365, Iss. 8304; pg. 72]

The sentence was later commuted to three years in jail, two years in probation, and five years' suspension of his social rights by the Supreme Court of Iran. In May 2004 the original regional court reinstated the death sentence, but the next month Iran's Supreme Court again reduced it. ["Iranian Professor Freed From Prison," RICHARD MONASTERSKY, " The Chronicle of Higher Education," Washington: Aug 13, 2004. Vol. 50, Iss. 49; pg. A.40]

He was released from prison July 31 2004 after paying a bail of $122,500, according to the Associated Press. ["Iranian Professor Freed From Prison," RICHARD MONASTERSKY, " The Chronicle of Higher Education," Washington: Aug 13, 2004. Vol. 50, Iss. 49; pg. A.40]

Explanation

According to Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, a "leading Iranian newspaper editor and confidant of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami" interviewed by Newsweek magazine, the arrest and stiff sentence were an attempt to distract attention from two bills to increase the power of president and curb the hard-liner conservatives' supervisory power which reformist President Khatami had introduced into Parliament. ["'There Is No Other Way'; The Last Word"; [Atlantic Edition] Maziar Bahari. "Newsweek". (International ed.). New York: Nov 25, 2002. pg. 70]

The failure of Iran's Hezbollah paramilitaries to make "a serious attempt to break up" the peaceful reformist student protests over the sentence was thought to be associated with Supreme Leader Khamenei's implicit criticism of the sentence and the "impartiality" of his failing to side with conservative hardliners. ["International: Khatami's last stand, perhaps; Iran's struggle for reform", "The Economist". London: Nov 16, 2002. Vol. 365, Iss. 8299; pg. 64]

Awards and honors

* Jan Karski Award for Moral Courage (2003)

See also

* Human rights in Islamic Republic of Iran
* Chained Murders of Iran

References

External links

*fa icon [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2004/07/040720_a_aghajari.shtml BBC Persian article on Aghajari's new sentence]
* [http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP44502 Text of offending June 2002 speech ]
* [http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/11/iranacademic.htm hrw.org, November 2002, Iran: Academic’s Death Sentence Condemned]
* [http://www.iranmania.com/news/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=12888&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs iranmania.com Amnesty highlights the case of Hashem Aghajari]