home > by region > middle east > iran > Daily Beast: Inside Iran's Intimidation Campaign
Email
| Author: | Gary G. Sick, executive director of the Gulf/2000 Project, Columbia University |
|---|
October 25, 2009
Gary Sick comments on the sentencing of his colleague, Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbaksh, and calls accusations against Tajbaksh "deliberately false."
The Ahmadinejad regime just hit an Iranian-American scholar with a 15-year prison sentence. The Daily Beast's Gary Sick on his role in the case-and why it's proof of Tehran's moral bankruptcy.
Last week, an Iranian-American colleague of mine, Kian Tajbaksh, was sentenced in Tehran to 15 years in prison. The indictment included the charges that (1) he was in contact with me; (2) that he was part of the Gulf/2000 network that I manage; and (3) that I am an agent of the CIA.
Normally, I simply ignore silly accusations such as this. They are nothing new. On one hand, it has been intimated that I must be under the influence of Iranian intelligence (by prominent neoconservatives who believe that my views on Iran's political development and especially its nuclear program are not sufficiently alarmist). I have also been accused (by such worthies as Hossein Shariatmadari, the ultra-radical editor of Iran's Kayhan newspaper, who is also a representative of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei) of being a CIA agent. I regard these insinuations as badges of honor, since they merely confirm that I do not subscribe to the ideological extremes of either of these groups. I have always felt that my reputation could speak for itself and required no public defense.
However, this time the accusations are really not about me but about a friend and colleague. Moreover, they are not just newspaper hyperbole by people who have an ax to grind and whose desire to make a political point exceeds their respect for the truth. These assertions are a matter of law-an official indictment by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It is often said that it is impossible to prove a negative. How do I prove that I am NOT an agent of the CIA? How do I prove that the Gulf/2000 Internet project is NOT engaged in overthrowing governments? How do I prove that Kian-a friend and a colleague-was NOT trying to lead a "velvet revolution" against the Islamic Republic of Iran?
CFR offers a variety of email newsletters about up-to-date CFR.org material on what’s happening around the world.
Enter your email address and click 'Go' to subscribe.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
Global Economy 