Publish date22 Oct 2019 - 12:37
Story Code : 440660

Family of Iranian stem cell scientist slams US jailing of elite as inhumane, hostile

Family of Iranian stem cell scientist Massoud Soleimani urged for immediate release of the elite and condemned the US’ imprisonment of the scientist as ‘hostile’ and ‘inhumane’ measure aiming to press Iranian government.
Family of Iranian stem cell scientist slams US jailing of elite as inhumane, hostile
In a statement released on Tuesday, Dr. Mahnaz Rabeie, Soelimani’s wife, along with other members of his family, said the researcher has remained incarcerated in the US for one year without any adequate evidence to convict him.

Soleimani’s family members are set to attend a press briefing on the matter later on Tuesday.

According to the statement, Soleimani, the full professor and head of the Hematology Department at Tarbiat Modares University is not only the selected professor of Iran in 2015, but is recognized as the top 1% scientists and researchers on the basis of ISI (Thomson Scientific Institute) in 2015.

Soleimani arrived in the US on October, 22, 2018 with a visa issued upon an invitation by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for the scientist to lead a research program on the treatment of stroke patients. 

He was, however, arrested by the FBI upon arrival at the Chicago airport. His visa was cancelled and he was transferred to a jail in Atlanta, Georgia.


Soleimani’s whereabouts remained unknown for up to a week until Chicago airport police claimed that the professor had returned to Iran by a Qatari flight.

“It was a failed attempt that ultimately just revealed the deliberate US move to pretend that Dr. Soleimani is ‘disappeared’ in order to distract the pursuit process. Now, Professor Masoud Soleimani has been held in prison for almost a year without charge and trial. This young scholar, who had no negative or unlawful acts records in his life, was not allowed to be released on bail till his trial. This as his scientific endeavors and research have always been transparent and helpful to humanity, and his conduct and actions are in a very humane and respected way at prison according to the prisoners and guards,” read the statement.

It also voiced worries about Soleimani’s “poor” mental and physical condition, saying he is suffering from chronic irritable bowel syndrome, has lost 15 kilograms of weight and suffers from severe vision loss.

“Despite numerous attempts by the family to deliver medicines to him, and even the efforts of Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the US to provide him with medications, it was opposed to give him the drugs, and prison officials prevented him from accessing the medicines,” it added.

Soleimani’s family members further said they “condemn this hostile act by the US government and believe the abuse of nationals to oppress their government is an inhumane act and a clear example of human rights violation. The conspiracy by the US government and Mayo Clinic to set up and arrest a scientist, who is expert in his field (stem cells) and has stepped in to help hard-to-cure patients around the world was a purposeful movement, especially when we see he has authored numerous articles in the field and recently advanced eye-catchingly. This move is meant to keep a non-American scientist away from science and advancement.”

They also said the Mayo Clinic had used “the scientific arena to trap a scientist from a foreign country to be incarcerated in US prisons. We believe that making conditions insecure for scientists and the elite in every society disrupts the production of knowledge and diminishes the enthusiasm of leading world researchers. Obviously, no sensible person approves of this biased and inhumane behavior. Therefore, we explicitly demand that if the United States claims to respect human rights and justice, it must release Professor Masoud Soleimani as soon as possible because there is no adequate evidence to convict this innocent scientist. Perhaps, if there were [any evidence against him], his trial would not adjourn for a year.”

“We call on Iranian and non-Iranian scholars and scientists to protest against the US government and its anti-human rights policies to avoid recurrence of such cases. We also urge them to demand the US government and its legal system to immediately release Professor Masoud Soleimani. However, we also urge the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to pursue this process more seriously than ever, given that the issue was not given much importance at first, and the case was investigated after six months. No immediate action has been taken to release this innocent scientist, while his prolonged incarceration and the unlawful damages and difficulties are increasingly ongoing.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate death of his mother following the shock of her son’s arrest, made Dr. Masoud Soleimani’s wish to visit his mother unattainable forever,” the statement read.

Prosecutors have accused Soleimani, who works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine, and two of his former students of conspiring and attempting to export growth hormone vials from the US to Iran without authorization, in violation of American sanctions.

Lawyers for the scientists say no specific license was required for the attempted transport because the hormones are medical materials and that bringing them to Iran for non-commercial purposes does not amount to exporting goods.

The hormone, which is a form of synthetic protein, is not banned in the US or Iran and is being used exclusively for medical research.

The two former students live in the US and are free on bond, but Soleimani remains in custody while suffering from several health problems which have been aggravated during his incarceration.

Speaking on Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that it had sent to the US a list of detained Iranians whom it wants freed in a prisoner swap.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that about 20 Iranians have been detained by the US on “baseless” charges of circumventing US sanctions against Iran, adding that the arrests amount to “kidnapping and hostage taking.”

He also raised concerns about Soleimani’s deteriorating health condition.

Separately on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he had pursued the case of Soleimani during his recent trip to New York and expressed hope that there would be “good news” in the near future in that regard.
 
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