According to reports from Tehran, Batebi disappeared after a meeting with UN Special Rapporteur Ambeyi Ligabo during which Batebi disclosed details of torture and other hardships that he and his fellow prisoners of conscience have endured in Evin Prison. It has now been four days since his disappearance, and there has been no word about his whereabouts or condition.

Following the student and popular uprisings of 1999 which put the Islamic Republic on the threshold of destruction, Ahmad Batebi was arrested and sentenced to death. Due to widespread protests worldwide and in Iran, Batebi’s sentence has twice been reduced and now stands at 15 years incarceration. Despite having endured severe torture, Batebi nonetheless has continued to take advantage of every opportunity to encourage students and the youth to resist the dictatorship of the Islamic Republic. As such, his name and image have become synonymous with this struggle.

Given that the terrorist gangs of the Islamic Republic have an history of abducting, torturing, and brutally murdering dissidents, Batebi’s disappearance has greatly worried many political activists.

We hereby urge immediate action to save the life of Iranian dissident student Ahmad Batebi.
Niki Akhvan ( Student Activist)
Dorna kouzehgar ( Journalist )
Omid Habibinia ( Journalist )