FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            Iran Freedom Concert Coalition
September 10, 2006                    www.IranFreedomConcert.com

Harvard Students Protest Iran's Ex-President for Human Rights Violations; Demand the Release of Student Dissident Ahmad Batebi

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Iran Freedom Concert coalition at Harvard has organized a rally in solidarity with fellow students in Iran.  Protestors will gather at 3pm outside Harvard's Kennedy School, where former Iranian President Khatami is set to speak, to highlight the brutal student crackdowns carried out under Khatami's presidency, and to demand the release of Ahmed Batebi, a prominent student dissident jailed by Khatami over six years ago.

Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami is promoting a "Dialogue of Civilizations" as part of a controversial speaking tour in the United States.  Critics, however, argue that President Khatami's moderate posturing merely masks the extremist views of his government and obscures the gross human rights violations undertaken by his very own administration.

Harvard sophomore Nick Manske remarks, "While, in principle, we support the idea of a dialogue between civilizations, part of dialogue means answering for one's actions – and the treatment of students under Khatami's rule cannot go unanswered."

Student organizer Adrian Gaty adds, "We are here to protest police brutality, arbitrary detentions, torture and censorship carried out under Khatami's presidency."

In a rare demonstration of bipartisan support, representatives from the Harvard Democrats and Republicans will attend the rally.  Eric Lesser, President of the Harvard Democrats, is scheduled to speak at the event.

A statement released by his organization calls upon President Khatami to "apologize for, and acknowledge culpability in, the vicious crackdown of student protesters at Tehran University in July 1999 and the unlawful arrest and detention of student protestor Ahmed Batebi."

Iranian human rights activists Lily Mazahery and Ala Khaki will address the crowd.  Mazahery, a human rights attorney in Washington D.C., has launched several campaigns against the Iranian regime's torture practices, including public executions and death by stoning.  Khaki, a student dissident under the Shah's regime (before the Islamic Revolution of 1979), continues to support Iran's student movement for basic human rights.

The Iran Freedom Concert coalition unveiled its solidarity campaign in March 2006 with a concert on Harvard campus.  The diverse coalition mobilizes support for Iranian student leaders and dissidents.