Mohammad Maleki (; 11 July 1933 – 1 December 2020) was an Iranian academic and pro-democracy

nationalist-religious The Religious–Nationalists (plural form in ) or the National–Religious ( as an adjective) are terms referring to a political faction in Iran that consists of individuals and groups embracing Iranian nationalism and Islam, as an integral part ...

activist who served as president of the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

Life and career

Maleki was a founder of Legam, the Campaign for Step by Step Abolition of the Death Penalty. He appealed for the judiciary to uphold the constitutional rights of non-Muslims, and called for investigation into the persecution of members of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

. Due to his activism, he was arrested numerous times by Iranian police. On August 22, 2009, he was arrested again in the context of the

unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instances of unrest ...

after 2009 presidential election. In early March 2010 he was released on bail after spending about three months in solitary confinement. He was charged with

Moharebeh In Islamic law, ''Ḥirābah'' () is a legal category that comprises highway robbery (traditionally understood as aggravated robbery or grand larceny, unlike theft, which has a different punishment), rape, and terrorism. Ḥirābah means piracy or ...

for alleged "contact with unspecified foreign groups and working to undermine the Islamic system"Former Tehran University Chancellor Charged With 'Waging A War Against God'
RFERL, 7 March 2010Iran calls political opponents enemies of Islam
By BRIAN MURPHY (AP) 9 March 2010 and “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

and Ayatollah

Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure as Supreme Leader ...

.” Maleki was hospitalised several times for a heart attack and other physical problems including prostate cancer during his detention. He was also reportedly denied access to an adequate treatment, and later (September 2011), wrote a brief report to the

United Nations Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...

on Iran on the tortures he had suffered during his prison terms for which he was subsequently interrogated and received a notice banning him from travelling abroad. Maleki at first refused to attend the

Islamic Revolutionary Court Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try ...

, and at the second hearing July 30, 2011 refused to defend himself and said he would not appeal the sentence, because he considered the court of first instance to be illegal. He was finally sentenced on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”URGENT APPEAL: Dr. Mohammad Maleki Summoned to Serve Prison Sentence
persian2english.com, January 25, 2012 He was released but as of 25 January 2012 was summoned to serve a one-year prison term. In 2013 Maleki publicly apologized for his part in turning away students from Iranian universities leaving them the only option of the

Baháʼí Institute for Higher Education The Baháʼí Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), is a unique open university in Iran, which has been portrayed as an underground university, established by the Baháʼí community of Iran in 1987 to meet the educational needs of young people ...

, a home based university-class system. The meeting was filmed by film director Mohammad Nourizad and Maleki posted the event to his Facebook page. Mohammad Maleki had repeatedly attempted to obtain permission to leave the country to see his family and to seek medical treatment, but his requests for a passport were refused. In April 2015, he again wrote an open letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, in which he stated: “I have not committed theft, fraud or any other criminal offence. I have been deprived of my civil rights solely for my oliticalbeliefs … and human rights activities... I wish to visit my son after seven years... This is the obvious right and the deep wish of every father.”

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

considers the travel ban against Mohammad Maleki to be a retaliatory violation of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

guaranteed under Article 12 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

, to which Iran is a party. Amnesty appealed that Mohammad Maleki be allowed to leave Iran, to visit family members who live in Canada and the Netherlands, and to seek medical treatment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maleki, Mohammad 1933 births 2020 deaths Academic staff of the University of Tehran Iranian democracy activists Iranian dissidents Academic staff of the Islamic Azad University Iranian religious-nationalists Victims of human rights abuses Members of the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights Members of the National Council for Peace Political prisoners in Iran