Update: Prof. Dr. Behrooz Chamanara has been released!
Update: On sunday, 4th of December 2022, our appeal has brought a first success: Prof. Dr. Behrooz Chamanara has been provisionally released. Thank you to all the supporters!
On Friday, November 25, 2022, Prof. Dr. Behrooz Chamanara, Alumnus of Georg August University Göttingen, and Professor at the Department of Kurdish Language and Literature at Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, was kidnapped and arrested by Iranian security forces.
Mr. Chamanara had been under heavy pressure from security forces for several days due to the current situation and therefore had not left the university campus for security reasons. He was summoned to a meeting in Kurdistan Governorate and was subsequently arrested on his way home. His family has not been informed of his whereabouts up to now.
We would like to emphasize that Prof. Chamanara is a scholar whose activities are limited to teaching and research and that he has not committed any illegal activity.
As colleagues of Prof. Chamanara and scholars in the field of Iranian Studies, we recognize his arrest as unlawful and demand his immediate release.
Dr. Amr Taher Ahmad, Paris
Dr. Chiara Barbati, Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa
Dr. Sara Belelli, post-doctoral research fellow, Tuscia University, Viterbo (Italy)
Prof. Dr. Alberto Cantera, Institute for Iranian Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Dr. Amin Davoodi, Assistant Professor of Bilingual and ESL Education, University of Texas Permian Basin, USA
Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine
Prof. Dr. Olga Davidson, Harvard University
Professor Paul Dilley, University of Iowa
Mahîr Dogan, MA
Prof. Dr. Shervin Farridnejad, University of Hamburg
Dr. Maren Freudenberg, Academic Councilor, Ruhr University Bochum
Claudine Gauthier, full professor at the university of Bordeaux (France)
Mahîr Dogan, MA
Prof. Dr. Shervin Farridnejad, University of Hamburg
Dr. Maren Freudenberg, Academic Councilor, Ruhr University Bochum
Claudine Gauthier, full professor at the university of Bordeaux (France)
Prof. Dr. Saloumeh Gholami, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main
Geoffrey Haig, Professor of Linguistics, Institute for Oriental Studies, University of Bamberg
Stefan Härtel, Institu für Iranistik, Freie Universität Berlin
Prof. Almut Hintze, SOAS, University of London
Carina Jahani, professor, Iranian languages, Uppsala University
Dr. Thomas Jügel, Ruhr-University Bochum
Dr. Shuan Osman Karim, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main
Jean Kellens, professeur honoraire au Collège de France
Sepideh Khaksar, Freie Universität Berlin
Maryam Khalili
Prof. Geoffrey Khan, University of Cambridge
Maximilian Kinzler
Dr. Goetz Koenig, Academic Researcher, Institute for Iranian Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Dr habil Agnes Korn, Paris
Prof. Dr. Volkhard Krech, Ruhr University Bochum
Prof. Dr. Philip Kreyenbroek, Georg August University Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Martin Joachim Kümmel
Dr. Michiel Leezenberg, University of Amsterdam
Judith A. Lerner, PhD, Research Associate, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NY
Dr. Pavel Lurje
Prof. Dr. Maria Macuch
Prof. Mauro Maggi, La Sapienza University, Rome
Dr. Parvin Mahmoudveysi
Mohammadmahdi Mostafavinia
Hamidreza Nikravesh, PhD candidate, Goethe University Frankfurt
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Khanna Omarkhali
Dr. Ergin Opengin, University of Cambridge
Paola Orsatti, Professor of Persian Language and Literature, La Sapienza University, Rome
Prof. Dr. Eva Orthmann, Georg August University Göttingen
Antonio Clemente Domenico Panaino, Professore ordinario di Filologia, Storia e Religioni dell'Iran, Ravenna
Prof. Dr. Ludwig Paul, University of Hamburg
Èric Víctor Pirart, Professor emèrit de les universitats de Lieja i Barcelona
Julia Poganski
Dr. Zakharia Pourtskhvanidze, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main
Dr. Shahrokh Raei, Ruhr University Bochum
Enrico G. Raffaelli, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
Dr. Ch. Reck
Céline Redard, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Strasbourg
Prof. Dr. Kianoosh Rezania, Ruhr University Bochum
Professor Christine Robins, University of Exeter
Fateh Saeidi, University of Goettingen
Martin Schwartz, Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Emily Selove, senior lecturer at the University of Exeter
Leila Shahabi, Scholar
Prof. Dr. Jaffer Sheyholislami, Carleton University
Dr. Sussan Siavoshi
PD Dr. Knut Martin Stünkel, Ruhr University Bochum
Gianfilippo Terribili, Assistant Professor, Filologia, religioni e storia dell'Iran, Sapienza - Università di Roma
Miguel Ángle Andrés Toledo, FEZANA Professor of Zoroastrian Languages and Literatures (University of Toronto)
Dr. M. de Vaan, Basel University, Switzerland
Associate Professor Marc Valeri, University of Exeter (United Kingdom)
Dr. Leila Ziamajidi, Ottawa, Canada
Dr. Mohsen Zakeri, Ruhr University Bochum
If you would like to sign this statement, send an e-mail to kianoosh.rezania@rub.de with your name and title.
Find also more information at: https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/iran-intelligence-ministry-detains-kurdish-professor-in-sanandaj/