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Features

Kamal Foroughi Marks 78th Birthday in Evin

September 5, 2017
Natasha Schmidt
2 min read
Kamal Foroughi with his son Kamran, early 2000s
Kamal Foroughi with his son Kamran, early 2000s
Kamal Foroughi and his granddaughter
Kamal Foroughi and his granddaughter
Kamal Foroughi with his son and grandchildren
Kamal Foroughi with his son and grandchildren
Kamran and Kamal, 1998
Kamran and Kamal, 1998

The family of Iranian-British dual national Kamal Foroughi, who has been held in an Iranian prison for more than six years, will gather outside the Iranian embassy in London today to mark his 78th birthday and call for his immediate release.

Today Foroughi’s family will be joined by supporters, including members of Amnesty International, outside the embassy between 12.30-1.30pm British time. They will present the embassy with a giant birthday card, a cake with 78 birthday candles, and the many birthday wishes sent by supporters. 

Foroughi, who turned 78 on September 3, was arrested in May 2011 on charges of espionage. Under Iranian law, he is eligible for release because he has served over a third of his sentence. Instead, the grandfather and former oil and gas consultant remains in Evin Prison. Officials have failed to provide a full explanation of why he has been held for almost six years without visits from family or representatives from human rights organizations.

“This is the seventh birthday that dad will spend in Evin Prison and we fervently hope it’s the last,” said Kamal Foroughi’s son Kamran in a statement.

September 5 also marks the one-year anniversary of restored diplomatic relations between Iran and the United Kingdom, which reinstated ambassadorial communications. When Iran appointed  Ambassador Baeidinejad to take on the ambassadorial role, Foroughi’s family hand-delivered a letter to him at the embassy, appealing for him to help, but a year on they have not received a reply.

“At the very least, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson should agree to meet Mr Foroughi’s family and the families of all the British nationals jailed in Iran — something he still hasn’t done,” said Kathy Voss from Amnesty International UK. 

In March, Kamran Foroughi delivered a letter to the Foreign Office, appealing to Boris Johnson to take action on the cases of UK citizens in Iranian jails. Then, in August, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt attended Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration ceremony in Tehran, where he raised the issue of jailed UK-Iranian dual-nationals.

On July 18, UK parliament held a debate on the issue of jailed dual nationals. Between 50 and 60 MPs attended the debate, and many reported that they had received over 100 emails from their constituents about the cases. 

Amnesty International has called on UK citizens to people to contact their MP and urge them to raise these cases in parliament. 

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