Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 789: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the imprisonment in Iran of a person (details supplied); if he will enlist the aid of the international community with a view to ensuring that they are accorded family and legal visitations in line with international human rights criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31427/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the case of Dr. Tajbakhsh who was arrested at his home on 9 July in Iran and whose conditions of detention remain unclear. Our Embassy in Tehran has been closely following his case. As the Deputy will be aware, many hundreds remain in detention in Iran following the disputed Presidential elections of 12 June and it is still not clear when, and by what process, these will be released. There appears to be some degree of disarray in the judicial system, with trial dates being set and then re-scheduled and diverging views internally within the regime as to how the protestors should be dealt with.

There are some positive signals that there may be a release of prisoners during the forthcoming Eid el Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. However, if there is such a release, it seems unlikely that many key political associates of opposition leaders or high profile detainees will be included. I am aware that Dr. Tajbakhsh, who is a US dual citizen and a noted and respected academic, has been accused of being a spy for a western intelligence agency, has been arrested before on similar charges, and has already had to participate in one of the televised "show trials". The prospects for securing his early release may not be assisted by the prevailing tendency on the part of the authorities in Iran to assert incorrectly that the post-election protests represented an attempted revolution, orchestrated by international actors.

Diplomatic efforts, spear-headed by the Swiss Embassy in Tehran which handles US interests, are continuing in an effort to secure Dr. Tajbakhsh's release. The EU has also been vocal in its reaction to the deterioration in human rights generally in Iran since the disputed Presidential elections, with a particular focus on the maltreatment of those in detention and the need for due legal process to prevail.

Ireland strongly associates itself with the serious concerns expressed by the EU regarding the current human rights situation in Iran in the aftermath of the June presidential elections. Senior officials of my Department have met with the Iranian Ambassador to Ireland on several occasions throughout the summer, to convey my strong concerns on these matters to him. We will continue to bring these matters and the case of detainees such as Dr. Tajbakhsh to the attention of the Iranian authorities and will also avail of the opportunity to express our concerns, both nationally and in an EU context, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva later this month.