Petition for University of Texas Department of Physics and Omid Kokabee

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

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So while I was in Houston, TX last month for the Release your Inner Bad A** Event,  I ran across a flyer while eating at a Japanese restaurant downtown with my Empower Network team. I hesitated to blog about this because like so many other people, I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to get involved. It sounded kind of serious and to me kind of scary. I thought to myself this is the kind of thing you see or hear about in movies. Now I know it happens to people in real life too.

Here is the sitch:

There is the guy named Omid Kokabee, who was a doctoral student at UT. Omid went to Iran to visit his family and was suddenly arrested. There was no clear public explanation as to why he was arrested. Omid  suffered prolonged detainment at Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison (super bad prison), and was allegedly convicted without evidence. These practices hypothetically suggest a total disregard of international standards of due process, fair trial and detentions  as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is signatory. According to this flyer I picked up, because of the arbitrary nature of Omid’s arrest, this case has broad implications for the international community at UT. Because of what happened to Omid, many students of Iranian descent have refrained from visiting their  families abroad.  Petitioners believe that in the past, public pressure from universities have significantly aided the freedom of other political prisoners. As a result, students are coming together and urguing UT to allow the Physics Department t make an official statement. This petition is in hopes of getting prompt action. They feel quick action is needed because February 11 is the anniversary of the Iranian revolution. This is a national holiday when traditionally political prisoners are granted clemency. Supporters believe that public attention is Kokabee’s best option for justice, since he has exhausted the appeals process. In addition Omid’s health is getting bad. The Iranian governement has been denying him medical care, creating a more urgent situation for his release. For more information on Omid Kokabee visit .

I don’t know all the details of this issue, but I do know that if one of my loved ones were wrongly accused and arrested, I would want something done about it. I would want people to come together to help me seek justice. I would want for them to be okay. Special prayers go out to Omid ,his family, friends, and supporters. May God’s grace be with you through this life altering event, giving you strength and the ability to get through this.

At the time of this writing less than 300 signatures are needed for the petition. Will you be one of them? Right now stop what you are doing and click on this page and sign the electronic petition. Why? Because that’s what you would want somebody to do for you if you were in Omid’s shoes. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do it now. Sign the petition. Make a difference.

Live, Love, Dance, Pray…Be Thankful Each and Every Day!

Quinta Nicole

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