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SubscribeSilva Paroled but not Pardoned
November 5, 2009
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For nearly 17 months, IREX has been working vigilantly with the family of our employee, Silva Harotonian, towards her safe release from an Iranian jail. After Silva's sentencing in January on charges of fostering a “soft revolution” and the denial of her initial appeal in March, IREX continued to work to seek clemency in this case. Our goal was to make sure Silva's case was not forgotten in the aftermath of the election turmoil.
Recently Silva was released on parole and, at the request of the family, we then put up a new message on this website because of indications received that this might help Silva. A welcomed response to our efforts would have been a favorable answer to the final appeal and the granting of a pardon. Unfortunately, neither of those outcomes has yet been realized.
We continue to pursue all available avenues for her release. We ask that Iranian judicial, government, and religious officials offer compassion to Silva by granting her a full pardon. An act of sincere generosity in this situation will be deeply valued by Silva’s family, friends, and her IREX colleagues.
Comments on the
Release of Roxana Saberi
May 11, 2009
From W. Robert Pearson, IREX President
Today the attention of the world is focused on Roxana Saberi as she is freed from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. We congratulate Ms. Saberi and her family on her release and can only imagine their relief and joy.
Another young woman urgently seeks release from Evin prison – Silva Harotonian. As her employer and friend, IREX asks the Iranian government for mercy by granting Silva her freedom. A non-political administrative staff member with IREX, Silva has never acted with harmful intentions toward Iran.
Silva Harotonian has been detained in Iran since June 2008 on charges of creating a “soft revolution.” At the time of her arrest, Silva, a young Iranian citizen of Armenian descent, was on her fourth brief trip to support IREX’s US-Iran exchange program for maternal and child health professionals.
In January 2009 Silva was sentenced to three years in prison. Her initial appeal was denied in March 2009. A second and final appeal is pending.
A kind-hearted 34-year-old woman, Silva has been a loyal citizen of Iran and took her position with IREX to support her family and help improve her home country. IREX asks the Iranian government for mercy by granting Silva her freedom.
For more information, please visit www.FreeSilva.org.
Press Inquires:
Keith Mellnick, IREX Communications Manager
(202) 628-8188, x127
kmellnick@irex.org
Statement on the Second Legal Appeal
for Silva Harotonian, Iranian Political Prisoner
May 5, 2009
From W. Robert Pearson, IREX President
IREX employee Silva Harotonian has been detained in Iran since June 2008 on charges of fostering a “soft revolution.” At the time of her arrest, Silva, a young Iranian citizen of Armenian descent, was on her fourth brief trip to support IREX’s exchange program for maternal and child healthcare professionals in Iran and the United States.
In January 2009 Silva was sentenced to three years in prison. Her initial appeal was denied in March 2009.
Silva is expected to file her second legal appeal on May 7, 2009. This is an essential moment as we work toward her safe release. As a non-political administrative staff member with IREX, Silva has never acted with harmful intentions toward Iran.
A kind-hearted 34 year old woman, Silva has been a loyal citizen of Iran and took her position with IREX to support her family and help improve her home country.
IREX and Silva’s family continue to ask the Iranian government for mercy by granting Silva her freedom. For more information, please visit www.FreeSilva.org.
Statement Requesting the Release of Silva Harotonian
February 5, 2009
From W. Robert Pearson, IREX President
On June 26, 2008, IREX employee Silva Harotonian was arrested and detained by authorities in Tehran, Iran, triggering an ongoing effort to secure her safe return to her loved ones. Sadly, on January 19, Silva was sentenced to a three-year prison term in Iran on erroneous charges.
On behalf of Silva’s family and her colleagues at IREX, we respectfully request that the Islamic Republic of Iran grant her freedom. Silva, a 34-year old woman of Iranian citizenship and Armenian descent, joined IREX in late 2007 to facilitate an exchange program to enhance cooperation between Iran and the United States on maternal and child health care issues. Silva is not a medical specialist, a medical doctor, or trained in any type of medical profession. A former church secretary at a Christian church in Armenia, Silva was employed by IREX’s office in Yerevan, Armenia to provide administrative support to the Maternal and Child Health Education and Exchange Program (MCHEEP), a modest and non-political initiative designed to benefit the citizens of both Iran and the US through the sharing of healthcare best practices. Participants in MCHEEP are public health professionals eager to improve the quality of care offered to women and children.
IREX is a nongovernmental not-for-profit organization with a 40-year history of international academic and people-to-people exchange programs. Our work also has been highlighted by successes in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon and Morocco. These programs included close cooperation with appropriate authorities in those countries to the mutual benefit of the United States and the people of the participating countries.
With only the best intentions, Silva joined IREX in the hope of expanding health information needed by mothers and children in both the US and Iran. She wanted to promote international goodwill and had no other objective. She had no intention of harming or threatening the government of Iran, a country she loves, or any of her fellow citizens.
Silva has appealed her conviction. Neither IREX nor Silva herself was part of any effort to work against the Iranian government or its leadership. Silva’s role as a program administrator involved explaining logistics for the two-week exchange program, translating documents between Armenian and English into Farsi, and answering telephone inquiries.
We continue to pursue all available avenues for her release. We ask that Iranian judicial, government, and religious officials offer compassion to Silva by releasing her. An act of sincere generosity in this situation will be deeply valued by Silva’s family, friends, and her IREX colleagues. Read more about Silva and consider showing your support by signing a petition calling for her release at www.freesilva.org.
February 2009
