Kameel Ahmady :
My friend and colleague Kameel Ahmady is an acclaimed British-Iranian social anthropologist who has worked for some long while in Iran and the wider Middle East, in the fields of female genital mutilation (#FGM), child marriage (#CEFM) and other gendered issues. He has published many accomplished papers and books, and his work has received several international awards.
Kameel has consistently sought permission from the relevant authorities for his research. In August 2019, however, he was arrested by officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and detained for a few months in Evin Prison in Tehran. Subsequently put on bail, he was required to present himself in court again in December 2020. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard court found him guilty and sentenced him to over nine years in prison, plus a gigantic fine.
Kameel however decided to escape from Iran, and now lives in Britain. To follow developments concerning #KameelAhmady as they arise, click here.
Many of Kameel’s colleagues and friends signed this Statement to signify their support for him.
We hope too that readers of these news reports (below) will share them widely on social media, to raise awareness of the situation in which Kameel and others like him are placed.
Kameel Ahmady Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison (13 December 2020)
Statement On The Detention In Iran Of Social Anthropologist Kameel Ahmady
