Further Information: Seyed Jamal Hosseini found dead in Turkey

HRANA News Agency – Seyed Jamal Hosseini (Esfandiar Baharmas), one of the founders of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the coordinator and editor of HRANA, was found dead in his apartment by his colleagues and Turkish police on August 4th. There were traces of blood on his face, as well as several other places in his home.

Mr. Hosseini was threatened several times by Iranian security forces while he was living in Turkey as a political refugee. Since the Turkish authorities have begun their investigation, we will not come to a conclusion until the investigation is complete. The police authorities in Ankara have announced that the investigations may go on for months. The prosecutor of Nevshehir city, in a report on August 5th, 2014, stated that this death is a “suspicious death,” and ordered for a comprehensive investigation. We will keep in contact with Turkish authorities until the reason behind his death becomes clear.


We deny the allegations and propaganda of the Iranian security forces, which were published by some websites like “Farjam News” and “Afkar News” today, which are examples of spreading disinformation and are far from the reality of the case. This disinformation is written by purposely selecting inaccurate reports, such as a report by a local website and an incomplete report by BBC Persian, which was later clarified by us in an interview with BBC on August 8th.

Mr. Hosseini’s body was delivered to his family after the forensics procedure was finished on August 8th. The Iranian embassy was in an unordinary fashion encouraging the family to return the body to Iran, and stated that they would help pay for the legal procedures and the flight. Despite such gestures, Mr. Hosseini’s family decided to follow the testament that Mr. Hosseini had expressed; his unwillingness to be returned to Iran, unless the Iranian people are living in a democracy and their human rights are respected. In order to follow through with his wishes, he will temporarily be buried in Turkey.

His friends, colleagues, family and a number of city authorities will gather for his funeral on Monday, August 11th in Nevshehir city in Turkey.

We salute Mr. Hosseini, who played a significant role in the establishment, development and implementation of HRANA’s activities. We understand that his loss is irreplaceable. However, knowing that he passed away while writing his last reports, we will follow his path more dedicated. We will defend human rights until we have a society based on humanitarian values in Iran.

Secretariat of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA)

August 10, 2014

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