In its treatment of the Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, Iran is violating basic precepts of human rights, rule of law, and academic free inquiry. After being subjected to gruelling interrogation, Esfandiari, director of the Middle East programme at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre in Washington, was jailed on May 8 in the brutal Evin Prison and, according to Iran’s state-run television, will face grave charges of “seeking to topple the ruling Islamic establishment.” Fellow scholars know how preposterous those charges are and have acted in exemplary solidarity with Esfandiari. Their protests against her imprisonment signify more than a reflexive defence of academic freedom; they are rooted in a commitment to reasoned discourse, respect for cultural differences, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

At a recent discussion at Harvard, Iranian rights activists lamented that the allocation of $75 million by the US for the promotion of democracy in Iran has made Iranians working for free speech, women’s rights, or labour unions susceptible to charges of being in the pay of an administration plotting regime change in Tehran. The allegations against Esfandiari suggest she has been caught up in a deadly duel between paranoid ultras in Tehran and hubristic regime-changers in Washington. — The Boston Globe