While Columbia entertains one Iranian from Tehran today, the plight of another has come to a close in the past week.

Iranian-American urban planning and policy expert Kian Tajbakhsh, Ph.D. ’93, was released from prison last Wednesday after being arrested in Iran on May 11, 2007 while conducting research for George Soros’ Open Policy Institute, a left-wing policy analysis group. He was investigating the prevalence of intravenous drug use in Iran when he was arrested. According to the Washington Post, Tajbakhsh is the second of four imprisoned Iranian-American academics to be released from Iranian prisons in the last eight months.

According to various international news organizations, Tajbakhsh was one of many prominent Iranian scholars who was detained for what Al-Jazeera described as “anti-regime activities” and what the British Broadcasting Corporation called “fomenting revolution” and “espionage” after appearing in a protest against the government only a few days before his arrest.

Noting the proximity of the release to the announcement of the invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Columbia last Wednesday, School of International and Public Affairs Dean John Coatsworth said that “the timing is fortuitous and the coincidence of the two events is happy news.”

“On behalf of the entire Columbia community, I want to say how relieved we are to hear of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh’s release from prison in Tehran. Months ago, I joined the chorus of voices calling for the government of Iran to free Dr. Tajbakhsh,” University President Lee Bollinger said in a statement released last Friday.

“In recent discussions with the Iranian Mission, I communicated that I would raise his case—among many other issues—directly and publicly if President Ahmadinejad came to speak on our campus,” Bollinger added.

The Open Society Institute also released a statement saying it was “relieved that Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh has been allowed to leave Evin Prison and be reunited with his wife in Tehran. It is our hope that the ordeal for this distinguished scholar and his family has finally come to a close.”

The prison in which Tajbakhsh was held, Evin, has been cited for its human rights abuses and miserable conditions. While Tajbakhsh has not been allowed to leave Iran like some other political prisoners, his release marks a step toward improved relations with Iran.

Alex Peacocke can be reached at alex.peacocke@columbiaspectator.com.