Governor-General's Statement on the Death of Ebrahim Lotfallahi

The Dominion of British West Florida is deeply concerned about the tragic death under suspicious circumstances of Ebrahim Lotfallahi, while in the custody of the 'government of Iran'. We call on Iranian 'authorities' to immediately begin to conduct a full and open investigation.

The sudden death in detention of yet more apparently healthy young people is extremely alarming. The Iranian 'government' only heightens our concern by quickly dismissing them as suicides. These young lives were extinguished in circumstances that make the 'official explanation' implausible and cry out for accountability. The Iranian 'leadership' must take credible steps to determine what actually happened and hold accountable any officials responsible for these deaths, if they wish to join the civilized world.

The unlawful, reactionary Iranian regime continues to deprive its citizens of a future free of fear, abuse, and arbitrary arrest. We remind the Iranian people that those who deposed the Shah claimed to be reacting to such conditions – the very conditions they now create.

We urge the regime to release all individuals held without due process and a fair trial, including the three young Baha'i teachers being held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Shiraz and the three Amir Kabir University students that prison authorities refuse to free despite an order issued by an Iranian judge in late Decembe