Morad Tahbaz

rdf:langString Morad Tahbaz

rdf:langString Morad Tahbaz is an Iranian-American businessman and conservationist. He was born in London and holds British citizenship. Tahbaz is a co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF). In January 2018, Iranian authorities arrested Tahbaz along with eight other PWHF-affiliated individuals. In 2018, an Iranian Presidential Commission composed of Cabinet Ministers appointed by Iranian President Rouhani investigated the allegations and concluded that the facts do not support the claims against Tahbaz or his colleagues. The Commission declared publicly that Tabhaz and his colleagues did nothing wrong and “must be freed soon.” In November 2019, the Iranian judiciary sentenced Tahbaz to 10 years in prison for "contacts with the US enemy government." In June 2020 and on the occasion of World Environment Day, US Department of State called for the release of Morad Tahbaz. In a video message, Brian Hook encouraged governments to join this call to end the detention of Tahbaz and his colleagues. Tahbaz's family is a part of the Bring Our Families Home campaign which works to bring home wrongful detainees and hostages. Tahbaz was released from prison 'on furlough' on March 16th, 2022. He was returned to prison two days later.