LibrarianActivist.org

November 27, 2006

The Progressive Librarians Guild today issued the following statement:

The Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) condemns the violent treatment of
Iranian-American student Mostafa Tabatabainejad at the Powell Library of
the University of California (UCLA) on November 14, 2006.

Caught on video, and viewed by witnesses, the police assault on
Mr.Tabatabainejad is a violation of Mr. Tabatabainejad’s constitutional
rights under U.S. law, and the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).

PLG believes there are no circumstances under which such police behavior
can be sanctioned or rationalized given eyewitness accounts, video
documentation, and the statements of parties to the event. No university
security policy can legitimately sanction or condone this type of police
assault with a potentially deadly weapon.

PLG, a group of librarians and library workers, is particularly appalled
that this incident occurred during a random security check of ID cards at
the Powell Library. The abusive and violent intimidation that occurred
against Mr.Tabatabainejad compromises the security that libraries
traditionally have offered their users.

We condemn the violent actions against Mr. Tabatabainejad. We call for the
UCLA and Powell Library administration to immediately convene a
nonpartisan, public investigation into campus security policies.

For further information contact: Mark Rosenzweig – iskra@earthlink.com
Elaine Harger – eharger@agoron.net