Article on Trial of Harvard Post-Doc Was in Error

In your article "Former Post-Doc Will Stand Trial" (News, Feb. 8, 1996), you tell readers that according to Dr. [Kaveh] Afrasiabi-the former post-doc in question-"[Mr. Afrasiabi's] arrest and upcoming pre-trial hearing... are the culmination of five years of feuding with Gurney Professor of History Roy P. Mottahedeh."

This statement is incorrect in two respects. I can hardly be said to be "feuding" with Dr. Afrasiabi when I have never replied, either privately or publicly, to the many intemperate letters, advertisements and telephone calls that he has directed towards me during these five years. In fact, this letter is the first time I have reacted to these messages, and I am doing so now only because the article contains misstatements of fact. Dr. Afrasiabi's account is also incorrect because I have no involvement whatsoever in his arrest and am still not fully aware of the details of the case against him.

A clear misstatement of fact is Dr. Afrasiabi's assertion that six years ago I "called him to [my] office and told him he has to stop negotiations [for clemency for Salman Rushdie]" because I was concerned that Harvard, "as a result, would lose lucrative deals with Rushdie's opponents." In fact, I cannot recall ever criticizing Dr. Afrasiabi's political opinions on any matter whatsoever; open and divergent dialogue is a hallmark of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

As Director of the Center, however, I had responsibility for the integrity of affiliations to the Center; and in this capacity I grew concerned (and responded to the concerns of others) at the publication alongside Dr. Afrasiabi's name of titles misrepresenting his relation with Harvard University. I told Dr. Afrasiabi that he must make efforts to ensure that such misrepresentative titles no longer appear next to his name in published letters and articles. Unfortunately, titles such as "Assistant Professor, Harvard University," did continue to appear next to Dr. Afrasiabi's name.

Therefore, when I heard that Dr. Afrasiabi might appear on "60 Minutes," I informed Mike Wallace by fax that Dr. Afrasiabi has only "faculty associate" status (now known as "affiliate in research"), a courtesy status that the center often extends to scholars at neighboring institutions so that they may participate in lectures and similar events at the Center. (Dr. Afrasiabi told us at the time that he was teaching at Northeastern.)

I do not know who Dr. Afrasiabi understands to be "Rushdie's opponents," with whom Harvard had or might have "lucrative deals." If he means Iran, it should be noted that I wrote strong criticisms of the human rights record of Iran in Op-Ed pieces in The New York Times of September 1982 and June 1983, which would plainly contradict any assumption of pandering to "Rushdie's opponents."

In the concluding paragraph of the Crimson story it is stated that "Last fall, Afrasiabi filed a formal complaint against Mattahedeh with the Ethics Committee of the Middle East Studies Association."

However, Professor Farhad Kazemi of New York University, president of the Middle East Studies Association, has informed me that no such complaint has ever been filed by Dr. Afrasiabi. I would, in fact, welcome Dr. Afrasiabi filing such a "formal complaint" so that a panel of his peers might evaluate his charges and he might return to scholarship, which I very much hope Dr. Afrasiabi will make his primary concern in the future. -Roy P. Mottahedeh   Gurney Professor of History