Thursday, September 16, 2010

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community


Support for Iran’s seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders spreads worldwide

Posted: 16 Sep 2010 10:39 AM PDT

BWNS(BWNS 16 Sep 2010)

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Some 400 people, including numerous human rights advocates, attended an event on Sunday 12 September at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate calling for the release of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders, each initially sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Some 400 people, including numerous human rights advocates, attended an event on Sunday 12 September at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate calling for the release of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders, each initially sentenced to 20 years in prison.

GENEVA — The call to release seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – whose prison sentences have reportedly been reduced to 10-years each – is spreading around the world.

Prominent figures in India, medical professionals in Austria, a Muslim leader in El Salvador and human rights activists in Germany have added their voices to the concern already expressed by numerous governments and non-governmental organizations who have publicly condemned the sentences.

In an open letter, 31 leading figures from India’s religious communities, judiciary, civil society organizations and academia, wrote that the “only crime that these seven individuals – two women and five men, the oldest among them being 77 years old – have committed is that they are Baha’is. They are peace-loving and obedient to the law of their land and have worked for the betterment of Iranian society.”

The letter, dated 31 August, was sent by Maja Daruwala, the Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, to the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to India.

“India and Iran have had historic ties of language, poetry, architecture, music and religion,” the letter said. “In the name of these ancient ties that bind our two nations, we call on the Government of Iran to act according to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which it has ratified. These provisions mandate the upholding of the principles of justice and freedom – principles cherished by all great religions of the world and all nations.”

“In speaking up for these seven Baha’i leaders we are therefore also standing up for the 300,000 Iranian Baha’is, who constitute that country’s largest religious minority, whose lives have been blighted and whose progress has been crippled by the injustices that have so systematically and remorselessly been visited upon them,” they wrote.

Medical Professionals for Human Rights in Iran

In Austria, a group called Medical Professionals for Human Rights in Iran have also issued an open letter, addressed to Iran’s Head of Judiciary, Sadeq Larijani.

The letter – signed by Dr. Ali Gushih, Professor Dr. Sirus Mirza’i and Professor Dr. Mihrdad Baghistaniyan – calls for the “seven leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran” to be released as soon as possible.

Among other requests, the letter asks that the human rights of all Iranian citizens be respected and for a stop to arbitrary arrests and raids on people’s homes.

Day of action in Berlin

The sentencing of the seven was also protested at a large gathering held on 12 September in Berlin, Germany, which included participation by some 400 people, including numerous human rights advocates.

In front of the city’s historic Brandenburg Gate, Markus Loning, Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany, stressed that the continuous flouting of human rights in Iran cannot be tolerated: “We will not tolerate how in Iran, with its civilization and culture, human rights are still disregarded and trampled upon.”

Claudia Roth, chair of Germany’s Green Party, called the arrest and conviction of the seven Baha’is, “an act of sheer arbitrariness and nothing else”.

Freedom of faith and religion are not acts of “mercy of those in power” or “governmental clemency”, said Ms. Roth, but a “cornerstone of the human rights conventions of the present.”

Frauke Seidensticker, deputy director of the German Institute for Human Rights, stressed the obligation of the Iranian government to honor its commitments to article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The Baha’i community is distinguished by speaking out for the human rights not only of its own members but also for others whose human rights are violated. Therefore they deserve our solidarity and our deepest respect,” she said.

The event, organised by the human rights network United4Iran, included the display of messages of solidarity, spelled out in one meter high letters.

Other action

Sheikh Abderrahman Agdaou of El Salvador’s Muslim community has also spoken up for the seven prisoners. In a message posted on 9 August on a personal, online social network page, Sheikh Abderrahman wrote of his hope that the seven would be freed, and that the Iranian authorities would be illumined “so that these persons may live free as God created them.”

In Australia, the Australian Partnership of Religious Organizations (APRO) added its support to “deep concern” already expressed by the Australian government at the sentencing of the Baha’i leaders.

“We call on the Iranian government to respect and protect the right of all Iranians, including Baha’is and other religious minorities, to profess and practise the religion of their choice,” APRO wrote on 8 September.

There has also been extensive press coverage of the sentence around the world.

An opinion piece published on 29 August in the European edition of the Wall Street Journal, titled “Why Iran’s Bahai Matter”, said: “For more than three decades, the Bahai have formed the ground zero for repression in Iran. Rights groups say there is no evidence for the charges against the Bahai leaders, though Tehran’s accusations should tell you all you need to know about who they are. The followers of this 19th-century religion hold unity among peoples as their main tenet. That, combined with their spiritual base in Israel, has made them the heretics that ayatollahs love to hate.”

An article by American journalist Roxana Saberi – who was charged and imprisoned after allegations of espionage in Iran – praised the courage and spirit of the two women among the jailed Baha’i leaders. Ms. Saberi shared a cell with Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi in Tehran’s Evin Prison early last year.

“I came to see them as my sisters, women whose only crimes were to peacefully practice their religion and resist pressure from their captors to compromise their principles,” wrote Ms. Saberi.

“They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians…,” wrote Ms. Saberi in The Washington Post on 28 August . “I know that despite what they have been through and what lies ahead, these women feel no hatred in their hearts. When I struggled not to despise my interrogators and the judge, Mahvash and Fariba told me they do not hate anyone, not even their captors.”

The seven Baha’i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – denied all the allegations made against them which included espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.

They are now incarcerated in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, some 20 kilometers west of Tehran.

The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America, as well as the European Union and the President of the European Parliament, earlier condemned the harsh sentences received by the seven.

Groups focused specifically on human rights have also launched letter-writing campaigns encouraging supporters to call for justice. See http://news.bahai.org/story/787,http://news.bahai.org/story/788 and http://news.bahai.org/story/790.

Special Report – “The Trial of the Seven Baha’i Leaders”

The Baha’i World News Service has published a Special Report which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing – and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community.

The International Reaction page of the Baha’i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. TheMedia Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/794


Committee of Human Rights Reporters: Temporary detention of Baha’i leaders was “illegal”

Posted: 16 Sep 2010 10:13 AM PDT

Committee of Human Rights Reportes(CHRR 8-Aug-2010) The Committee of Human Rights Reporters announced that seven former administrators of the Baha'i community were each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court.

Yaran

Yaran

They are detained for the past two years based on repeated illegal temporary detention orders. Their trials were postponed several times, and after several court sessions during the last months, they finally received their heavy prison sentences.

Six of the Baha'i prisoners who are responsible for dealing with Baha'i affairs in Iran were arrested on May 15, 2008 from their homes. The seventh detainee, Mahvash Sabet, was arrested earlier on March 5, 2008.


Source: http://www.chrr.biz/spip.php?article10592, and in Persian: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/fa/post/1233

Prison sentences for Iran’s Baha’i leaders reportedly reduced to 10 years

Posted: 16 Sep 2010 10:05 AM PDT

BWNS(BWNS – 18 Sep 2010) NEW YORK — The 20-year prison sentences received by Iran’s seven Baha’i leaders have reportedly been reduced.

The seven Baha'i prisoners, photographed several months before their arrest, are, in front, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.

The seven Baha'i prisoners, photographed several months before their arrest, are, in front, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.

The Baha’i International Community has learned that the lawyers representing the seven were informed orally yesterday that the 20-year jail terms have now been changed to 10 years.

The seven – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – were all members of a national-level group that, with the Iranian government’s knowledge, helped see to the minimum spiritual needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community.

The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances which began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge for 20 months. They were allowed barely one hour’s access to their legal counsel during that time. The trial ended on 14 June.

The defendants were accused of propaganda activities against the Islamic order and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations. All the charges were completely and categorically denied.

The seven were moved from Evin Prison after receiving their sentence to Gohardasht prison in Karaj.

Reports of the 20-year sentence provoked a chorus of condemnation from governments around the world – including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The European Union and the President of the European Parliament also joined the protest, along with numerous human rights organizations, other groups and countless individuals.

Special Report – “The Trial of the Seven Baha’i Leaders”

The Baha’i World News Service has published a Special Report which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing – and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community.

The Special Report can be read here.


Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/793

A letter from a Baha’i Woman in Sari to the Prosecutor’s Office

Posted: 15 Sep 2010 08:00 PM PDT

HRANAShahrivar 17, 1389 [September 8, 2010] HRA News – Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of the City of Sari raided the house of a Baha'i family living in the city, verbally and physically assaulted them and confiscated all of their personal belongings. The mother of the family wrote a letter to the prosecutor to complain about these actions.

Sari (/Sārī/ Mazandarani: ساری, Persian: ساری) is the provincial capital of Mazandaran

Sari (/Sārī/ Mazandarani: ساری, Persian: ساری) is the provincial capital of Mazandaran

The contents of the letter of Ms. Naghmeh Hafezi to the District Attorney of the city of Sari has been given to HRA news and is copied below:

In the name of Him who is Exalted,

To the Honorable District Attorney of the Revolutionary Court of the City of Sari
With all due respect, I, Naghmeh Hafezi, daughter of Bijan would like to inform you that at 2:15 PM on Wednesday the 16th of Shahrivar, 1389 [September 7th, 2010], seven individuals dressed in civilian clothing, without ringing the doorbell, entered our apartment building and, using my 7 year old son [to open the door], raided our house and started to collect our personal belongings. When my husband, who was not home at the time they arrived, came home, he complained to them, asking why seven men without female accompaniment entered a house (where there was only a young woman present). At this point they started to beat up my husband, defamed our sacred beliefs and figures and insulted us with vulgar words.

They tore apart our religious pictures and insulted them. After collecting all of our household belongings, they created a list and told us this was the only copy; they said we had to sign it, but that they would not give us any other copy of it. When I refused to sign, they said if we didn't sign it they would not give any of our belongings back to us.

When they were on the stairs they told me that we had to be at the Ministry of Intelligence by 9 AM the next morning; that if we were not there on time, they would come back for us with handcuffs. They treated me like a dangerous criminal — yet even as all of this occurred they did not have any warrant to justify their actions.

I ask you to investigate this violation of personal privacy and dignity, and to consider returning our belongings, including my personal laptop, computer bags, and memory cards for our camera and video camera, which contain personal and family pictures.

With great appreciation,
Naghmeh Hafezi


Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/fa/post/1186 and http://www.hra-news.org/685/1389-01-27-05-24-07/3853-1.html

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