Serious Health Condition of an Imprisoned Baha’i

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As previously reported by Iran Press Watch (http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/03/arrested-shiraz/), a young Baha’i of Shiraz was arrested on March 18, 2009, under inexplicable circumstances.
hale-rohi
The following report was filed by Human Rights Activists of Iran in Persian earlier today and appears below in translation:

Mrs. Haleh Hooshmandi is one the Baha’i countrymen who was arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on March 18, 2009, and presently remains in grave health conditions in prison.  No official charges have been stated against her, nor has her case been processed through the legal channels.

According to reports received by our office, Mrs. Haleh Hooshmandi has a history of heart ailment and her physician has stated that any stress or trauma would have an extremely injurious impact on her health.

In a recent contact she had with her family, Mrs. Hooshmandi advised that her condition was not well and deteriorating, and declared her heart situation to be “serious”.  She asked that her medical records be immediately shared with the Ministry of Intelligence.

The condition of this Baha’i countryman, whose family and physician are disallowed from visiting her, particularly at a time when many prisoners of conscience have died mysteriously while in custody as result of lack of medical attention, has deeply alarmed her family and human rights activists.

It should be noted that security agencies in Shiraz have arrested at least four Baha’i citizens in recent days and summoned for interrogation a number of others.

[Posted in Persian on Saturday, April 11, 2009, at http://hra-iran.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=840:321&catid=84:502&Itemid=219.  Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

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13 Responses

  1. M.R.

    April 12, 2009 12:49 am

    I am a relative of dear Haleh. I am very worried about her condition. I just read in one of the comments on the site below that she has been temporarily transferred to one of the hospitals in Shiraz

    http://negahedigar1.blogfa.com/post-169.aspx

    I have not been able to get in touch with our family members yet. I wonder if she is allowed to have her close relatives with her at the hospital or not. I hope those that have kept her in solitary confinement over the past three and a half weeks, have a little compassion and would not let an innocent human being who has done nothing but service to mankind suffer.

    I especially feel for her young child, her husband and her parents.

    I would like to thank “Iranpresswatch” for quick translation and posting of Haleh’s condition.

    Reply
  2. Keyvan Hedayat

    April 12, 2009 1:18 am

    I would like her family to know that they are in our prayers and our heart is with them. I also would like to thank “Iranpresswatch” for all their support.

    Keyvan Hedayat

    Reply
  3. A.H

    April 12, 2009 8:19 pm

    i pray for haleh and her family and i wish freedom for her ASAP but as i know no chang occured in her situation and she is still in prison.

    Reply
  4. sb

    April 13, 2009 5:45 pm

    “Armed with the power of Thy name nothing can ever hurt me,
    and with Thy love in my heart all the world’s afflictions
    can in no wise alarm me.”

    From a prayer by Bahá’u’lláh

    I am going to Baha’i devotions tonight in a suburb of the US capitol. My host is an Iranian Baha’i, but we have between 15-20 people every week, including four Iranian ladies who come and say Muslim prayers with us and several Americans of every color. We will pray our hearts out for this beautiful young woman tonight.

    Ali, you would love this,

    Reply
  5. dc

    April 14, 2009 9:00 pm

    I am a relative of Haleh.
    I can only pray for her and hope that she is released from this suffering.
    My prayers and thoughts are with her child, her husband and her parents.

    Reply
  6. M.R.

    April 14, 2009 9:09 pm

    I am Haleh’s relative. She was allowed a visit yesterday after 4 weeks of incarceration. The visit was for about 3 minutes from behind the glass wall, talking on a phone.

    On behalf of the family, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers. I especially like to thank “sb” for the beautiful quote from Baha’u’llah and having our dear Haleh in their prayers at the prayer meeting.

    Reply
  7. Mohammad

    April 22, 2009 6:59 am

    Here we go again: I am glad that I am not a member of the Baha’i religion, b/c I would not be so decent and tolerant as family members of this poor girl are and as our other posting commentators are. Instead of prayer, I would take a much more drastic measure, maybe bordering with violence . But then who am I to judge what to do. These people are too kind and too merciful. Is this what our world needs? Probably.
    Good Luck and if I believed in prayers I would say it for this girl, but I don’t.

    Reply
  8. sb

    April 22, 2009 3:32 pm

    Mohammed,

    Don’t Iranians have an unusual understanding of sacrifice?

    Baha’u’llah taught us the meaning of such sacrifices as Ms. Hooshmandi’s. These sacrifices have a spiritual power upon the world that the jailers of Shiraz can’t foresee. The Baha’i Faith has been nourished by this kind of sacrifice since the beginning of its history. How was it possible for such an infant Faith to circle the globe and take root in every concevable locale, despite the bloody attempts to stop its progress . . .

    Nothing is adequate to Ms. Hooshmandi’s suffering other than that we carry on as she would, if she were free . . . her gift is not in vain. We must act as she would and promote the brotherhood of all men in our time until the shadows of this age are the obscure subject of bemused historians.

    “Arise in His Name, put your trust wholly in Him and be assured of ultimate victory.”

    – The Bab

    Reply
  9. Pam

    April 24, 2009 2:47 pm

    Dearest Baha’i friends! Thank you so much for your sacrifice! I’m saying prayers for you and am grateful for your strength. I feel it invigorating the whole earth. My love is with you.

    Reply
  10. M.R.

    April 26, 2009 3:58 pm

    Mohammad,

    I very much enjoyed reading your comment, it touched my heart. I am a relative of Heleh, for sure it has been very hard going through all this. However, we have learned to replace the thought of “war” with a much more powerful thought of “peace”. In this dispensation power of “sword” is being replaced by the power of “word” and “utterance”. It is time to help each other and build a united world, hopefully our children and grand children won’t ever have to go through what we have been through for generations and generaions.

    Reply

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