Human Rights Violator: Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi

Source: www.justice4iran.org

Translation by Iran Press Watch

22 August, 2016

Name:

Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi

Biography:

Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi, born in 1944 in the city of Damghan, educated at the Seminary of Theology [1]

Responsibilities:

–       From November 1990 to present: Representative of the Supreme Leader in Hormozgan Province, and the Friday prayer leader of Bandar Abbas

–       From 1997-98 to present: The representative of Hormozgan in the Assembly of Experts

Cases of human rights violation: 

Prior to the murder of the Baha’i citizen, Ataollah Rezvani, Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Hormozgan Province and the Friday prayer leader of Bandar Abbas, had repeatedly provoked extremist religious forces to act against Baha’is in his talks, and had a part in inciting the febrile atmosphere in which the murder of Ataollah Rezvani and attacks on other Baha’i citizens took place.

Ataollah Rezvani, a former member of the Service Committee of the Baha’i community of Bandar Abbas, was murdered by gunshots from unidentified individuals on 24 August 2013.  A long time before being murdered, he had been threatened by security institutions, directly and indirectly. He and his family were being pressured to leave Bandar Abbas.

Following the hate-mongering speeches of Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi against Baha’is, Ataollah Rezvani and two other Baha’i citizens had sent a letter to the Friday prayer leader of Bandar Abbas, asking him to respect the rights of Baha’i citizens, and to refrain from provoking the public against them in Friday prayer sermons. In this letter, they stated: “What you say against us is not true. Baha’is are not what you say they are. You are the Friday prayer leader of the city, and your speeches provoke people to harass Baha’is. As the Friday prayer leader, you should not speak against us like this.”

In relation to the Friday prayer leader’s sermons against Baha’is, they had also warned law enforcement authorities that these talks would cause tension and bloodshed. [2]

In one of his speeches, the Friday prayer leader of Bandar Abbas had said the following about Baha’is: “Using apparently good, beautiful and seductive methods, a number of charlatans put individuals and society in the worst possible danger. Founders of futile ideologies, erroneous methods and deviant movements are all examples of this. They are the manifestation of ‘those who plot evil deeds’ (Quran 35:10).” He also falsely claimed that Baha’is were permitted to “have consanguineous marriages”, “pillage the properties of non-Baha’is”, and “commit fraud”, and called them “parasites of society”.

Gholam-Ali Nemat-Abadi has also spread hatred against Baha’is and the Baha’i religion by publishing a book titled “Baha’ism is Not a Religion”, and through interviews with government news agencies. In one of his most recent interviews, Naeem-Abadi called the beliefs of Baha’is “corrupt”, and stated that they are an “espionage group” and “servants of foreigners”.

Article Twenty of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has ruled: “Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.” Iran is among the signatories of this covenant, and its rulings are mandatory for officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. By spreading hatred against Baha’is, Gholam-Ali Naeem-Abadi has contrived a situation to perpetrate systematic, government-sanctioned violence against members of the Baha’i community, and has violated human rights and the international commitments of the Islamic Republic of Iran.