International pressure may have set Roxana Saberi free, but the plight of seven Iranian Baha’is, imprisoned in Tehran a year ago has gone largely unnoticed.
In an article in the International Politics section of the New Statesman online, Dr Moojan Momen looks at the new charge that may be laid against the seven prominent Baha’is of Iran who have now been in prison for a year without charges being formally laid, evidence against them presented or even access to their lawyers:
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2009/05/roxana-saberi-baha-iran-tehran
May 14, 2009 11:51 am
Baha’is, the largest religious minority (300,000 strong) in Iran in combination with the abominable tendencies of a theocratic Iranian regime has created a situation that compares directly to the condition of Jewish people under Nazi Germany prior to the Holocaust.
Baha’is are followers of Baha’u’llah, a native of Iran who taught that in the sight of God, justice is the best beloved of human qualities. Yet Baha’is are singularly persecuted in their native land, deprived of civil rights, dispossessed of access to higher education, and are regularly incarcerated and impoverished for their peaceful beliefs.
Seven million Baha’is spread across the world watch the situation of Iranian Baha’is of Iran with agonized attention. Nothing short of steady public appeal on behalf of the Baha’is of Iran by individuals, governments, and other agencies dedicated to human rights, will ameliorate their crisis.