Monday 25 Mordad 1389 [16 August 2010] at 7:49 AM
HRANA News – This morning, the Secretariat of the Group of Human Rights Activists in Iran issued a press release asking for recognition of the human and citizenship rights of Iranian Baha’is, and immediate and unconditional release of the leaders of this religious minority.
The text of the press release is as follows:
Press Release
Seven leaders of the Baha’i Community of Iran, after a two-year detainment, were condemned to 20 years of imprisonment in a questionable procedure, based on a collection of charges such as “espionage”, “insulting sanctities”, “propaganda against the regime” and “promoting corruption on earth”, by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. At the same time, the accused had refused to attend the hearing (held on 22 Khordad [12 June] of this year) because it was a closed and illegal procedure.
These sentences for Fariba Kamal-Abadi, Mahvash Sabet, Jamal’uddin Khanjani, Afif Na’imi, Saeed Reza’i, Behrooz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm were handed down after a history in which in the year 1362 [1983-4] all Baha’i elected and appointed institutions had been banned, and most of the members of the three National Spiritual Assemblies that managed the affairs of Baha’is had been executed. A temporary body called the “Yaran [Friends] of Iran” was then formed with the full knowledge of the Iranian government, and the seven above-named citizens very openly attended to the basic affairs of the three hundred thousand members of the Iranian Baha’is, the largest religious minority in the country.
Aside from the fact that the charges were all baseless, the condemnation came following more than two years after the illegal arrest of the seven leaders who manage the affairs of the Baha’i community, the largest minority in the country; during their detention they were deprived of the most basic human and legal rights for two years. Apart form the length of the temporary detainment, all seven endured froms of torture, and were kept in enclosures such as individual or joint cells, separate from other prisoners, for the duration.
These prisoners of conscience were also deprived of free access to their lawyers, though reports of inappropriate physical conditions of some of them also circulated.
The Group of Human Rights Activists in Iran, along with other human rights activists, condemns the judicial-security process, and not only considers the arrest and the sentence for these citizens of Iran to be illegal, prejudiced and lacking in the most basic legal and human acceptability, but also believes them to be the embodiment of a breach of generosity, of human dignity and of the foundation of freedom of speech.
This Group charges the government of Iran — and specifically the judicial and security elements — with doublespeak [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak]. It emphasizes the citizenship rights of Iranian Baha’is, recalling Mr Larijani’s acknowledgement of these rights for Iranian Baha’is at the United Nations Council of Human Rights meeting.
The Group of Human Rights Activists in Iran believes that the issue of the seven leaders of Baha’i Community is not separate from the removal of human and citizenship rights from the believers of the Baha’i religion; rights that have been a steady factor in evaluating the condition of human rights in Iran.
The religious government in Iran has executed dozens of Baha’i citizens in prisons, has participated in the destruction of their homes, and has taken steps to destroy their cemeteries. To the long list of the government’s steps to suppress Baha’i belief — and consequently the breach of freedom of thought, of speech and of religion — should be added prevention of expressing views and thoughts, making it difficult to bury deceased Baha’is, prevention from education, arrests and harassment, issuance of heavy sentences, insulting the sanctity of their religion… In this connection, the Group of Human Rights Activists in Iran demands recognition of the human and citizenship rights of Baha’is in Iran, immediate and unconditional release of the leaders of this religious community and the re-establishment of their dignity, and/or the holding of an open court in the context of legal procedures along with documents, as an inalienable right. This Group calls on the international community to show a united and persistent front on behalf of the restoration of these rights.
Secretariat of the Group of Human Rights Activists in Iran — 25 Mordad 1389 [16 August 2010]
Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: http://www.hra-news.org/51/1389-01-27-05-24-07/3395-1.html
August 18, 2010 6:02 am
Help them through Thy strengthening grace, I beseech Thee, O my God, to suffer patiently in their love for Thee, and unveil to their eyes what Thou hast decreed for them behind the Tabernacle of Thine unfailing protection, so that they may rush forward to meet what is preordained for them in Thy path, and may vie in hasting after tribulation in their love towards Thee. And if not, do Thou, then, reveal the standards of Thine ascendancy, and make them to be victorious over Thine adversaries, that Thy sovereignty may be manifested unto all the dwellers of Thy realm, and the power of Thy might demonstrated amidst Thy creatures. Powerful art Thou to do what Thou willest. No God is there but Thee, the Omniscient, the All-Wise.
~ Bahá’u’lláh. Prayers and Meditations. Source: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1987 pocket-size edition Pages: 339
August 18, 2010 6:37 am
Naming and shaming is not enough. In addition, this international outcry will give to the law abiding citizens of the world the illusion that crime can pay. The people responsible for these injustices should be summoned and brought to the International Penal Tribunal. Those obstructing this action should in turn be classified as criminals.
August 18, 2010 5:36 pm
The International Criminal Tribunal should NOW start indictments and proceedings and render verdicts for the real criminals (whether in custody or not) who run Iran’s government, police, prisons, torture chambers and especially their courts and so-called “judges”.
I really believe all their names, addresses, photographs, relevant bios, and specific actions we now call crimes against humanity should be assembled and made freely available with access for anyone to locate and read. The major criminals should all be listed under the title “WANTED: FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY” or even better ‘WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE”.
Although many think otherwise, SOME of Iran’s current regime do consider world opinion to a degree and keep up on Iran’s “international reputation” but that does not mean that Iran will yield to all pressures from outside on a whole host of issues. I think Tehran’s government should be described in the same terms the Nuremberg anti-Nazi trials were conceived.
August 19, 2010 9:48 am
We do not want any violence, even against suspected criminals; We want to bring all nations to a law-abiding attitude under an international arbitration. We want this arbitration to intevene NOW, before there is a genaral catastrophe, not after. We do not wish for the shaming of Islam, nor can we want any further boodshed or further suffering in Iran. We want to promote interreligious harmony which is at the root of all social structures. This is the most profound wish of the vast majority of citizens on what has become a tiny planet who wish to bequeath something acceptable to their children and grand children.
August 21, 2010 4:39 pm
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!