Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Stephen Magagnini of The Sacramento Bee recently published two articles about the persecution of the Baha’i religious minority in Iran, including seven Baha’i leaders currently awaiting trial.

From today’s story:

Dr. Abbas Milani, director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said Iran’s Islamic regime “has been obsessive about persecuting them.”Baha’is, he said, “are a peaceful religion and try to stay out of politics as much as possible.”

Their fear of execution is real, Milani said.

Read the full articles:

• Exiled Iranian Baha’i members pay tribute to executed friends
  By Stephen Magagnini, The Sacramento Bee, July 31, 2009
• Local Baha’i to rally against Iranian persecution
  By Stephen Magagnini, The Sacramento Bee, July 29, 2009

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Babylon & Beyond, a Los Angeles Times blog focusing on the Middle East, published the following article about Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi–one of seven Baha’i leaders currently waiting trial in Iran.

Article excerpt:

Iraj Kamalabadi of Rancho Cucamonga constantly worries about his sister Fariba Kamalabadi, who is sitting in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, nearly 7,600 miles away.

According to her brother and statements from human rights groups, Fariba Kamalabadi’s home was raided in May 2008 and she was taken into custody. She is still being held, as are six other leaders of the Bahai community. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom says that according to the Iranian Students News Agency, the seven are accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” Their trial was scheduled for July 11, but has been postponed indefinitely.

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On July 27, 2009, the Los Angeles Times published the following article by Kate Linthicum and Amber Smith about how Baha’is in southern California have responded to the ongoing persecution of their religious brethren in Iran.

Article excerpt:

The 2,700 or so followers of the Bahai faith in Southern California enjoy a life their brethren in Iran have cause to desire.

Here, they have access to education, work, and, most importantly for them, the right to worship.

Iran’s fundamentalist Shiite government has barred the country’s 300,000 Bahai from holding government jobs, attending universities and practicing their religion, according to human-rights groups and the United Nations. Conditions have worsened in recent years, observers say, and now seven leaders of Iran’s Bahai community are held in Tehran’s Evin prison, where they face charges of espionage and possible execution.

Their imprisonment has been condemned by the United States and human-rights groups, who see it as evidence of Iran’s persistent persecution of Bahais, its largest non-Muslim minority. It has weighed heavily on the faith’s adherents in Los Angeles.

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The Baha’i International Community issued the following statement in support of the planned Global Day of Action for the advancement of human rights in Iran.

On 25 July 2009, in more than 80 cities around the globe, well-wishers of the people of Iran will mark a Global Day of Action “to demand respect for the human rights of the Iranian people and to demonstrate worldwide solidarity with the civil rights movement in Iran”. This action has been designated by the organizers as “a non-partisan collaborative of individuals and human rights organizations”. Full details concerning the genesis and aim of this initiative may be found at http://united4iran.com/.

Bahá’ís from countries across the planet join the swelling chorus that calls for the internationally recognized human rights of all Iranians to be upheld and safeguarded, wholeheartedly supporting those gatherings and other forums that seek through non-partisan means to draw attention to this pressing humanitarian issue.

• The original statement is available at the Baha’i World News Service.

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In an article published July 22, 2009, in the National Review Online, J. K. Choksy & Nina Shea call attention to Iran’s harsh treatment of religious minorities, including Baha’is.

From the article:

Thus Iran’s Zoroastrians, Jews, Mandeans, Christians, and Bahais are subordinated and indeed treated as a fifth column by the revolutionary Islamic Republic. No matter that most of these religious groups were established in Iran before Islam arrived there; none are accepted by Iran’s Shiite rulers as fully Iranian. With the recent controversial presidential election, the scapegoating of non-Muslims as agents of the United States, Israel, Britain, and the deposed monarchy reached new heights. Seven Bahai leaders and two Christian converts are in prison and will soon be put on trial for their lives, while other non-Muslims are suffering intensified government repression.

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On July 9, 2009, Robert A. Oden, Jr., president of Carleton College in Norfield, MN, sent a letter to Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, advocating for Baha’is’ right to higher education in Iran.

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On July 15, 2009, Voice of America published the following editorial calling for the release of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bi-partisan government body known as USCIRF, is calling for the release of 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community who have been imprisoned for over a year. The seven – 2 women and 5 men – were reportedly due to stand trial on July 11. According to the Baha’i World News Service, their families were recently informed by authorities that the trial was delayed.

• Read the full editorial from Voice of America.

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Prime Minister Gordon Brown restated his support for the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders during the first meeting ever to occur between a UK Prime Minister and representatives of the UK Baha’i community, which was established in 1898. MP Lembit Öpik of Montgomeryshire, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is group, also attended the meeting.

• Read the full story from Baha’i News UK

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Excerpted below is a statement from Amnesty International, released on July 14, 2009, in response to news that the trial of Iran’s seven Baha’i leaders had been delayed.

Amnesty International is continuing to call on the Iranian authorities to release the seven immediately and unconditionally, as it considers them to be prisoners of conscience, held solely on account of their beliefs or peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community.

• Read the full statement from Amnesty International.

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From Baha’i World News Service:

Iranian officials have reportedly told families of the seven Baha’i leaders currently held in Evin prison in Tehran that their trial has been delayed. No new trial date was given.

Held for more than a year, the seven were reportedly to have been tried on Saturday, although this information, too, was based on oral reports from officials, and such reports have often been unreliable in the past.

• Read coverage from CNN World, The CNN Wire and Washington TV.

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View Andrew Sullivan’s blog post about the Baha’is in Iran on The Atlantic blog, The Daily Dish. The post features a video from the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights, inspired by Marjane Satrapi’s film, Persepolis.

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Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have called for the release of seven Baha’i leaders who may face trial tomorrow, July 11, 2009, in Tehran.

Ms. Saberi stated, in a letter to the Commission,

The seven Baha’is, along with at least 20 other Baha’is imprisoned across Iran, are not threats to Iran’s national security but are being held because of their beliefs and peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community. They have been willing to cooperate with Iran’s Shiite Islamic regime, but they refuse to surrender to pressure to abandon their beliefs, knowing that the decisions they make could have far-reaching implications for the estimated 350,000 Baha’is and other religious minorities in Iran.

Saberi was imprisoned in Evin, where the seven Baha’is are currently being held, for nearly four months before she was released as a result of significant international pressure.

According to its statement, the Commission is appealing to the Iranian government to take similar action and release the Baha’is. USCIRF Chair Leonard Leo:

The charges against these imprisoned Baha’is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority. They should be released immediately…USCIRF urges the President and other leaders in the international community to speak out and call for the release of the seven Baha’i leaders, as the President did for Miss Saberi. These prisoners are in jail solely because of their religious identity, and have not been afforded any due process or direct access to legal representation.

The seven Baha’i leaders have been detained for more than a year without access to their attorneys, including Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi. Official Iranian news reports have said the Bahá’ís will be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic”—all charges that the Bahá’í International Community categorically denies. The espionage charge is punishable by death in the Islamic Republic.

For additional information, please contact the U.S. Bahá’í Office of External Affairs at (202) 833-8990, or visit http://iran.bahai.us to access the statements by Ms. Saberi and the Commission. These resources are also available on the Commission’s website: http://www.uscirf.gov.

• Download a PDF version of this media release.
• Read coverage from CNN World, The CNN Wire, the Associated Press, and The National Review Online.
  

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The following excerpted from a press release issued by the European Parliament Delegation for Iran on July 9, 2009:

Angelika Beer, Chair of the EP Delegation for Iran, has issued a call for the release of the seven leading figures of the Bahá’í religious community who have been in custody more than a year (since May 2008). If in the near future a trial is held, Mrs. Beer urges that the proceedings be free, fair and open. Mrs. Beer says that the leaders of the Bahá’í religious community could be subjected, in the next few days, to a trial that does not even meet the most basic requirements of the rule of law. The Bahá’í leaders have been denied legal counselling for the first eight months of their imprisonment. One of their lawyers has been in incommunicado detention for the last few weeks, while Shirin Ebadi, the well-known lawyer and human rights activist who is also entrusted with their defence, has been out of Iran since early June. The EP has on many occasions expressed concern over the treatment of the Bahà’i religious community in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The EP considers that nobody should be prosecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs and activities. MEPs will debate the situation in Iran following the contested elections next Wednesday during the plenary session in Strasbourg, France.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in response to a letter written by journalist Roxana Saberi, today issued a statement demanding the release of seven Baha’i leaders who are said to face trial July 11, 2009. Saberi was imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison, where the Baha’is are currently being held, for nearly four months before she was released as a result of significant international pressure.

From Saberi’s letter:

The seven Baha’is, along with at least 20 other Baha’is imprisoned across Iran, are not threats to Iran’s national security but are being held because of their beliefs and peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community. They have been willing to cooperate with Iran’s Shiite Islamic regime, but they refuse to surrender to pressure to abandon their beliefs, knowing that the decisions they make could have far-reaching implications for the estimated 350,000 Baha’is and other religious minorities in Iran.

From the USCIRF statement:

The charges against these imprisoned Baha’is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority. They should be released immediately,” said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair. “USCIRF urges the President and other leaders in the international community to speak out and call for the release of the seven Baha’i leaders, as the President did for Miss Saberi. These prisoners are in jail solely because of their religious identity, and have not been afforded any due process or direct access to legal representation.

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On July 9, 2009, Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia made the following statement, urging the Obama administration “to make human rights and religious freedom, including the persecuted Baha’is, an integral part of the dialogue” with Iran.

Madam Speaker, May 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven-member national committee of the Iranian Baha’is. They have been unjustly held for over a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys.

According to The New York Times, the seven Baha’is are scheduled to face trial this Saturday, July 11.

They will reportedly be charged with “espionage for Israel,” a crime which is punishable by death.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released their 2009 report which recommends that the State Department designate Iran a country of particular concern due to its gross violations of religious freedom.

Such violations include the execution of over 200 Baha’i leaders since 1979, the desecration of Baha’i cemeteries and places of worship and the violent arrest and harassment of members of the Baha’i faith.

As the administration seeks diplomatic engagement with Iran, I urge them to make human rights and religious freedom, including the persecuted Baha’is, an integral part of the dialogue.

Human dignity and freedom must not be relegated to the sidelines.

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Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis MP called for “transparency”, “openness” and “international best practice” in the upcoming trial of seven Iranian Bahá’í leaders, expected to take place on July 11, 2009. The Foreign Minister issued this call to action during a Westminster Hall debate held in London’s Houses of Parliament on July 8, 2009. Access the full story at Bahá’í News UK.

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Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere expressed concern for the Baha’i community in Iran, in particular the upcoming trial against seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran, during a meeting with Mohsen Bavafa, Iran’s charge d’affaires in Oslo. The meeting took place on July 7, 2009. Both Washington TV and The Norway Post covered the meeting.

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Following a speech given by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the Commons on July 1, 2009, Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik of Montgomeryshire asked the prime minister about seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders who face trial in Iran on July 11, 2009. You can read an excerpt from his response below, or access the full article from Metro, UK.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown:

“I’m sure the whole House will share my deep disappointment at the recent behaviour of the Iranian regime.
“Disappointment at the manner in which legitimate demonstrations have been suppressed, disappointment at the restrictions … on the freedom of the Iranian people, people due to stand before a closed court on July 11, disappointment that the Iranian government expelled two of our diplomats and detained several of our Embassy staff.
“This action is unjustified and it is unacceptable.”

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