Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

On Saturday, August 28, The Washington Post published an op-ed article by journalist Roxana Saberi advocating for the release of seven Iranian Baha’i prisoners, two of whom she shared a cell with during her 100-day incarceration in Evin prison last year. In the article, Saberi describes how the two Baha’i women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, inspired and cared for her in prison.

From the article:

Despite the gravity of the accusations against them, Mahvash and Fariba had not once been allowed to see attorneys. Yet my cellmates’ spirits would not be broken, and they boosted mine. They taught me to, as they put it, turn challenges into opportunities — to make the most of difficult situations and to grow from adversity. We kept a daily routine, reading the books we were eventually allowed and discussing them; exercising in our small cell; and praying — they in their way, I in mine. They asked me to teach them English and were eager to learn vocabulary for shopping, cooking and traveling. They would use the new words one day, they told me, when they journeyed abroad. But the two women also said they never wanted to live overseas. They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians.

Later, when I went on a hunger strike, Mahvash and Fariba washed my clothes by hand after I lost my energy and told me stories to keep my mind off my stomach. Their kindness and love gave me sustenance.

It pained me to leave them behind when I was freed in May 2009. I later heard that Mahvash, Fariba and their colleagues refused to make false confessions, as many political prisoners in Iran are pressured to do.

Saberi also called on the international community to continue to speak out for these seven prisoners.

People of many nations and faiths have called for the release of the Bahai leaders. But many more must speak out — such as by signing letters of support through Web sites such as United4Iran.com. Protests of these harsh sentences can make clear to authorities in Iran and elsewhere that they will be held accountable when they trample on human rights. Mahvash and Fariba occasionally hear news of this support, and it gives them strength to carry on, just as the international outcry against my imprisonment empowered me.

• Read the Radio Farda commentary in Farsi

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On Wednesday, August 25, Cherie Blair, a barrister at Matrix Chambers in London and the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, published an op-ed in The Guardian concerning the recent sentencing of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders each to 20 years in prison.

From The Guardian op-ed:

The truth behind this sentence is that it is an attempt to decapitate Iran’s 300,000 strong Bahá’í community. As members of Iran’s biggest religious minority, they have suffered decades of discrimination, harassment and appalling treatment. Most recently, 50 Bahá’í homes were razed in northern Iran, and we know of at least 47 other Bahá’ís currently imprisoned.

Yet the Bahá’í faith, which has its roots in Iran, is a gentle religion which emphasises the spiritual unity of all humankind and builds on the prophets of many faiths, including Jesus and Mohammed. It poses no threat to the Iranian regime. The peaceful, constructive lives led by millions of Bahá’ís in other countries contradict the fears of the Iranian regime. Iran’s disregard for its own laws, let alone its human rights obligations, exposes its religious fanaticism.

The foreign secretary, William Hague, has already said he was “appalled” at this “shocking example of the Iranian state’s continued discrimination against the Bahá’ís”. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, called the sentence a “violation” of Iran’s international obligations. Australia, Canada, the European parliament and European Commission, France, Germany and the Netherlands have expressed their concern as have, among others, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

A chorus of condemnation is reminding Iran that it signed and ratified the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, in which Article 18 upholds the right to adopt and practice a religion or belief. The Iranian authorities, despite what they pretend, are not deaf to international criticism. We must all add our voices on this latest abandonment of Iran’s human rights obligations so the regime hears us loud and clear.

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Baha’i World News Service– The harsh prison sentences handed down to seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who are absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing is a judgment against an entire religious community, the Baha’i International Community said today.

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose Defenders of Human Rights Center represented the Baha’i defendants, said she was “stunned” by the reported 20-year jail terms.

“I have read their case file page by page and did not find anything proving the accusations, nor did I find any document that could prove the claims of the prosecutor,” said Mrs. Ebadi in a television interview, broadcast on 8 August by the Persian-language service of the BBC.

The flagrantly unjust sentence has provoked vehement protest from governments throughout the world – including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The European Union and the President of the European Parliament have also joined the chorus of condemnation, along with numerous human rights organizations – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and FIDH – as well as other groups, and countless individuals. Read international reaction here.

• Read the full story from Baha’i World News Service
• Read a special report chronicling the trial of these seven Baha’i leaders
• Blog coverage: The Huffington Post, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, America.gov

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On Thursday, August 12, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following statement concerning the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who have each been sentenced to 20 years in prison for their religious beliefs. According to new reports, the seven prisoners have been transferred from Evin prison in Tehran to Gohardasht Prison – also known as Rajaishahr Prison – in Karaj, some 20 kilometers west of the Iranian capital.

From Secretary Clinton’s statement “Persecution of Religious Minorities in Iran”:

The United States is deeply concerned with the Iranian government’s continued persecution of Baha’is and other religious minority communities in Iran.

This week, seven Baha’i leaders, who were incarcerated and held for nearly two years without due process, were each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. The United States strongly condemns this sentencing as a violation of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Freedom of religion is the birthright of people of all faiths and beliefs in all places.  The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran.  We will continue to speak out against injustice and call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens in accordance with its international obligations.

• Media coverage: AFP, CNN’s “Belief” blog, Foreign Policy’s “The Cable” blog

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Today, August 11, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom joined the international outcry on behalf of seven Iranian Baha’is recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for their beliefs.

From the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom statement:

The five Baha’i men and two women had been charged with several baseless and unsubstantiated crimes which carry the death penalty, including espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and spreading “corruption on earth.” Their attorneys are in the process of filing an appeal.

“This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and one more example of how the Iranian regime is a gross violator of human rights and religious freedoms,” said Leonard Leo, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chair. “The prosecutions and sentences are, pure and simple, politically and religiously motivated acts, and the Commission calls for the unconditional release of these seven individuals.”

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Several statements of international support for seven Iranian Baha’is each recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for their religious beliefs have been issued by the governments of Canada, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, the European Parliament and the European Union.

In Canada, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement issued on August 10, “Canada is deeply disturbed by reports that these individuals have now been sentenced to 20-year prison terms on charges of espionage, acting against national security and being enemies of God, and that these sentences were passed without either written judgements or due process. Canada once again urges Iran to grant bail to the seven Bahá’í leaders and to ensure that they are accorded fair treatment, in accordance with international standards. Canada further urges Iran to protect the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran is intolerable and deeply troubling.”

In France, the government was “distressed to learn of yesterday’s sentencing of seven Baha’i leaders to 20 years in prison without parole by a court in Tehran.” Its statement of August 10 further called on the Iranian government to ” release these seven Baha’i leaders immediately” and “to halt the persecution against Baha’is and religious minorities in Iran and to respect the freedom of religion and conscience as defined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran freely signed.”

In Australia, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman told the newspaper Canberra Times in an article published on August 11, “We continue to call on Iran to ensure that all trials are fair and transparent and are conducted in accordance with Iran’s international obligations.”

In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement issued on August 11 that he was “appalled to hear of the 20 year prison sentence handed out to the seven spiritual leaders of the Bahá’í faith in Iran…I call on the Iranian authorities urgently to consider any appeal against this decision, and to cease the harassment of the Bahá’í community.”

European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement issued on August 12, “The European Union expresses its serious concern about the sentencing of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran to 20 years imprisonment and calls for their immediate release. The verdict appears to be based on the defendants belonging to a religious minority and the judicial process was seriously flawed, respecting neither Iran’s international commitments under the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) nor its national legislation regarding fair trial rights.”

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said in a statement issued on August 11, “I am very concerned at this news. The sentences against the representatives of the Baha’i faith are a shocking signal and an immense disappointment for all who have hoped for an improvement of the human rights situation in Iran. We have strong doubts about the fairness and transparency of the judicial procedure and I deeply deplore this. Therefore I call on the relevant authorities to allow a fair and open appeal procedure…”

In the Netherlands, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen said in a statement issued on August 12, “That these people seem to be condemned because of their faith is shocking…I urge the Iranian authorities to abide by their international human rights obligations. The Baha’i leaders have a right to a fair trial and they must be released as soon as possible,” according to a translation provided by the Baha’i World News Service.

In Germany, Markus Löning, commissioner for human rights and humanitarian aid in the Foreign Office of the Federal Government, issued the following statement (provisional translation provided by the Baha’is of Germany):

The prison sentences against the Bahá’í-leaders are a massive setback for all those who engage themselves for the promotion of human dignity and human rights in Iran. There are major doubts as to the compliance with the basic legal rights during the judicial proceedings.

I therefore strongly appeal to the relevant authorities to annul yesterday’s judgment and to provide a fair and transparent court procedure.

Freedom of opinion, religious freedom, the protection of minorities and constitutional judicial proceedings are international obligations, which Iran has committed itself to.

For a long period of time, the German Federal Government has been observing the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran with concern. Together with its EU-partners, it is continually advocating the improvement of their situation as well as the freedom of opinion and religious freedom in Iran.

The religious community of the Bahá’í has been forbidden in Iran since 1983. Their adherents are suffering from massive systematic repressions. The seven leading Bahá’í-members who were arrested in Mai 2008 are accused of espionage, collaboration with Israel and “conspiracy against the national security”.

• Further information about this statement can be found in German at http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/Infoservice/Presse/Web-Archiv.html
• View more statements of international support via Baha’i World News Service
  

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On August 10, Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the reported sentencing of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders each to 20 years in prison. News of their sentences followed six brief court appearances, which began on January 12, 2010, after they had been incarcerated without charges for 20 months. The trial ended on June 14.

Statement from Amnesty International:

Amnesty International has condemned the sentencing of seven members of Iran’s Baha’i religious minority to 20 years in jail on a series of politically motivated charges.

The five men and two women, leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran who were arrested over two years ago, were convicted on Saturday 7 August of crimes including “espionage for Israel”, “insulting religious sanctities” and “propaganda against the system” by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm have denied all the charges against them and lawyers for the seven have indicated that they will appeal.

“This verdict is a sad and damning manifestation of the deeply-rooted discrimination against Baha’is by the Iranian authorities,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director.

“These seven Baha’i leaders, some of whom are elderly, are prisoners of conscience jailed solely on account of their beliefs or peaceful activities on behalf of the persecuted Baha’i minority.”

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Today, August 10, Human Rights Watch issued a public statement calling for the release of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who were reportedly sentenced last Sunday to 20 years in prison for false charges stemming from their religious beliefs.

From the Human Rights Watch statement:

The Iranian judiciary should set aside any judgments issued in closed judicial proceedings against seven Baha’i leaders and release them immediately given that no evidence appears to have ever been presented against them, and they have not been given a fair and public trial, Human Rights Watch said today.

The authorities arrested the seven in May 2008 and severely restricted their access to lawyers and their families. Government officials reportedly informed one of their lawyers in recent days that Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court had sentenced each of the seven to 20 years in prison on charges that include propaganda against the state and espionage.

“For more than two years now the Iranian authorities have utterly failed to provide the slightest shred of evidence indicating any basis for detaining these seven Baha’i leaders, let alone sentencing them to 20 years in prison,” said Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East division at Human Rights Watch.

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Baha’i World News Service– The Baha’i International Community has received reports indicating that seven Iranian Baha’i leaders have each received jail sentences of 20 years.

The two women and five men have been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 – six of them on May 14 and one of them two months earlier.

“If this news proves to be accurate, it represents a deeply shocking outcome to the case of these innocent and harmless people,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“We understand that they have been informed of this sentence and that their lawyers are in the process of launching an appeal,” said Ms. Dugal.

The prisoners – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – were all members of a national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.

• Read the full story from Baha’i World News Service
• Media coverage: CNN, The Los Angeles Times,  Radio Free Europe, Reuters, Religion News Service
• Blog coverage: The Huffington Post, The Houston Chronicle’s “Houston Belief” blog, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights, Iran Press Watch, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, International Federation for Human Rights, Georgetown Security Law Brief, Enduring America

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Baha’i World News Service– The imprisonment of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran has been extended for a further two months, the Baha’i International Community has learned.

The trial of the seven concluded on 14 June. No verdict has yet been given.

“These innocent Baha’is have now been held for more than two years under a series of successive orders for their ‘temporary’ detention, which by law must not exceed two months,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

On 24 July, two days after the most recent two-month prison term concluded, the defense attorneys for the seven once again issued a formal request that the prisoners be released on bail, as permitted under Iranian law.

Since then, the judge presiding over the case has told the prisoners that their detention had once again been extended for two months.

• Read the full story from Baha’i World News Service
• Media coverage: CNN

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Baha’i World News Service– Following the demolition of Baha’i homes in the Iranian village of Ivel – reported last week – there is another story that must also be told: that of sympathetic villagers who have commiserated with their Baha’i neighbors over the injustices they have been forced to endure.

It is also the story of an undaunted spirit and a commitment to social good that continues to enable the Baha’is to transcend their prolonged persecution and be active participants in the social and economic development of their village.

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On June 28, the Persian-language radio station, Radio Farda, broadcast an interview with Mr. Derakhshan, one of the Baha’is whose property was destroyed in the village of Ivel, Iran.

Excerpts from the interview (via Baha’i World News Service) are transcribed below:

Mr. Derakhshan: We had heard some rumours about the destruction of the village and the burning of homes of the Baha’is but did not believe that such a thing could happen. However, we went to the offices of the governor general, the governor and the deputy governor in that district and informed them that this was what [the villagers] had said they were planning to do, and asked whether it was true. We were told not to worry and that there was not such a possibility; we believed them. However, when Mr. Mahmoud Piri and his family were going to [their home] in Ivel, as soon as they arrived in the village he was severely beaten and verbally insulted. He was told that he should not be there. At that point he noticed that they were destroying his home.

Radio Farda: Who were the people who beat and verbally abused Mr. Piri?

Mr. Derakhshan: The local residents – because they had told him that he should immediately leave the area and that he was not to get close…for 48 hours. Unfortunately, with the help of the local residents, they destroyed 50 houses, using four bulldozers. It is shocking to see 50 houses demolished and burned in one instant.

Radio Farda: What is happening to the residents of these homes and what happened to their belongings?

Mr. Derakhshan: Every house we go to, we hear their lamentations. I should mention that these friends were not living there. During the first few years after the revolution, on [28 June 1983], these people were expelled from their homes. They [the residents of the village] told them that they had to convert to Islam; they were imprisoned in a mosque, threatened and beaten with shovels and axes. They were then thrown out of the village.

Since those events, these Baha’is go to the village once a year for two to three days to harvest their crops. Of course they have to obtain a permit from the officials to be able to go there and stay in their own homes for a few days and cultivate their lands, even though most of their lands were confiscated.

Radio Farda: You mean that the owners of these homes and farms were made to obtain permits in order to be allowed to go to their own homes?

Mr. Derakhshan: Precisely. Each time or each year when they wanted to go there they had to obtain permits from the Justice Administration to be allowed to stay in their own homes for two or three days. We complained to a number of authorities concerning this issue and we were treated unkindly. When we went to the office of the deputy governor and told them that they were destroying our homes, we were told that the letters of complaint that we had written were considered to be in opposition to the regime. They even threatened to arrest us. We told them, “Our homes are being demolished right this minute. We are Baha’is and your fellow-citizens. We are not your enemies. We are not from Israel, England or America. By God, we are Iranian citizens. What should we do? God is our witness, we do not know what to do. Please help us.”

Radio Farda: Are the people who are involved in these activities the local residents or some government officials?

Mr. Derakhshan: What do you think? How could 50 homes – each having a wood storage area and a place for keeping animals – be demolished without prior arrangements? We informed [the authorities] before and during the demolition. What do you think the answer is? Besides all our friends [the Baha'i residents of the village] also informed the authorities, but unfortunately nothing was done to prevent this event.

Radio Farda: Do you think that the bulldozers were probably brought by the order of the governor or the deputy governor?

Mr. Derakhshan: We do not know and cannot say that it was ordered by someone. All we know is that unfortunately everything has been completely destroyed. It should be mentioned that when we visited the office of the governor general, we told his deputy that there was a possibility that such an incident may occur. His response amazed us; he said, “The governor general is like a physician in any society, if he feels that there is a malignant tumour in the body of the society he tries to remove it.” I now ask you a question, “How could the Baha’i farmers in the village of Ivel be considered as that malignant tumour?”

This transcript was added on June 29, 2010 to the original Baha’i World News Service report published on June 28.

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Baha’i World News Service– Homes belonging to some 50 Baha’i families in a remote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region.

The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha’i community – blocked normal access to the village, while allowing trucks and at least four front-end loaders to begin leveling the houses.

Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires.

The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha’is.

“They’re being forbidden to associate with Muslims, or even offer service to their friends and neighbours,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

“Even the smallest acts of good will – such as taking flowers to someone who’s sick in hospital or donating gifts to an orphanage – these are being seen as actions against the regime.”

Most of the Baha’i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement.

Members of the Baha’i community have made repeated complaints both before and after the latest incident to local government officials, including to the provincial governor in Sari. In every case, knowledge of the demolitions or the motive behind them was denied.

• News coverage: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC News, Voice of America (Persian), The Guardian
• Other online coverage: The National Review Online

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Baha’i World News Service – The trial of seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran seems to have come to a conclusion after three days of successive court hearings.

The seven appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on the morning of Saturday, 12 June and returned to Evin Prison shortly after noon.

The Court was reconvened the next day, as well as this morning.

“We can confirm that a court session was held today in Tehran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, “and it seems from what we have heard that the trial itself has now concluded. But we have no further information at this time.”

The defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm.

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Baha’i World News Service — On a global day of action highlighting human rights abuses in Iran, the European Union and the Prime Minister of Canada issued strong statements calling for Iran to respect international law.

In a declaration made on behalf of the European Union, its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, said, “We call on Iran to respect fair trial rights as enshrined in article 14 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities and women are other areas of concern.”

“We are disturbed by serious reports of ill-treatment and torture of those detained and imprisoned as well as allegations of forced confessions,” the EU declaration said. “The EU will be closely monitoring the ongoing trial of Baha’i leaders in this regard.”

“We take this opportunity to reassure the people of Iran that they have not been forgotten: the EU will continue to speak out and to call on the Iranian authorities to respect the rights of their citizens in accordance with the international obligations to which they have committed under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties,” the statement concluded.

The EU declaration was issued on Saturday, 12 June – the same day that the seven Baha’i leaders returned to court in Tehran for the start of the fourth session of their trial, which continues today.

Campaigners took to the streets in more than 80 cities worldwide.

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Baha’i World News Service (New Delhi) — On the eve of the fourth court hearing for Iran’s seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders, voices are being raised around the world for them to be freed.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi has addressed Iran’s Supreme Leader calling for the release of the seven, “or at the very least for them to be released on bail and await a fair and open trial in accordance with the international standards of jurisprudence.”

“In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented, as their lawyers have confirmed,” Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao wrote in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dated 5 June 2010.

Yesterday, the social activist and spiritual leader, Swami Agnivesh, led a peaceful procession through the streets of New Delhi to Hyderabad House, a government-owned venue used for major events and press conferences.

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On June 10, U.S. Representatives Frank Wolf and Mark Kirk submitted statements to the Congressional Record, calling for renewed support of seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders in the days preceding their next court session, which is expected to occur on Saturday, June 12 in Tehran.

“The U.S. and the rest of the free world must continue to speak with one voice about the deplorable human rights situation in Iran,” Wolf said in his statement. “We must continue to advocate for due process and a fair trial for these seven Baha’i leaders and for basic rights for the community as a whole which according to the recently released report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, “has long been subject to particularly severe religious violations in Iran.”

“The world cannot turn a blind eye to this regime’s brutal repression of its own people.”

• Download Wolf’s statement as PDF

“The post-election crackdown fully exposed the Iranian regime’s continuing oppression of political dissidents as well as religious and ethnic minorities,” Kirk said in his statement for the Congressional Record.

“In the spring of 2008, seven leaders of the Baha’i community were arrested and detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on charges of ‘‘spreading corruption on earth,’’ among other outrageous falsehoods. They have been incarcerated for 20 months before a show trial can even commence. Moreover, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, as many as 45 members of the Baha’i community are currently imprisoned in Iran solely on the basis of their religious identity. The fourth court appearance of the Baha’i leaders is scheduled for June 12 to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the stolen election.

“The cynicism of the Iranian regime knows no bounds.

“It is time that the United States and the international community hold Iran accountable for denying the fundamental freedoms to its people.”

• Download Kirk’s statement as PDF

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Baha’i World News Service— The  seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran are scheduled to make their fourth court appearance on 12 June, according to the latest update provided by the Baha’i International Community.

The date coincides with the first anniversary of last year’s contested presidential election in Iran, as well as a global day of action aimed at calling attention to human rights abuses in that country.

The trial of the seven began on January 12, 2010, after they had been incarcerated without charge in  Evin prison for 20 months.

At the first hearing, held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, the Baha’is categorically denied charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and “corruption on earth,” among other allegations.

A second appearance on February 7, was concerned mainly with procedural issues.

The third session on April 12, which was purportedly a closed hearing, was adjourned after the seven – with the agreement of their attorneys – refused to be party to the proceedings because of the presence of nonjudicial personnel.

“To have spectators, including a film crew, in a supposedly closed hearing while denying entry to the defendants’ families was unacceptable,” said Diane Ala’i, Baha’i representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “There would be no objection if the trial were to be open and conducted in accordance with international standards.”

“In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented. As their lawyers have confirmed, the defendants are completely innocent and are being persecuted solely for their religious belief,” Ala’i said. “The Iranian government should know that its actions against these innocent citizens are under scrutiny throughout the world.”

“Once again we call for their immediate release,” Ala’i said. “Failing that, the seven should – at the very least – be released on bail pending a fair trial.”

The seven defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Before their imprisonment, they attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran’s Baha’i community, which numbers more than 300,000. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on March 5, 2008, and the others on May 14, 2008.

There are currently some 38 Baha’is in detention in various cities in Iran.

• Read coverage from Radio Free Europe/Radio Farda

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While in Washington, D.C.,  last week, American journalist Roxana Saberi described meeting two Iranian Baha’is during her 100-day incarceration in Evin prison, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

From the article…

At the Northern Virginia Baha’i Center and at a discussion at the National Press Club last week, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi recounted her 100 days in Evin prison between February and May 2009 on espionage charges. While in prison, she says she became close to a number of prisoners of conscience, including the two female Baha’i leaders who have been in jail for more than two years — Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet.

She described the day of her release as bittersweet.

“As they drove me away, I remember turning my head to the side and seeing the prison disappear behind me. And finally, I cried,” Saberi said. “I realized, however, that my tears were not just tears of joy, but they were also tears of sorrow for the many innocent prisoners I was leaving behind. Why was I freed while all these others are still there?”

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On Monday, May 17, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published the following article about the two-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran. Accompanying the story is a video chronicling a photo campaign initiated by the human rights group United4Iran, advocating for the release and fair trail of the seven Baha’i leaders.

From the article…

May 14 marked the second anniversary of the imprisonment of seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran, where they have been held in Evin prison in small cells and solitary confinement. Baha’is around the world gathered in their local communities last weekend to pray for their safety and timely release.

The five male leaders — Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm — share a cell. The two women leaders — Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet — have shared a cell with other female prisoners, including journalist Roxana Saberi.

During a special devotional in Washington, D.C., Shastri Purushotma, a human rights representative from the U.S. Baha’i community, said the seven are in poor condition.

“They get to talk to their families about once a week. It’s usually a 10-minute phone call through glass,” said Purushotma. He said the Baha’i members sit in rooms lighted by one bright light, and only get sunlight and fresh air a few times a week.

• Below, watch a video produced by United4Iran in support of the Baha’is

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