IMHRO condemning trial of 7 Bahá’í leaders in Iran for spying

Iranian Minorities’ Human Rights Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.44

22/02/09

The Iranian government has announced that they will put on trial 7 Bahá’í leaders: Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm, and Mahvash Sabet. All seven were arrested in 2008 and stand accused of spying for Israel. The Iranian prosecutor has, however, written an open letter that has been published by papers in which he asks the security service to persecute Bahá’í believers in Iran[i].

IMHRO finds this request from the prosecutor to be extremely alarming. We fear that it will result in greater widespread persecution of Baha’i’s. We are very concerned about these 7 Bahá’í leaders, sources in Iran have told us that the government is planning a large scale crackdown and arrest of the Bahá’í in Iran.

Reza Washahi a researcher on minorities in Iran told IMHRO the following:

“The Bahá’í have always been persecuted in Iran, but after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Bahá’í faced a new era of terror and persecution. The Iranian government has never recognised Bahá’í as a religion. The government has guided mobs and religious extremists have destroyed their worship and historical places. Many have been murdered in daylight and their cases have never been followed by courts. Bahá’í are banned from employment and higher education and face all sort of social and cultural discrimination.” “It is clear that this is show trial and they persecuted for their faith and nothing else”

IMHRO is appealing to the international community and asks supporters to do the following:

To put a pressure on Iranian government to stop the inhuman treatment of Bahá’í in Iran

To ask the Iranian government to immediately release all the Bahá’í in prison, including the 7 Bahá’í leaders and to so without condition

To request the Iranian government to lift the social and cultural restrictions on Bahá’í in Iran

Actions
Please write to one of the following and express your concern regarding the treatment of Bahá’í in Iran. Ask them to release the Bahá’í prisoners. Remind the Iranian government that they are a signatory party of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Also, please remind them that all of these covenants clearly support the freedom of social life and the freedom of religion

Secretary General United Nations
The Honourable Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Headquarters,
Room S-3800,
New York, NY 10017,
USA

Supreme Leader of Iran
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ms. Navanethem (Navi) Pillay
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland

Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/

European Parliament Human Rights Committee
Ms Hélène FLAUTRE
Bureau d'Hélène Flautre au Parlement Européen,
8G130, rue Wierz,
B-1049, Bruxelles,
Belgique

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave
South of Serah-e Jomhouri,
Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran

Sources

[i] http://news.bahai.org/sites/news.bahai.org/files/documentlibrary/699_03_farsNewsStory090215_en.pdf

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=13489611001