Iran Update

The seven Baha’i leaders in Iran have been moved from Evin Prison after reportedly each being sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Reports indicate that the seven are now incarcerated in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, a facility about 20 kilometers west of Tehran.

Lawyers for the seven were informed that the defendants have been given jail terms of 20 years after being accused of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations. All the charges were completely and categorically rejected. It is understood that lawyers have stated their intention to appeal.

The trial of the seven began on 12 January after they had been incarcerated without charge in Tehran’s Evin prison for 20 months. At the first hearing, they denied all charges against them.

A second appearance on 7 February was concerned mainly with procedural issues. The third session on 12 April, which was 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. Three final morning sessions took place from 12 – 14 June.

The names of the seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

Until their imprisonment, the seven Baha’is were part of an ad hoc group called the Friends in Iran that, in the absence of formal Baha’i leadership, helped attend to the needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in that country. The Friends group has now been disbanded, as have smaller groups that assisted Baha’is at the local level.

Reports that seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have each received prison sentences of 20 years have been met with condemnation from governments and human rights organizations around the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran.” UK Foreign Secretary William Hague described Iran's discrimination against the Baha’is as "completely unacceptable...It is clear that from arrest to sentencing, the Iranian authorities did not follow even their own due process, let alone the international standards to which Iran is committed." Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, said that his country was "deeply disturbed" by the sentences that were "passed without either written judgments or due process." He urged Iran to grant bail to the prisoners.

"That these people seem to be condemned because of their faith is shocking," said Maxime Verhagen, the Netherlands’ Minister of Foreign Affairs. “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." Germany said Iran must annul the judgment and "provide a fair and transparent court procedure." The French Foreign Ministry stated that Iranian authorities should stop persecuting Baha'is and other religious minorities and "respect the freedom of religion and conscience as defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran has freely signed up."

The President of the European Parliament – Jerzy Buzek – called the sentences "a shocking signal and an immense disappointment for all who have hoped for an improvement of the human rights situation in Iran." Australia has also shared its deep concern at the sentences. In a statement, Baroness Catherine Ashton, the Eureopean Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said, “The EU calls on Iran to put an end to the persecution of the Baha'i community.”

International human rights organizations have additionally joined the chorus of protest against the reported prison sentences. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said the sentencing of the Baha'i leaders was "politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law." Amnesty International described the Baha'i leaders as "prisoners of conscience jailed solely on account of their beliefs or peaceful activities on behalf of the persecuted Baha'i minority...The seven were held for months without charge before being subjected to a parody of a trial. They must be immediately released." In a statement, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) asked for the Iranian government to "act in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as international human rights instruments ratified by the Islamic Republic of Iran." Human Rights Watch demanded the Iranian judiciary to release the seven immediately "given that no evidence appears to have ever been presented against them, and they have not been given a fair and public trial."

The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva conducted the Universal Periodic Review of Iran in February. A number of countries and international human rights organizations expressed concern over Iran’s deteriorating human rights record. See article at http://news.bahai.org/story/757.

The European Parliament adopted a detailed resolution about Iran in which it strongly condemned Iran’s human rights abuses. The resolution, dated 10 February, included mention of the Baha’is and other minority groups whose rights are denied, including Sunnis, Christians, Kurdish, Azeri, Baluch, and Arabs.

(For details of these and many other statements, see separate section on international reaction. Some of the media reports can be viewed here.)

In recent years, there has been an increase in false portrayals of the Baha’is in the press, on radio, television and even in scholarly publications. Since 2005, for example, the semi-official Kayhan newspaper has run more than 200 false, misleading or incendiary articles about Baha’i teachings, history and activities – an effort that has been echoed on television and radio. The Kayhan articles engage in a deliberate distortion of history, make use of fake historical documents, and falsely describe Baha’i moral principles in a manner that would be offensive to Muslims.

Recently an anti-Baha'i tract, titled "Supporters of Satan", has been widely distributed in the city of Kerman. The tract purveys the usual misrepresentations of Baha'i history and the Faith's principles, falsely asserting that it was a creation of the British and is intimately linked with Zionism.

Homes belonging to some 50 Baha'i families in a remote village in northern Iran were 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.

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. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched. The day after the demolitions took place, a Baha'i man who visited the site with his family to harvest his produce was beaten and insulted by other residents. In the past, those who are trying to drive the Baha'is out have set upon them when they tried to enter the neighborhood to rebuild or renovate their properties.

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.

The news captured the attention of the world’s news media and online news services, including CNN and a host of Persian language services, including BBC Persian. Among the English language services that reported the story was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which ran a story on 29 June with the headline “Baha'i Houses Demolished In Iran.” It also carried video which had been obtained by Human Rights Activists of Iran. The National Review Online also ran a story on 29 June with the headline “Regime Razes Bahai Homes in Iran". Several of the websites offered places for commentary by readers, and many individuals around the world took the time to express a sense of outrage over the incident.

Almost 60 Iranian Baha’is have been arrested since the beginning of the year in a total of 14 different cities and towns.

One family has been particularly affected in the past year or two. Seven relatives of Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani – one of the seven leaders imprisoned in Tehran since 2008 – have been detained in three different cities. Those arrested include a son, nephew, grandnephew, grandson, granddaughter, the granddaughter’s husband, and a niece’s husband. Most of them have gained temporary release by putting up exorbitant amounts of collateral, mainly property deeds, for bail.

Altogether, so far in 2010, detentions have occurred in Babolsar, Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Marvdasht, Mashhad, Nazarabad, Parsabad, Sari, Semnan, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Tehran, and Yazd.

Other cities where Baha’is were arrested last year included Babol, Bushehr, Delijan, Ghaemshahr, Hamadan, Kashan, Kerman, Khorramabad, Khouzestan, Mahforouzak, Miandoab, Najafabad, Qazvin, Tonekabon, and Yasouj.

Most of the detentions followed the familiar pattern of agents of the Ministry of Intelligence showing up at the homes of Baha’is, searching the premises and confiscating items such as computers and books, then arresting the residents.

Trumped-up charges against Baha’is are used to justify arrests. A Baha’i woman in Semnan was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for, among other things, “membership in anti-regime groups associated with Baha’is.”

There are about 50 Iranian Baha’is currently in prison because of their religion.

The number of Baha’is in detention varies as new people are arrested but others released after posting cash, property deeds, or business licenses as collateral.

In one case in Tehran, a man was arrested in January, allowed out on bail on 3 April, taken back into custody a few days later after officials said his release was a “mistake,” then forced to put up collateral again to gain temporary release. Cases of a Baha’i being detained repeatedly – with collateral required for each release and never returned – are becoming more common.

To date, the cases of some 260 Baha’is were still active with authorities. These include individuals in prison, those who have been released pending trial, those who have appealed their verdicts, those awaiting notification to begin serving prison sentences, and a few who are serving periods of internal exile. Thousands more have been questioned, threatened, or deprived of pensions, livelihood, or education.

Economic pressure is acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha’is. Numerous cases have been reported of long-time shop owners being forced to surrender business licenses under threat of arrest.

Optical shops owned by Baha’is have been particularly targeted. Two such shops in Tehran recently received warning letters from the Opticians’ Trade Union to close down. Earlier, optical shops in Khomein and Rafsanjan were forced to close. In Nazarabad, the operator of one of five optical stores owned by Baha’is– shops that were closed by authorities well over a year ago – managed to get a court verdict allowing her to reopen, but the Ministry of Intelligence prevented her from doing so.

Government jobs are denied to Baha’is, and Muslims often are pressured to fire Baha’is in their employ.

Authorities also use the tactic of arresting Baha’is and demanding huge sums of money, or the equivalent in property deeds for bail, as a method of impoverishing the Baha’is.

The vandalization of Baha’i cemeteries continues. In recent weeks, it was reported that, on more than one occasion, truckloads of construction refuse and soil were dumped on graves in the Baha'i cemetery of Boroujerd.

The Baha’i cemetery in Mashhad was vandalized on the night of 29 May by unknown intruders who used a front-end loader and other heavy machinery. The cemetery’s walls, the mortuary, and the place where the prayers were recited were severely damaged.

Harassment over Baha’i burials and the desecration of cemeteries are clear indications that the persecution is based solely on religion and not the result of any threat posed by Baha’is, as officials sometimes claim. In the past year or so, Baha’i cemeteries in Tehran, Ghaemshahr, Marvdasht, Semnan, Sari, and Isfahan have been defaced, bulldozed, or in some way blocked to the Baha’i community. In late April, a small Baha’i cemetery in Gilavand with only four graves was desecrated by intruders using a tractor; all four tombs were destroyed. Earlier, in March, a Baha’i family in Najafabad was prevented from burying a loved one in the Baha’i cemetery there, despite their having secured a permit to do so.

Universities and other institutions of higher education to a large extent remain closed to Baha’i students. In recent years, those who do manage to get admitted generally have been expelled during the course of their first year. In an unusual case at Tarbiyyat Moallem University in Tehran, two Baha’is were able to get to their eighth semester but in February were finally expelled; one of them was told openly that by law, Baha’is have no right to post-secondary education.

Other recent expulsions have occurred in Semnan, Zanjan, Yazd, Gonbad, Khoramshahr, and Chabahar. There are continuing reports of youth being denied enrollment in high schools and even primary schools, and of students being harassed by teachers and other officials.

Just recently in Karaj, the parents of a first-year high school student were told that she would be expelled unless they signed an agreement that would force her to take part in the school’s political and religious events.

Harassment of Baha’is is pervasive and includes many incidents of all of the following:

• Arrests and detention, with imprisonment lasting for days, months, or years. In cases where the Baha’i is released, substantial bail is often required.
• Direct intimidation and questioning by authorities, sometimes with the use of high-intensity lights and physical mistreatment.
• Searches of homes and business, usually with Baha’i books and other items confiscated.
• School expulsions and harassment of schoolchildren.
• Prohibition on Baha’is attending universities.
• Court proceedings where Baha’is are accused of promoting propaganda against the government “for the benefit of the Bahaist sect.”
• Monitoring of the bank accounts, movement, and activities of Baha’is, including official questioning of Baha’is requiring them to give information about their lives, actions, neighbors, etc.
• Denial or confiscation of business licenses.
• Denial of work opportunities in general.
• Denial of rightful inheritances to Baha’is.
• Physical assaults, and efforts to drive Baha’is out of towns and villages.
• Desecration and destruction of Baha’i cemeteries, and harassment over burial rights.
• Dissemination, including in official news media, of misinformation about Baha’is, and incitement of hatred against Baha’is.
• Evictions from places of business, including Baha’i doctors from their offices and clinics.
• Intimidation of Muslims who associate with Baha’is.
• Attempts by authorities to get Baha’is to spy on other Baha’is.
• Threatening phone calls and letters to Baha’is.
• Denial of pension benefits.
• Denial of access to publishing or copying facilities for Baha’i literature.
• Confiscation of property.