[Editor: Dr. Payam Akhavan is a Founder and Board Member of Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre:

Payam Akhavan, LL.B., LL.M, S.J.D. (Professor, McGill University Faculty of Law): Payam Akhavan is Professor of International Law at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He earned his Doctorate from Harvard Law School and was previously Senior Fellow at Yale Law School and Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous publications and his 2001 article "Beyond Impunity" in the American Journal of International Law has been recognized as one of “the most significant published journal essays in contemporary legal studies.”

See http://www.iranhrdc.org/httpdocs/English/boardmembers.htm]

The Baha’i Community, Human Rights, and the Construction of a New Iranian Identity
A Lecture by Dr. Payam Akhavan in Chicago

February 24th, 2010

Human rights and Iranian identity

What does it mean to be Iranian? What does it mean to be a human being? These are the questions confronting theIranian

people at this crucial juncture in their long history. In the incredible and unforgettable scenes that have unfolded in the streets of Tehran, and Isfahan, and Shiraz, and Tabriz, and Mashhad, and Ahvaz, and every other city and town in Iran, we are witnessing a struggle far greater than a mere political contest between different presidential candidates. We are witnessing a struggle for the soul of the nation; a struggle to build a new identity for the Iranian people. The encounter between the protestors and their tormentors is an encounter between the dark past and the bright future. It is an encounter between violence and non-violence, between the courage of those that are willing to sacrifice their lives for justice, and the cowardice of those that savagely beat and murder the defenseless. It is an encounter between the best and worst potentials inherent in humankind.

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Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens’ Rights: Excerpt from the Iranian legal framework.

[Editor’s Note: Iran Press Watch has recently published a number of articles by qualified authors in an effort to make the Iranian legal framework accessible to the readers. Recently, in this series you can read “Iranian Islam, not the Yaran, on trial in the court of international opinion,” and “The Trial of the Yaran under Iranian Criminal Procedure: ‘The Justice of God’ or Procedural Injustice?” by Dr. Christopher Buck. Now we are happy to provide a translation of a portion of a piece of legislation, “Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens' Rights,” adopted in Iran on 4th of May, 2004. The translation is by Mr. Omid Ghaemmaghami, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto.]

Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens’ Rights

“Single Act”: From the date of the adoption of this statute, all public tribunals, Revolutionary Courts, military courts, public prosecutor offices, and judicial officials are bound to observe the provisions articulated below in carrying out their legal duties. Violators will be prosecuted to face punishment, as prescribed by law.

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THE TRIAL OF THE YARAN UNDER IRANIAN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: “THE JUSTICE OF GOD” OR PROCEDURAL INJUSTICE?

by Christopher Buck, Ph.D., J.D.

[Editor: Iran Press Watch welcomes back Dr. Christopher Buck, a distinguished legal scholar. While most writers expose the injustice of Iranian practice in contrast with the international practice, Dr. Buck demonstrates how the current treatment of the Yaran is even problematic within the context of Iran's own legal framework. Dr Buck's article comes in a critical time when in two short days, on the 7th of February, 2010, the second trial of Yaran is scheduled to take place. The Baha'i Communities around the world are holding devotional gatherings as a response to the call of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Baha'i Community: "The prayers offered by the  [Baha'is] … worldwide have been a constant source of comfort and support to the  former members of the Yaran who have withstood their long ordeal with heroic  fortitude and patience.” With these thoughts in mind we invite you to consider the discourse by Dr. Buck.]

Part I:
The “Justice of Islam,” Jurisdiction and Venue, Prosecution and Indictment

The trial of the Yaran, the “first session” of which took place on January 12, 2010, is being conducted under the current system of Iranian criminal procedure, a creature of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Just as my previous article, “Iranian Islam, not the Yaran, on trial in the court of international opinion” (published by Iran Press Watch on January 12, 2010, the day of the first session of the trial of the Yaran), was an effort to show how the treatment of the Yaran reflects poorly on Iranian Islam inasmuch as the “Justice of Islam” is concerned, the present article demonstrates how, by Iranian legal standards, the treatment of the Yaran is in clear violation of the current Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its existing Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP).

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Editor’s Note:  A series of gatherings is organized across the United States in support of the Baha’is of Iran and in preparation for the October 18 trial of the seven former Baha’i leaders of that country.  The latest of these events was held in Washington D.C. on September 12, 2009.  A report of that gathering is shared below:

Speaking to a crowd of over 1,400 people packed into The George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium on September 12, Dr. Azar Nafisi, best-selling author; Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar-nominated actress; and Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, joined the swelling worldwide chorus speaking out for human rights in Iran. On this particular evening, their message focused on Iran’s long-suffering Baha’i religious minority.

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In anticipation of the upcoming trial of the seven former leaders of the Baha’i community of Iran, known as the Yaran, meaning friends, Iran Press Watch is pleased to publish the following short biographical profiles of these brave men and women are provided below.  They are presently held in the most dreadful conditions in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran (see IranPressWatch1).  Six were arrested in their homes in Tehran on May 14, 2008.  A seventh had been arrested earlier, on March 5, 2008, while visiting Mashhad.

All have been held without official charges, although reports through the semi-official ISNA news agency state that the cases would be sent to the revolutionary courts with accusations of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” A fourth charge of “corruption on earth” has also been mentioned. 

As the profiles will show, all have served Iranian society and also the Baha’i community extensively.  As well, like most Iranian Baha’is, they have all experienced varying degrees of persecution since the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979. 

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Editor’s Note:  Dr. Naficy is a well-known Iranian poet, writer, and human rights and political activist.  In April of this year, he wrote a brilliant essay, which Iran Press Watch was pleased to share extracts of which in translation (ipw1, ipw2, and ipw3).  Dr. Naficy has graciously provided this site with a full translation of his essay and Iran Press Watch is pleased to bring this seminal article to the attention of its readers.

By Dr. Majid Naficy

Recently, a letter was published over the signature of 42 Iranian intellectuals addressed to the Baha’i community and proclaiming “one and a half century of persecution and our silence is enough”.  The title of the letter was We are Ashamed.

Over a month ago, Mr. Khosro Shemiranie sent this letter to me to sign.  Even though from the age of fourteen I have been saddened by what Baha’is have been going through and I have written about it, I responded that I could not sign it since it was instigated by a “feeling of shame” and “collective sin” and not “seeking justice and freedom of conscience”.  I added, “If you reword this letter in which the phrase ‘We are Ashamed’ is repeated thirteen times and change it to ‘We arise to defend the rights of Baha’is’, you can be sure that I will sign it without any hesitation.”

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According to a study by the Sentinel Project, genocide can be predicted. Christopher Tuckwood concludes in this study that the Iranian regime is making certain preparations in order to perform an act of genocide on Iranian Baha’is when the political order is given.

The following text is based on the central statements made in a study by the Sentinel Project, in which it is convincingly put that certain factors make an act of genocide against the Baha’is probable.

From the very beginning of its existence the members of the Baha’i faith were persecuted. Human rights were not respected prior to the Islamic Revolution, but since 1979 the human rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated.

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The Sentinel Project has released a report highlighting the risk of genocide to Iranian Baha’is. The document, entitled “Preliminary Assessment: The Threat of Genocide to the Baha’is of Iran,” details background information, the preconditions for genocide in Iran, the potential perpetrators, and triggers. The level of genocidal development is assessed according to the well-known “Eight Stages of Genocide Model” developed by Dr. Gregory Stanton. The threat level is high and this report offers little good news, but understanding the threat is the first step to reducing it and preventing genocide in Iran.

“This situation has made Iranian Baha’is an extremely vulnerable, dehumanized, and threatened minority. The Iranian government appears bent on destroying the Baha’i religion itself and coercing its followers to convert to Islam but it is also highly likely that, under certain circumstances, they may turn to even more violent means and seek to physically exterminate the Baha’i population.”

Download as PDF: The Threat of Genocide to the Baha’is of Iran

Editors’ Note: Today, June 18, marks the anniversary of martyrdom of 10 brave and devoted Baha’i ladies in Shiraz.  Iran Press Watch is pleased to mark their sacrifice of love with the following essay.

Dedicated to the loving memory of the 10 women who were put to death in Shiraz on 18 June 1983 because of their adherence to the Baha’i Faith!

Pondering upon the voyage that has led humankind to its present-day place and purpose, one cannot overlook the reality that advancement and innovation, nobility and fulfilment, comfort and gratification, have all come to us by means of supreme sacrifice.

Many have walked the face of the earth throughout the years and centuries, and — partaking of the provisions and treasures offered by creation — have passed into the vastness of forgetfulness; yet there are those who have covered – with mighty strides – the same distance in order to leave behind a mark of distinction, not only by the way they lived but also by the manner in which they died … Those who have not merely walked upon the earth, but rather irrigated it with the tide of love that has surged in their hearts for humanity.

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Without mincing words, the story of Semnan is a chilling tale of organized, religiously motivated action against Baha’is. There is a subset of the population which is different only in belief; well-wishers of the nation, productive members of society. Actions against them in the past two years have become more ominous, with spontaneous acts of the ignorant replaced and bolstered by an actively organized campaign designed to whip the populace into a frenzy: both to perpetrate crimes against and to applaud injustice towards the hapless, harmless Baha’is.

Iran is a vast country, and the long story of the persecution of the Baha’is spans its breadth for over 150 years; it is difficult to grasp so much history in its totality, so I won’t presume to deal with it. However, the past few years have witnessed a surge in coordinated attacks on Baha’is throughout Iran. So let me present that story in a manageable format – call this the Cliff-notes. Semnan is a model of this intensification – the outrages in this city of 120,000 are generalizable to the nation as a whole. I wish I were making this up, or being dramatic.

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