The report – titled "Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is" – documents and analyzes more than 400 press and media items between late 2009 and early 2011, which clearly expose Iran's state-sponsored effort to vilify its largest non-Muslim religious minority.

[BWNS, 21 Oct. 2011] NEW YORK — In a wide-ranging media campaign that has gone largely unnoticed outside of Iran, hatred and discrimination are being systematically stirred up against the country’s 300,000-member Baha’i minority.

In a report released today, the Baha’i International Community documents and analyzes more than 400 press and media items over a 16-month period, that typify an insidious state-sponsored effort to demonize and vilify Baha’is, using false accusations, inflammatory terminology, and repugnant imagery.

Read the full report here (PDF) [click here for the PDF from Iran Press Watch repository]

“This anti-Baha’i propaganda is shocking in its volume and vehemence, its scope and sophistication,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“It’s all cynically calculated to stir up antagonism against a peaceful religious community whose members are striving to contribute to the well-being of their society,” she said.

Titled Inciting Hatred: Iran’s media campaign to demonize Baha’is, the report’s main conclusions are:

• anti-Baha’i propaganda originates with – and is sanctioned by – the country’s highest levels of leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who gave a highly discriminatory speech in the holy city of Qom a year ago;

• the campaign spurns international human rights law and norms, including a precedent-setting resolution passed earlier this year at the United Nations Human Rights Council that specifically condemns and combats the negative stereotyping and incitement to hatred of religious minorities;

• Baha’is are branded as “outsiders” in their own land and as enemies of Islam in a manner that is clearly calculated to provoke the religious sensibilities of Iranian Shiite Muslims;

• the campaign aims to deflect attention away from calls for democracy in Iran by using Baha’is as an all-purpose “scapegoat” – and, in so doing, to smear those who oppose the government as well as human rights campaigners as Baha’is, “as if that were the most heinous crime.”

• the authorities disseminate ludicrous conspiracy theories including that foreign broadcasters, in particular the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA), are controlled by or under the influence of Baha’is because they report stories about human rights violations in Iran;

“The diverse content of these attacks demonstrates tremendous effort and commitment of resources by the Islamic Republic,” says the report.

“Many attacks are built on gross distortions of Baha’i history; some attempt a strategy of guilt by association through lumping Baha’is together with completely unrelated groups – such as ‘Satanists’ or the Shah’s secret police; still others deploy a tactic of connecting Baha’is with ‘opponents’ of the regime, which allows the Government to discredit both the Baha’is and its opponents in a single transaction. The campaign makes extensive use of the World Wide Web, and often uses graphic images that portray Baha’is as fiendish ghouls or agents of Israel.”

Bani Dugal said the demonization of Iran’s Baha’i community is a matter that deserves the attention of governments, international legal institutions, and fair-minded people everywhere.

“The campaign not only clearly violates international human rights law,” she said, “it also utterly contradicts Iran’s long-standing claim at the UN and elsewhere that it is working to support measures to outlaw or condemn hate speech directed against religions or religious followers.”

“The parallels between the campaign of anti-Baha’i propaganda in Iran today and other state-sponsored, anti-religious campaigns of the past are undeniable. History shows us that such campaigns are among the foremost predictors of actual violence against religious minorities – or, in the worst case, precursors of genocide.

“It is time for Iran to be told that such egregious violations of international law and norms cannot be tolerated,” said Ms. Dugal.

Special Section – Inciting Hatred: Iran’s media campaign to demonize Bahá’ís

A Special Section of the Baha’i International Community United Nations Office website presents the full report, Inciting Hatred: Iran’s media campaign to demonize Bahá’ís in English and Persian, as well as an online only 197-page appendix that summarizes each of the 400-plus documents or articles that were collected during the period of this survey, from 17 December 2009 to 16 May 2011.

—

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/861

“While Iran’s leaders hypocritally claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing.” — U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Victoria Nuland

Read entire editorial here.

Excerpt

Earlier this month, Iranian authorities reportedly refused to allow a Baha’i family to bury a relative according to Baha’i tradition; instead, they insisted on performing a Muslim burial.  That would be a new level of affront and disrespect, and it follows repeated desecration of Baha’i cemeteries over the years.

Baha’is are not the only religious group subjected to persecution in Iran. Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, – even dissident Shiite clerics who believe that the political and religious realms should be kept separate – suffer from egregious violations of their human rights.

State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland recently voiced concern over the persecution of religious minorities in Iran: “While Iran’s leaders hypocriticallyclaim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing,” said Ms. Nuland. “We join the international community in continuing to call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens and uphold its international commitments to protect them.”

—

Source: http://iran.bahai.us/2011/08/18/voa-editorial-more-religious-persecution-in-iran/

]]> http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8245/feed 0 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6774 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6774#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:39:25 +0000 editor http://www.iranpresswatch.org/?p=6774 (BWNS 16 Sep 2010)

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Some 400 people, including numerous human rights advocates, attended an event on Sunday 12 September at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate calling for the release of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders, each initially sentenced to 20 years in prison.

GENEVA — The call to release seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – whose prison sentences have reportedly been reduced to 10-years each – is spreading around the world.

Prominent figures in India, medical professionals in Austria, a Muslim leader in El Salvador and human rights activists in Germany have added their voices to the concern already expressed by numerous governments and non-governmental organizations who have publicly condemned the sentences.

In an open letter, 31 leading figures from India’s religious communities, judiciary, civil society organizations and academia, wrote that the “only crime that these seven individuals – two women and five men, the oldest among them being 77 years old – have committed is that they are Baha’is. They are peace-loving and obedient to the law of their land and have worked for the betterment of Iranian society.”

The letter, dated 31 August, was sent by Maja Daruwala, the Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, to the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to India.

“India and Iran have had historic ties of language, poetry, architecture, music and religion,” the letter said. “In the name of these ancient ties that bind our two nations, we call on the Government of Iran to act according to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which it has ratified. These provisions mandate the upholding of the principles of justice and freedom – principles cherished by all great religions of the world and all nations.”

“In speaking up for these seven Baha’i leaders we are therefore also standing up for the 300,000 Iranian Baha’is, who constitute that country’s largest religious minority, whose lives have been blighted and whose progress has been crippled by the injustices that have so systematically and remorselessly been visited upon them,” they wrote.

Medical Professionals for Human Rights in Iran

In Austria, a group called Medical Professionals for Human Rights in Iran have also issued an open letter, addressed to Iran’s Head of Judiciary, Sadeq Larijani.

The letter – signed by Dr. Ali Gushih, Professor Dr. Sirus Mirza’i and Professor Dr. Mihrdad Baghistaniyan – calls for the “seven leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran” to be released as soon as possible.

Among other requests, the letter asks that the human rights of all Iranian citizens be respected and for a stop to arbitrary arrests and raids on people’s homes.

Day of action in Berlin

The sentencing of the seven was also protested at a large gathering held on 12 September in Berlin, Germany, which included participation by some 400 people, including numerous human rights advocates.

In front of the city’s historic Brandenburg Gate, Markus Loning, Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany, stressed that the continuous flouting of human rights in Iran cannot be tolerated: “We will not tolerate how in Iran, with its civilization and culture, human rights are still disregarded and trampled upon.”

Claudia Roth, chair of Germany’s Green Party, called the arrest and conviction of the seven Baha’is, “an act of sheer arbitrariness and nothing else”.

Freedom of faith and religion are not acts of “mercy of those in power” or “governmental clemency”, said Ms. Roth, but a “cornerstone of the human rights conventions of the present.”

Frauke Seidensticker, deputy director of the German Institute for Human Rights, stressed the obligation of the Iranian government to honor its commitments to article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The Baha’i community is distinguished by speaking out for the human rights not only of its own members but also for others whose human rights are violated. Therefore they deserve our solidarity and our deepest respect,” she said.

The event, organised by the human rights network United4Iran, included the display of messages of solidarity, spelled out in one meter high letters.

Other action

Sheikh Abderrahman Agdaou of El Salvador’s Muslim community has also spoken up for the seven prisoners. In a message posted on 9 August on a personal, online social network page, Sheikh Abderrahman wrote of his hope that the seven would be freed, and that the Iranian authorities would be illumined “so that these persons may live free as God created them.”

In Australia, the Australian Partnership of Religious Organizations (APRO) added its support to “deep concern” already expressed by the Australian government at the sentencing of the Baha’i leaders.

“We call on the Iranian government to respect and protect the right of all Iranians, including Baha’is and other religious minorities, to profess and practise the religion of their choice,” APRO wrote on 8 September.

There has also been extensive press coverage of the sentence around the world.

An opinion piece published on 29 August in the European edition of the Wall Street Journal, titled “Why Iran’s Bahai Matter”, said: “For more than three decades, the Bahai have formed the ground zero for repression in Iran. Rights groups say there is no evidence for the charges against the Bahai leaders, though Tehran’s accusations should tell you all you need to know about who they are. The followers of this 19th-century religion hold unity among peoples as their main tenet. That, combined with their spiritual base in Israel, has made them the heretics that ayatollahs love to hate.”

An article by American journalist Roxana Saberi – who was charged and imprisoned after allegations of espionage in Iran – praised the courage and spirit of the two women among the jailed Baha’i leaders. Ms. Saberi shared a cell with Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi in Tehran’s Evin Prison early last year.

“I came to see them as my sisters, women whose only crimes were to peacefully practice their religion and resist pressure from their captors to compromise their principles,” wrote Ms. Saberi.

“They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians…,” wrote Ms. Saberi in The Washington Post on 28 August . “I know that despite what they have been through and what lies ahead, these women feel no hatred in their hearts. When I struggled not to despise my interrogators and the judge, Mahvash and Fariba told me they do not hate anyone, not even their captors.”

The seven Baha’i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – denied all the allegations made against them which included espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.

They are now incarcerated in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, some 20 kilometers west of Tehran.

The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America, as well as the European Union and the President of the European Parliament, earlier condemned the harsh sentences received by the seven.

Groups focused specifically on human rights have also launched letter-writing campaigns encouraging supporters to call for justice. See http://news.bahai.org/story/787,http://news.bahai.org/story/788 and http://news.bahai.org/story/790.

Special Report – “The Trial of the Seven Baha’i Leaders”

The Baha’i World News Service has published a Special Report which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing – and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community.

The International Reaction page of the Baha’i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. TheMedia Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

—

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/794

The Funk family, Sharaf (left) and Mahnaz, along with their children Jinan, 14, Shahd, 11, and Bahhaj, 8, are concerned about a relative who is in an Iranian prison. She is pictured at the far right in the photo that Bahhaj is holding.

Denial of an education, of jobs, of passports for emigration.

That scenario of religious repression in present-day Iran should sound familiar to the Christian-based West.

And the recent trial and 20-year sentences meted out to seven Baha’is in Iran is just the latest outrage against humanity in a country where the first declaration of human rights was made more than a thousand years ago.

Mahnaz Funk, a member of the Baha’i community in Chilliwack, says she knows “very well how unjust the Iranian government is to Baha’is” as her own aunt was jailed for no reason, he father denied the right to work, and her friends denied the right to go to school because of their faith.

Now she consoles her cousin Hedieh Abbasi, whose aunt [Mrs. Mahvash Sabet – arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008] is imprisoned with six other elderly Baha’i.

“She was arrested just because of being Baha’i,” Abbasi said in a telephone interview Thursday from Seattle.

“I’m not sure how we can help her – we’re all the way on the other side of the world,” she said.

“But I think if we talk loud about it, make them more aware that what they do is not how they should deal with human beings,” she added, “maybe it will make them more aware the whole world is not happy with what they do and they might stop.”

Chilliwack, British Columbia

She urged Chilliwack residents to email their local MP – or the Iranian government directly – and make their views known.

They would not be alone.

In June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called on Iran to “cease persecuting” the Baha’i community. [also see Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6338]

“Iran’s continued, blatant disregard for the rights of its citizens must end,” he said.

The governments of the United States, Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have also condemned the harsh 20-year sentences.

But such treatment is “nothing new” to Baha’is living in Iran, Funk said, as the government has tried to “systematically” rid the country of the troublesome faith.

“There is no priest or mullah or head of the (Baha’i) faith who interprets the writings of Baha’u’llah on our behalf,” explains Sharaf, Funk’s California-born husband.

Each Baha’i is expected to search out the Truth for themselves, and to accept all religions, an idea which did not sit well with the revolutionary plans of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 to create an Islamic nation.

Thousands of Baha’i were put to death by the revolution’s leaders “to protect their own power,” Mahnaz said.

“We want the people of the world to know who are Baha’i, to conduct an independent investigation of the Truth for themselves,” she said.

“At least they will know who we are.”

A public prayer meeting is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Chilliwack library.

rfreeman@theprogress.com
—
Source: http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/theprogress/news/102627179.html

According to these reports, on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, four (4) of the Yaran were transferred to room 17 in Section 6 of this notorious prison. One of the four has been identified as Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli.

Based on these reports, in order to humiliate the Baha’is and put them under further psychological pressure, the Mafia-like gangs incarcerated in the same facility have began to refer to the Yaran as “infidels”. They have also tried to pressure other prisoners to insult and belittle the newly-arrived Baha’is, but it appears that most other prisoners have so far refused to comply with this suggestion. In fact, it is reported that most other prisoners are showing considerable respect to the Baha’is and try to be hospitable.

Section 6 is infamous in human rights circles, and the fact that some of the Yaran have been transferred there is deeply worrying. Often this section is a scene of bloody fighting among prisoners, and it is considered extremely dangerous. It is where certain political prisoners are sent to vanish. In the most recent clash among the prisoners in this section, 40 prisoners were injured, 10 of them so badly that they had to be transferred to outside hospitals for treatment.

Since the sentencing of the 20 years of imprisonment for these 7 Baha’is, the Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, many Governments of the world, United Nations, European Community, many international humanitarian organizations, religious leaders, well-known individuals and people around the world have strongly denounced the manifestly inhumane treatment of the seven Baha’i prisoners, the unjust sentence against them and condemned their banishment to Raja’i prison in Gohardasht (see Iran Press Watch for complete listings of the said announcements).

Editor,
Iran Press Watch.

Rozita Vasseghi: Baha'i prisoner, sentenced to 5 years prison

The first of the e-mails received was regarding Rozita Vasseghi, a Baha’i prisoner detained in a Mashhad prison who is, according to her sister, in poor health. Read below to learn more about Rozita’s case status and take action on her behalf.

Mashhad (Persian: مشهد, ‹Mašhad›, literally the place of martyrdom) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world.

Rozita’s seventy-year-old mother, who has witnessed the ongoing persecution of her family, bailed out her daughter by leveraging their home. Rozita was released from prison, and while awaiting her court hearing, endured several home invasions and episodes of property confiscation.

Rozita was summoned, with several other members of the Baha’i community, in January 2010 to hear the court’s decision on their fates. Rozita received a 5 year prison term and banned from leaving Iran for 10 years.

Despite an appeal, she was taken into custody again in March 2010. Detained in solitary confinement, her health is said to be deteriorating rapidly.

Rosa Vasseghi, Rozita’s sister, wrote in an e-mail request to highlight her sister’s case:

[Rozita] is not in good situation and she is very sick. She can not have visitors, maybe because they don’t want [us to] know what happened to her. As you know, she [has lost too] much weight, [has] feet problems, [and]  very low blood pressure. Also, we found [that] she has teeth and eyes problems [after] she called mum and asked her to send some dates and carrots…

Badge for Rozita Vasseghi

In the below open letter, Rosa highlights her sister’s condition and situation in detail:

I am a Baha’i refugee from Iran living in Australia, persecuted and eventually driven out of my country by the government which came to power in the revolution in 1979. I am urgently trying to bring to the world’s attention the increasingly desperate plight of Baha’is in Iran. Members of the Baha’i Faith have been systematically persecuted for the last three decades.

When the revolution happened in Iran most people lost their freedom. Baha’i people in particular were persecuted – many were tortured and imprisoned; some two hundred lost their lives. Our right to work, study, worship and live normal human lives as Iranian citizens was taken from us.

The experiences endured by my family and me over the years may serve to reflect the experiences of the whole Baha’i community. Before the revolution my father worked in the courts. After the revolution he had to retire. When he had retired the government stopped his retirement benefits and demanded repayment of salaries paid by the previous government. We were forced to leave our home.

When the new government took power they didn’t let me continue my studies or my work which took away my future. In 1986 they arrested me and put me in prison for some time where they physically and mentally tortured me. They told to me they would do something to me that I would always remember them by; and they did. They tortured and killed many people (people I did not know) in front of my eyes and these memories still haunt me today. My only crime was to be a Baha’i. Finally they made it impossible for me to be in Iran and eventually I was able to come to Australia.

A picture of Rozita Vasseghi shared by her sister, Rosa

In 2005 they arrested my sister, Rozita Vasseghi, who was imprisoned for nearly one month (27 days); her only crime was to be a Baha’i. My mother put her house up for bail and Rozita, who lives with my mother, was released from prison and awaited her court hearing. Authorities went many times to their house and confiscated many items of my sister ‘s property. My mother is in her seventies and had to witness this persecution.
In the first week of January 2010 in Mashhad, they summoned Rozita and eight other Baha’is and read to them their court decision, refusing to allow them to have copies. My sister and her friends all received 5 year jail sentences and for 10 years they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country. They gave them 21 days to appeal to the court. My sister and her friends appealed their sentences.

Suddenly on March 15th 2010, at about 7:00 in the morning, the authorities went to my mother’s house again, confiscated many of Rozita’s belongings and took her into custody. Even though my mother had just had an operation, she went to many places searching for her daughter, asking why she had been arrested. It was not until almost two months later, on May 9th 2010, that she was given any information about her daughter and allowed to visit her for ten minutes.

Almost five months ago my mother told me that the appeal by my sister and four of her friends to reduce their initial sentences was not successful. Rozita and one of her friends had been incarcerated since March this year, notwithstanding that their cases were still under appeal. Rozita has been detained, in solitary confinement in a Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Mashhad even though her name is listed in the normal prison system. Her health is seriously deteriorating. She has lost too much weight, has low blood pressure and she is suffering pain in her body, especially in her feet.

Five days a week my elderly mother goes to Mashhad’s legal offices seeking news of Rozita. She has only been able to see her three times for very brief visits. Rozita was shivering all over even though it was very hot. My mother was shocked the last time when she saw her daughter’s condition, although Rozita, with a smile, tried to hide her pain.

At the moment my family and I live in darkness. We don’t have a normal life and we are exhausted and live with broken hearts and sadness. We walk, we talk, we eat and laugh without enjoyment, only to survive. Here, alone in Australia, I try to be strong and hide my tears but in my heart I scream and beg for help.

When the authorities don’t allow Baha’i people to have normal lives like other people, raid the homes of innocent Baha’is, searching their houses, taking personal property, taking members of the family away to prison, what can we call the way they act? When children of Baha’i families are harassed by their teachers, or their classmates, or the parents of the other students, and young people and adults are prevented from going to university, what can we call this behaviour?

When the authorities are monitoring Baha’i people’s bank accounts, their phone calls and letters, and where they are going and coming, what can we call their attitudes? When the authorities confiscate people’s property, destroy their cemeteries and close Baha’i people’s businesses, what can we call the way those people act? When the authorities don’t allow Baha’i people to practice their own religion and when they destroy their holy places, what can we call those behaviours?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 states “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
At this time there are many Baha’is in prison in different cities of Iran. The seven individuals who formed the national leadership of the Baha’i community, known as the Friends in Iran, after two years in prison have recently finished their trial and we have just heard they have been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and already they have been moved from Evin prison to another prison where conditions are known to be very severe.

There was no evidence against them whatsoever. The purpose of the Baha’i Faith is to unite all the races and peoples in the world. The Baha’i Faith is about world peace, the oneness of humanity, the equality of women and men, education for all, the elimination of prejudice … and it can’t have any involvement with partisan political issues. These individuals and the others Baha’i prisoners I have mentioned have no involvement in politics and their imprisonment is based entirely on the fact that they are Baha’is.

Personally, even after all that has been done, the Baha’i concepts of acceptance, forgiveness and love mean that I cannot hate the persecutors but I abhor the madness of their actions.

As I have been imprisoned by Iranian authorities and have first-hand experience of the capabilities of these people and prison conditions, I am desperately concerned for the welfare of the Baha’is who are now in prison in Iran, including my sister.

Rozita's sister, Rosa Vasseghi

I seek your urgent assistance to expose to the world what is happening in Iran by raising the matter in Parliament, in the media, in your organizations, expressing concern to the Iranian Ambassador in your country, or speaking out publicly and asking the government of Iran to repeal the prison sentence of all those who have been falsely imprisoned, including my sister, and to allow them to be free.
-Rosa Vasseghi (2010)

Take Action!

To highlight Rozita Vasseghi’s case, we encourage everyone to share her story with your social networks, download a profile badge to show support for her and her family — and most importantly — send an e-letter to various IRI and world officials urging Rozita’s release.

The e-letter can be found here: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6160/action/save-rozita-vasseghi

———————

Source: http://united4iran.org/2010/09/the-case-of-bahai-prisoner-rozita-vasseghi-learn-more-take-action/

]]> http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6657/feed 6 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6558 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6558#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:45:19 +0000 editor http://www.iranpresswatch.org/?p=6558 26 August 2010

GENEVA (BWNS) — An increasing number of governments, human rights groups and prominent individuals are raising their voices against the harsh prison sentences handed down earlier this month to Iran’s seven Baha’i leaders.

As lawyers for the prisoners prepare to appeal against the 20-year jail terms, the government of New Zealand has voiced its concern that the trial “was conducted in a manner that was neither fair nor transparent.”

“New Zealand is dismayed that Iran has failed to uphold its international human rights commitments, and its own due legal processes in this case,” said Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

“The sentences appear to be based wholly on the fact that these people are members of a minority religious group,” said Mr. McCully, in a statement issued on 20 August.

“New Zealand calls on the Government of Iran to protect the fundamental rights of all its citizens, and to end its ongoing and systematic persecution of the Baha’i,” he said.

The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States of America, as well as the European Union and the President of the European Parliament, have already condemned the sentencing of the seven. See http://news.bahai.org/story/787 and http://news.bahai.org/story/788.

In the wake of calls from numerous international organizations for the prisoners to be released, groups focused specifically on human rights abuses in Iran – such as the Human Rights Activists News Agency and United4Iran – as well as Amnesty International, have now launched letter-writing campaigns encouraging supporters to call for justice for the seven. Prominent individuals, including British barrister Cherie Blair, have also been raising their voices in support of the Baha’i leaders.

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) – which campaigns on behalf of disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples – has expressed its deep concern over the lengthy sentences.

“Given that independent observers were not allowed to attend the trial, and the history of persecution that the Baha’i community has faced in Iran, the outcome will do nothing to encourage faith in the Iranian justice system,’ said Carl Soderbergh, MRG’s Director of Policy and Communications.

“MRG calls on Iran to quash the convictions and release the defendants immediately,” Mr. Soderbergh added.

Human rights campaigns

Before their arrest in 2008, the seven prisoners were all members of a national-level group known as the “Yaran” – or “Friends” – that helped to see to the minimum needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community.

Among the human rights groups now calling for justice, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) is asking people throughout the world to join a “We are Yaran” campaign of letter writing.

The HRANA draft letter states: “There is no evidence in support of the charges leveled against these Baha’is, and the ultimate judgment of imprisonment is unjust and insupportable.”

United4Iran – a non-partisan global network promoting fundamental human and civil rights in Iran – is requesting that visitors to its website call attention to the plight of the prisoners, by sending email letters to world leaders and Iranian officials.

Considering the advanced ages of several of the Baha’i leaders, says the group, “the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) has effectively dealt life sentences.”

A spokesperson for United4Iran said that, as of Wednesday, more than 1100 messages had been sent via the website link.

In the United States, Amnesty International is urging its members to write to the head of Iran’s judiciary to protest the trial and sentencing.

Individual voices

Noted British barrister Cherie Blair called the legal proceedings against the seven a “sham trial” in an article published on Wednesday by The Guardian newspaper in the UK.

“During two years of incarceration, lawyers working with [Nobel laureate Shirin] Ebadi were granted less than two hours with their clients,” wrote Ms. Blair. “They had only a few hours to examine the case files, comprising hundreds of pages. In the little time they were granted, they discovered the files were compiled by officials from the ministry of intelligence, despite Iranian law stipulating that such agents ’should not be entrusted with the investigation … of the accused.’

“The catch-all charge of espionage exposes the reality behind the regime’s cruel behaviour. Over the years, Baha’is have found themselves accused of being tools of Russian imperialism, British colonialism, American expansionism and most recently Zionism.

“But when we learn that Baha’is accused of spying for Israel are offered exoneration and the restoration of all the rights of citizenship if they will simply recant their faith, we can see such charges are totally baseless.

“The desecration of Baha’i cemeteries, the demolition of shrines and confiscation of Baha’i property are unlikely punishments for a band of spies.

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

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, the Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, today called the 20-year jail terms for the Baha’i leaders “a most appalling transgression of justice and at heart a gross violation of the human right of freedom of belief.”

“I unite myself in prayer for those of the Baha’i Faith who are suffering at this present time in Iran and also to the many other peoples of goodwill who are suffering for their faiths in other parts of the world,” said Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien.

In a video statement posted on YouTube, the actor and comedian Omid Djalili said he was “very upset” by news of the prison sentences.

“The Baha’i Faith is a peaceful religion with a world embracing vision of unity for all people, of all faiths. It is a staunch defender of human rights. So the fact that these seven are held in prison as if they are perpetrators of the most heinous crimes is just ridiculous,” said Mr. Djalili, whose clip received more than 8,000 views in its first few days.

“International outcry will continue”

The prisoners – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – denied all the allegations made against them which included espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration. They are now incarcerated in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, some 20 kilometers west of Tehran.

“By all accounts, the charges against them were utterly baseless, and the trial itself was nothing but a charade,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

“For as long as they are held in prison, this international outcry will continue,” she said.

A Baha’i World News Service Special Report containing articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment and trial, and the allegations made against them – can be read at: http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/.

The International Reaction page of the Baha’i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. The Media Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/790

The symbol of the Baha'i Faith

These claims may be fantastic, but they actually distort certain innocent facts, and the record needs to be set straight.

The accusation of subhumanity is the most hateful. It’s the same kind of the superstitious hate-mongering that has plagued religious minorities throughout human history, including Muslims themselves in the former Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, such slander frightens the Muslim general public and prevents them from learning the truths behind the other accusations.

The accusation of heresy is the most insidious. We do not identify ourselves as Muslim, but as a separate and distinct dispensation and religion. The rationale for this lies in our vision of history. We understand the Koranic statement that Muhammad was the “seal of the prophets” to mean that he was the culmination of a specific spiritual cycle in human history. We are now in a new cycle, one that began in the 19th century with the Baha’i Faith’s two prophets, the Bab (literally, “the gate”), and Baha’u'llah (literally, “the glory of God”).

Yet, because we believe the relationship between God and humanity is an ongoing story — there will be yet more cycles and prophets in the future — we are seen by many Muslim authorities as a challenge to Muhammad’s status as the ultimate vicar of God. Consequently, we’re also seen as a challenge to their own authority, whereas in fact, we have no such ambitions.

To be clear, we believe human history is progressing, under divine guidance, toward world unity and peace. It’s an article of our faith that Baha’is will have a critical — if not the critical — role to play in this development, one of education and example. However, we also believe that peoples of all faith persuasions and traditions, including Muslims, will make key contributions to this process.

The accusation of Zionism is cynical. Because our World Center is in Haifa and our holiest city is Acre, it’s insinuated that we are Zionists or that we work for the Israeli government in exchange for land. In actuality, Acre’s holy distinction derives from the fact that Baha’u'llah was exiled there. The site of the World Center was purchased during Ottoman and British rule through laborious fundraising within the Baha’i community.

Unfortunately, what really bothers some of our detractors is that we have any formal relationship with Israel at all. In truth, the relationship is one of historical necessity, since Baha’is need official Israeli permission to go on pilgrimage. You’ll find very few Baha’is living in Israel or the occupied territories because our leadership asked the community there to leave the country in the 1940s.

Moreover, Baha’is such as myself consider the debate over Israel’s right to exist incompatible with our commitment to the unity of humanity and a distraction from the vital task of peacemaking. We believe in transforming the human landscape into a just and divine order, which means not getting lost in partisan murk.

Finally, the accusation of Freemasonry is just ridiculous. We are often confused about where this charge comes from. Perhaps it’s our scriptures’ themes of illumination and mystical assent or our community’s commitment to collective democratic decision-making. Whatever the case, the accusation overlooks the fact that one of our early leaders, Shoghi Effendi, stipulated that Baha’is cannot be members of secret societies, including the Freemasons.

Of course, I’m a Baha’i. So all I’ve said above could be artful lies. But we Baha’is also believe in every person’s God-given right to investigate truth on their own. So I challenge you: Find a Baha’i and ask to see our activities with your own eyes. Have a little faith in yourself and in your fellow human beings. You’ll find most monsters are nothing more than the shadows of fear.

Christopher Schwartz is a member of the Baha’i Faith and a graduate student of Islamic philosophy and history. The views expressed in this commentary are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Bahais_Plea_For_Understanding/2134055.html

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, 11 August 2010 (CBNS) — More than 1,400 Baha’is meet this weekend at a downtown Vancouver hotel for the annual Association for Baha’i Studies Conference amidst community-wide anguish at the sentencing in Iran on Sunday of seven Baha’i leaders.

The news of the 20-year prison terms handed down on Sunday, 8 August, on charges of “espionage”, “spreading corruption on earth” and “insulting religious sanctities” follows months of increasing persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community.

Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi has said the legal process was full of irregularities, that no evidence was presented, and that the Baha’i prisoners should be immediately released. Lawyers for the prisoners have said they will launch an appeal as it is clear to observers that the Baha’i leaders have been sentenced solely because of their religion.

Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, issued a strongly worded statement indicating that “Canada remains deeply disturbed by reports that these individuals have now been sentenced to 20-year prison terms… ”, calling attention to the fact that there were no “written judgments or due process.”

The European Union President and the German, French and Australian governments have also condemned the sentences as have leading international human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Two Canadians are close relatives of two of the prisoners. Ottawa engineer, Naeim Tavakkoli, is the son of one of the prisoners, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Montreal film-student Nika Khanjani is the niece of Jaloddin Khanjani, another prisoner.

A number of those attending the conference in Vancouver know some of the prisoners. In addition to Tavakkoli and Khanjani, the other five are Saeid Rezaie, Vahid Tizfahm, Afif Naeimi, and two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet.

Among speakers at the Conference, international human rights expert Professor Payam Akhavan of McGill University will be delivering a talk “From Hatred to Humanity” related to the situation of the Baha’is in Iran.

Source: CBNC – http://www.bahainews.ca/en/100811-vancouver

On the morning of the 2nd of Esfand [21 Feb. 2010], five websites hosted by members of the Baha’i community of Iran, by the names of Viewpoint, Disturbance in the City, Recognition of Baha’u'llah, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, and Introduction to Baha’i sites, were simultaneously blocked.

HRANA news service [in Persian] – Five Baha’i websites from inside Iran simultaneously blocked.

As reported by Harana, the sites mentioned are: Viewpoint, Disturbance in the City, Recognition of Baha’u'llah, Messages from the Universal House of Justice and a site introducing other Baha’i sites. This action follows an earlier one on 19 Bahman [8 February] when 11 other Baha’i sites, including the Baha’i World News Service and Negah (Glance ) sites, were simultaneously blocked.

Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: HRANA, http://www.hra-news.org/news/13284.aspx