The two women, Haleh Rouhi and Raha Sabet – and Mr. Sasan Taqva – were arrested in May 2006, along with some 51 other Baha’is and a number of Muslim friends, for their participation in an education program for underprivileged children in and around the city of Shiraz.

While their 10 Muslim co-workers and one Baha’i with learning difficulties were released immediately, the remaining Baha’is were convicted of “indirect teaching of the Baha’i Faith.” Ms. Rouhi, Ms. Sabet and Mr. Taqva received four year jail terms. The other 50 were given one year sentences, suspended pending their attendance at mandatory Islamic classes.

It is believed that today, after three years, they continue to be held under the harshest of conditions in a temporary detention center.

“Under Iranian law, the Intelligence Ministry cannot imprison citizens in such centers, only detain them for interrogation,” says Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “We understand that conditions have been totally unacceptable for the long-term imprisonment these three have suffered.”

The trial and detention have violated both Iranian and international law, says Ms. Dugal. “And every piece of evidence – including a report commissioned from an Iranian official – has pointed to their innocence.”

Authorities refused to take notice of that investigator’s conclusion. When the report became public, he subsequently wrote another account, rejecting the findings of his original report.

“The Iranian government has utterly failed to address such an obvious miscarriage of justice,” says Ms. Dugal. “This is yet another case of religious persecution, pure and simple.”

“Why else would three individuals, whose main ‘crime’ was their engagement in humanitarian projects aimed at helping their fellow citizens, continue to be locked up in this way?” she says.

Jailed for helping the poor [see IPW]

The idea of specifically working with the young people of Shiraz began in a study group organized by Ms. Sabet, who had been involved in aid efforts after the 2003 Iranian earthquake.

Initially, she and her friends worked in Katsbas, a suburb with a reputation for drug abuse and criminal activity. There, the group tutored children preparing for their end-of-term exams. With the full blessing of local parents, efforts extended to include assisting the children to develop social skills and moral values.

As their project grew to serve more than 200 children in Katsbas, the group was successful in receiving a permit from the city council to operate. Another effort started up in Sahlabad, also facilitated by both Baha’is and Muslims. A further initiative – carried out by 14 tutors – involved 100 young people at an educational center.

The group also organized weekly art classes for young cancer patients – an activity that was enthusiastically received by the head of a local hospital. Additionally, regular visits were also made to orphanages and facilities for disabled children.

Arrests and conviction

On 19 May 2006, police simultaneously arrested tutors and project leaders in six locations.

Following the release of their Muslim co-workers, the remaining Baha’is were let go after the course of the following few days and weeks. Ms. Rouhi, Ms. Sabet, and Mr. Taqva were held for nearly a month.

A brief, formal trial was held more than one year later. The Baha’is were accused of, among other things, “indirect teaching of the Baha’i Faith” – based on their use of an educational textbook called Breezes of Confirmation. The text, however, makes no mention of the Baha’i Faith, only presenting moral lessons that are explored through a series of stories. Despite the fact that the city’s Cultural Council had approved the use of the book, the verdict declared that permission had been obtained through deceit.

“The charges against them were baseless and unacceptable under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an international treaty which Iran has signed, that protects the right to manifest belief in ‘worship, observance, practice and teaching,’” says Bani Dugal.

“For a start, it was clear that their activities were strictly humanitarian in nature. Secondly, the court even acknowledged that the text they were teaching from had no explicit reference whatsoever to the Baha’i Faith. Even some of their Muslim co-workers said they were unaware that their co-workers were Baha’is or that any ‘teaching’ was going on,” she says.

Most of the Baha’is, because of their young age, received suspended one year sentences, pending their attendance at mandatory classes organized by the Islamic Propaganda Organization. At these classes, Baha’i beliefs and history were ridiculed, insulted and distorted.

But Ms. Sabet, Ms. Rouhi, and Mr. Taqva, were sentenced to four years imprisonment: three years for “organizing illegal groups” and one year “for teaching for the benefit of groups that are against the Islamic regime.”

Temporary detention center

On 19 November 2007, Ms. Sabet, Ms. Rouhi, and Mr. Taqva were called to the local office of the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly to retrieve belongings that had been seized earlier. This proved to be a deception. When they arrived, they were immediately locked in holding cells.

Three years on, it is believed that they continue to be detained in the same conditions. Mr Taqva has been kept alone for the whole time in a claustrophobic cell. The women were originally incarcerated together in another small cell, normally used for short-term detainees. Today they are all being held apart from each other. They have no windows, beds or chairs, and have only recently been given mattresses. It is reported that all three detainees have developed chronic back pain.

From time to time, they have been granted “temporary releases” but have always had to return to the detention centre to serve out their four-year terms.

For much of the imprisonment, Mr. Taqva has additionally been suffering severe pain from a leg injury, once sustained in a car accident, and sciatic and muscle weakness caused by the lack of all basic facilities. Although he has twice been briefly released for surgery, he remains for the most part without adequate medical attention. Daily exercise and access to fresh air is limited to 30 minutes each day when he is taken, not outside, but to a room that has no roof. Every time he leaves his cell, he is blindfolded.

The continuing detention of Mr. Taqva and his two co-workers is in violation of international standards and legal norms, says Bani Dugal. “Under Iranian law, people convicted of crimes have the right to incarceration in a prison designed for long-term confinement, where there is access to adequate medical facilities, food, and hygiene. The continued detention of these three innocent people in cells designed for short-term stays violates not only common decency but national law.”

Confidential report ignored

In June 2008, Vali Rustami – inspector and legal advisor of the Office of the Representative of the Supreme Leader for the province of Fars – submitted a confidential report, made at the request of the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the province.

Mr. Rustami confirmed that not only was there no mention of religion in the activities of the prisoners, but that the young people who attended the classes told him they wanted to continue. “They stated ‘We … truthfully learned a lot from this group and would like them to come back to us again,’” Mr. Rustami reported.

When his account became public, he wrote another version which distorted his original findings.

Far from posing any threat to their society, says Ms. Dugal, it is clear that the three were trying their best to serve their society. “In winning the gratitude of those they served, the Baha’is provoked the ire of their government. Only unbridled animosity and hatred could be at the heart of such a perversion of justice as is witnessed in this case.”

“After three years of imprisonment, the refusal of the authorities to put an immediate halt to the cruel treatment of these people defies reason. We continue to call on the international community to raise their voices in defense of these individuals – as well as the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders and the thousands of others in Iran today who are being deprived of their human rights,” she says.

—
Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/799

The Editor
Iran Press Watch]

(M&C NEWS, Sep 30, 2010, 17:12 GMT) Tehran – An Iranian Bahai and human rights activist has been sentenced by a Tehran court to a two-year jail term, opposition websites reported Thursday.

Jinous Sobhani was sentenced by the revolutionary court, in charge of national security violations, after she was arrested last December during demonstrations against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the reports said.

Sobhani was also the secretary of the Human Rights Defenders Centre run by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.

She is currently free on bail, but expected to return to jail to serve out her sentence.
Bahaism, a monotheistic religion promoting the unity of all religions and mankind, is not recognised or allowed to be practiced in Iran, whose official religion is Shia Islam.

Bahai missionaries are arrested and detained – unlike Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian missionaries, whose faiths are recognized and protected by the government.

In another case not yet confirmed by Iran, seven leaders of the Bahai religion – two women and five men – were reportedly sentenced last month to 20-year jail terms for espionage and propaganda against the Iranian Islamic system.

The government did say the seven were arrested in 2008 and confessed to their crimes, including having supplied classified information to foreigners through personal contacts with Western diplomats in Tehran.

Several Western countries have expressed concern over the charges and denounced the arrests as persecution of Iran’s largest religious minority.
Tehran rejected the allegations and said the issue had nothing to do with religion.

Ebadi, of the Human Rights Defenders Centre, and her legal team were supposed to lead the defence of the seven Bahais, but Ebadi has been abroad since June last year. She fears arrest if she returns because of her opposition to Ahmadinejad.

—
Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1588228.php/Reports-Iranian-Bahai-activist-sentenced-to-two-year-jail-term

The report includes a chronology of the milestones in the case, profiles of the seven prisoners, statements made by the United Nations General Assembly and Secretary-General, a collection of expressions of support by governments, organizations and prominent individuals, and background materials on the persecution of Iran’s Bahai community. It also offers printable articles and photographs for news media and other uses.

“The trial of Iran’s seven Bahai leaders” can be accessed at: http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/

European Union

Summary: 12 August 2010, Brussels – Declaration by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on behalf of the European Union on the sentencing of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran.

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.

The EU recalls that freedom of thought, conscience and religion are fundamental rights which must be guaranteed under all circumstances according to article 18 of the ICCPR which the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed up to and ratified.

The EU calls on Iran to put an end to the persecution of the Baha’i community.

Ref: EU10-171EN

EU source: European Union
UN forum:
Date: 12/8/2010

Source: http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_10020_en.htm

Posted by lord avebury

Savage sentences

The seven Baha’i leaders who had been detained in Tehran’s fearsome Evin prison for 20 months without charge have finally been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after they were finally accused of espionage, propaganda against the Islamic order and establishment of an illegal administration.

These convictions were handed down after the defendants were allowed one hour’s consultation with their lawyer, and after several brief court appearances in which no evidence was presented on any of the charges.

The facts are at news.bahai.org/story/786, and the reaction of Human Rights Watch is at www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/08/10/iran-free-bahai-leaders. Lets hope there will be demands for the release of the seven from big hitters like Cathy Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime may have demonstrated repeatedly that they don’t give a toss for what the rest of the world thinks of their relentless persecution of the Baha’is, but it should be said that using secret trials on false charges to lock up the leaders of a small and harmless minority for a lifetime is gratuitously evil.

PS The Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon William Hague MP, has issued the following statement:

“I was appalled to hear of the 20 year prison sentence handed out to the seven spiritual leaders of the Bahá’í faith in Iran. This is a shocking example of the Iranian state’s continued discrimination against the Bahá’ís. It is completely unacceptable.

The Iranian judiciary has repeatedly failed to allay international and domestic concerns that these seven men and women are guilty of anything other than practising their faith. 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. The accused were denied proper access to lawyers, and there is evidence that the trial was neither fair nor transparent.

I call on the Iranian authorities urgently to consider any appeal against this decision, and to cease the harassment of the Bahá’í community. I further call on the Iranian Government to ensure that the rights of all individuals are fully protected, without discrimination, and that it fulfils its obligations to its own citizens as set out in the Iranian constitution.”

Source: http://ericavebury.blogspot.com/2010/08/savage-sentences.html

Governments and human rights organizations around the world have expressed strong concern at reports that seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have each received prison sentences of 20 years.

GENEVA — 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.

Australia, Canada, France, Germany – and the President of the European Parliament – have all expressed strong statements of concern.

They are calling for the prisoners to be released on bail, for an annulment of the judgment, and for Iran to demonstrate that the trial was fair and in accordance with international standards.

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.

Germany described the outcome of the trial as a “massive setback for all those who engage themselves for the promotion of human dignity and human rights in Iran.”

Markus Loning, commissioner for human rights and humanitarian aid at Germany’s Foreign Office, said Iran must annul the judgment and “provide a fair and transparent court procedure.”

“There are major doubts as to the compliance with the basic legal rights during the judicial proceedings,” he said.

France expressed its “consternation” at the 20-year jail term.

At a press briefing, Christine Fages, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, 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.”

Australia has also shared its deep concern at the sentences. “We continue to call on Iran to ensure that all trials are

Yaran

fair and transparent and are conducted in accordance with Iran’s international obligations,” said a spokesman for the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In a statement issued today, 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.”

“Iran has committed itself to international standards and I underline that this includes also the respect and protection of religious freedom,” he said.

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.”

“They have been sentenced for being Baha’is, nothing else, and their incarceration thus expresses a policy of oppression of the Baha’i Faith and its members,” said Aaron Rhodes, spokesperson for the Campaign.

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,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director.

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.”

“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.

Iran should take concrete steps that show it is committed to protecting the fundamental rights of Baha’is, said Mr. Stork

“The immediate and unconditional release of the seven Baha’i leaders would be a good start,” he said.

Diane Ala’i, Baha’i representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said the Baha’i International Community deeply appreciates the committed support offered so far by governments and human rights organizations.

“These statements demonstrate that increasing numbers of people of all races and religions throughout the world want to see justice done in Iran – not just for the Baha’is but all of its citizens who face gross human rights violations,” said Ms. Ala’i.

“For how much longer will the Iranian authorities remain oblivious to these upraised voices?” she said.

Source: BWNS http://news.bahai.org/story/787

Yaran

NEW YORK — 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 14 May 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.

The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances which began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge for 20 months, during which time they were allowed barely one hour’s access to their legal counsel. The trial ended on 14 June.

The defendants were accused of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations. All the charges are completely and categorically denied.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/786

Mona Mahmudnizhad

Mona Mahmudnizhad (September 10, 1965 – June 18, 1983) was an Iranian Bahá’í who, in 1983, together with nine other Bahá’í women, was sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran because of her membership in the Bahá’í Faith.

Mahmudnizhad was born on September 10, 1965 to Yad’u’llah and Farkhundeh Mahmudnizhad, who had left their home in Iran to teach their religion in Yemen. She was the second child in the family; the family’s first daughter, Taraneh, was seven years old at the time of Mahmudnizhad’s birth. Mona spent her first four years in Yemen; at age two, she was hit by a car and thrown to the sidewalk, but sustained no serious injury.

In 1969 the government of Yemen expelled all foreigners and the Mahmudnizhad family returned to Iran. They spent two years in Isfahan, six months in Kirmanshah and three years in Tabriz before finally settling in Shiraz in 1974. During this time her father repaired small appliances for work and served the Bahá’í community as part of various Bahá’í administrative bodies.

While Bahá’ís regularly faced persecution in Iran, the Islamic Revolution of 1979 refocused the persecution. At 7:30pm on October 23, 1982, four armed revolutionary guards, sent by the public prosecutor of Shiraz, entered the Mahmudnizhad household and ransacked the home in search of Bahá’í material. When they were finished they took Mona and her father into custody. The two were blindfolded and taken to Seppah prison in Shiraz, where they were placed in separate quarters; Mahmudnizhad was detained in Seppah prison for a total of 38 days.

On November 29, 1982, she and five other Bahá’í women were transferred from Seppah prison to Adelabad prison, which was also in Shiraz. After some time in Abelabad she was transferred to the Islamic Revolutionary Court where she was interrogated and then returned to prison. A few days later, she was once again taken from the prison and interrogated in front of an Islamic Revolutionary Judge.[4] After these series of interrogations which involved physical torture by the use of a cable being whipped of the sole of the women’s feet, Mahmudnizhad was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.[3] At the time of her sentencing, the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, made a plea for clemency; despite this, the sentence of the 10 women was carried out on the night of June 18, 1983, in a nearby polo field.

Source: http://www.onlydemocracy4iran.com/2010/07/20/video-series-the-story-of-iranian-angel-mona-mahmudnizhad-parsi/

[Please visit the source to view a number of videos]

,

Mrs. Susan Tebyanian

As noted by Hrana reporters, Susan Tebyanian, a Baha’i resident of Seman, who had been sentenced by the Initial and Appeals Court of Semnan Province, charged with propaganda against the regime and membership in a Baha’i administrative body, to one and a half year’s imprisonment in Tehran, was called before the Executive Circle of the Revolutionary Court of Semnan, arrested on the spot and transferred to Evin Prison.

It is worth noting that two oher Semnan Baha’is, Sahba Rezvani and Manijeh Monzavian, are currently spending their prison terms in Evin Prison.

Source: http://www.hra-news.org/1389-01-27-05-24-07/2470-1.html
[See also http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/4787] ]]> http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6167/feed 1 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5579 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5579#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:02:40 +0000 editor http://www.iranpresswatch.org/?p=5579 The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) express their deepest concern regarding the ongoing repression against the Baha’i community in Iran.

(FIDH) According to the information received, in the night of 9 to 10 February 2010, six members of the Baha’i religious minority were arrested, in Tehran, at the their houses, by agents of the Ministry of Information. They are allegedly accused of “involvement in disturbances”. Their whereabouts and their place of detention are not known to date.

Furthermore, on 7 February, the second session of the trial of the seven Baha’i leaders was held. During the first session, held on 12 January 2010 the seven defendants categorically denied all the charges. According to several government sponsored media, the charges were: “espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and ’corruption on earth’”. Both first and second sessions were closed to the public, recorded by camera, while only procedural issues have been so far covered.

Mrs. Mahvash Sabet was arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008, after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office. The rest of the Baha’i, Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, were arrested on 14 May 2008. Since then, they have been detained at the Evin prison in Tehran. They are all members of the national coordinating group of Baha’i, an informal organ formed with the knowledge of the government, to assist the 300,000-member Baha’i community in Iran.

Concerns are further reinforced following the arrest on 3 January 2010, of ten other members of the Baha’i community, whose charges may be used as false evidence for the trial of the Baha’i leaders. According to the Baha’i International Community, the ten arrested are expected to be forced to confess that they participated in the organisation of the peaceful demonstrations in Ashura, on 27 December 2009, following the orders of their “leaders”. One of them, after being denied contact with his family, access to a lawyer of his own choice, has already “confessed” his participation in the demonstrations. They are all currently detained in the prison of Gohardasht.

FIDH and LDDHI call upon the Iranian authorities to immediately cease all kinds of intimidation and harassment against the Baha’i community and release all persons arbitrarily detained. Iran should, under all circumstances, respect the international standards related to the right to a fair trial. In addition, FIDH and LDDHI urge the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a member State to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief protected by international human rights law.

Source: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), http://www.fidh.org/Stop-the-repression-against-Baha-i

Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI): English, Deutsch, Persian

See other related article in Persian: http://www.rhairan.net/archives/3632