I am concerned to learn that Mahboubeh Karami, a Women’s rights activist, has been imprisoned in Evin prison in Tehran since the 2nd of March. Amnesty International believes she has been detained solely because of her Human Rights work and that she is in danger of being tortured or otherwise maltreated.
Source: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/029/2010/en
I am saddened to learn that the family of imprisoned Baha’i Sahba Rezvani is being harassed by vandals.
The automobile of a Baha’i resident of Semnan was vandalized multiple times by unknown assailants. According to the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, in a continuation of persecutions and harassment of our Baha’i countrymen, particularly those residing in Semnan, at 10 PM on August 27, an individual or a group of assailants riding on a motorcycle broke the windows of Nezam Fanaian’s car and then dispersed. During recent months, several times Mr. Fanaian’s vehicle has been attacked by unknown persons. Despite repeated appeals to the security and police agencies in Semnan by his family and other Baha’is about the consistent attacks and harassment of the Baha’is of that region, no action has been taken to prevent these episodes. It should be noted that Mr. Fanaian’s wife is Sahba Rezvani, who has been imprisoned since last December, and is presently completing her 3-year jail term in Tehran’s Evin Prison.
In very similar circumstances to the recent detention of Baha’is in Iran, two Christian social workers have been imprisoned in Evin prison since the 15th of July. Apparently their ‘crimes’ are ’apostasy and violations of national security’…
The independent online Persian news agency Rooz, which is critical of the regime, reported on July 15 that two Christian women, 30-year-old Marsiye Aminsadeh and 27-year-old Mariam Rostampur, had been arrested in Tehran about four months earlier. The pair are social workers who without pay, help people in trouble regardless of race or religion. The two Christians were charged with apostasy and violations of national security and are being held at the notorious Evin Prison. Interrogated on a daily basis, they are held under very harsh conditions with no access to legal or medical assistance. According to Rooz, there are currently at least 50 Christians in Iranian prisons in Tehran, Schiras, Maschad and Urumije, among others.
I am not sure whether it is a good sign or not but it seems that the trial of seven prominent Baha’is in Iran has been delayed. Most probably the group behind it perceive the delay as a way of milking the most political benefit from the situation.
Iranian officials have reportedly told families of the seven Baha’i leaders currently held in Evin prison in Tehran that their trial has been delayed. No new trial date was given.
Held for more than a year, the seven were reportedly to have been tried on Saturday, although this information, too, was based on oral reports from officials, and such reports have often been unreliable in the past.
The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha’is will be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
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. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad.
Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/723
The Iranian government seems determined to go ahead with a ‘show trial’ of seven wrongly imprisoned Baha’is in Iran.
According to information conveyed by the authorities in Evin prison to the family members of the seven Baha’is who have been imprisoned in Tehran, Iran, for over a year, their trial date has been set for 11 July 2009. This information has been provided to the family members only orally and, as information conveyed by officials concerning the judicial process has often proved unreliable, it is possible that the Iranian authorities may find some reason to change the trial date.
The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha’is will be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
The trial is apparently scheduled to be held at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. This is where American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. She was eventually released, but only after an international outcry at the clear politicization of the case and manifestly unjust legal procedures.
“These seven individuals are facing completely false charges,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “They – along with the some 30 other Baha’is currently in prison in Iran – are innocent of any wrongdoing and are being held solely because of their religious beliefs.”
Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/719
The 14 th May 2009 was the first anniversary of the detention of the “Friends” (or in Persian “Yaran”) members of an ad hoc group which provided basic informal administration for the Baha’i community in Iran. These seven innocent people are still being held in Tehran’s Evin prison without access to legal representation and in very little contact with their families. I am very concerned that the Bahá’í International Community reports that the families of the seven have been told that a new charge has been made against them that of “spreading corruption on earth” (Mofsede-fel-Arz). A charge which in post-revolutionary Iran has carried the death sentence.
I am concerned to learn that according to Dr. Richard Land, a commissioner with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the state of religious freedom in Iran has “worsened” during the past year.
“In Iran, government rhetoric and actions worsened conditions for nearly all non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for the Baha’is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community. The Commission has decided to designate Iran as a country of particular concern again because the situation has worsened,” said Land.
He added that the Iranian Parliament has been considering a law since September 2008, which includes a bill enshrining the death penalty for apostasy. “This proposed penal code should be rescinded,” said Land.
“The Commission urges the US government to call for the release of Muslim minorities and dissidents, including those Sufi Muslims in prison, as well as Ayatollah Boroujerdi, a senior Shi’a cleric who advocates the separation of religion and state,” he continued.
“The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based on primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused,” USCIRF’s 2009 report concluded.
Source: WashingtonTV
The Baha’i International Community reports that the seven members of the national Baha’i committee imprisoned in Iran have each been allowed a brief phone call to their families. The calls were the first contact with the imprisoned Baha’is since six of them were arrested in Tehran in May. The seventh was arrested in March in the city of Mashhad. I have previously reported in my blog that Mrs. Mahvash Sabet and Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi were allowed to make brief phone calls to their families on the 3rd of June. Mrs. Sabet was detained in Mashhad in March but moved to Evin Prison in Tehran on the 26th May. It is thought that the others are also being held in this notorious prison. It was later confirmed that Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm have also been allowed brief phone calls to their families. So far no charges have been made against any of the seven individuals. This is not surprising given that their detention is without any reasonable justification and is a manifest abuse of their Human Rights…
I have received some recent news on the fate of seven Bahá’í s wrongfully detained in Iran. Barnabas quotidianus reports that Mrs.Mahvash Sabet, Mrs.Fariba Kamalabadi, and Mr.Jamaloddin Khanjani have been allowed brief telephone contact with their families. Sadly, there is no news of the other detainees having direct contact with their families but the report indicates that Evin Prison authorities have requested Vahid Tizfahm’s family to bring clothes to the jail. It is also reported that Evin Prison authorities have asked Mrs. Kamalabadi’s family to bring her reading glasses to the prison. (It is to be emphasised that neither family have met their loved one in Evin). There is still no word on the whereabouts of Mr.Behrouz Tavakkoli , Mr.Saeid Rezaie or Mr. Afif Naeimi. Although I am reassured to hear some news, their continued detention is both inhumane and unwarranted. The Bahá’í Faith prohibits involvement in partisan politics and the sole reason for the continuing detention is their religious beliefs. Further background to the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran can be found at http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran
As if the prospect of being held in the notorious Evin Prison was not bad enough, simply disappearing altogether is even more worrying . My thoughts and prayers are with my Baha’i brothers and sisters Behrouz Tavakkoli, Saeid Rezaie, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet who have not been heard from since their detention in Iran last week.
‘Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding’!
