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The Prime Minister has promised to continue raising Britain’s concerns with Iran, over the issue of the seven Bahá’ís being detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

Gordon Brown’s comments came during Prime Minister’s questions in the House of Commons, in response to the MP for Montgomeryshire, Lembit Opik.

“I have become deeply concerned about the seven Baha’i leaders in Iran facing trial by the revolutionary court on 11 July on serious but unsubstantiated charges, with no evidence being offered against them,” said Mr Opik, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahá’ís group.

Describing current circumstances in Iran as “very difficult issues”, Mr Brown expressed his “disappointment at the restrictions that (Mr Opik) has mentioned on the freedoms of the Iranian people, with people due to stand before a closed court on 11 July.”

According to information conveyed by the authorities at Evin to the family members of the seven Bahá’ís who have been imprisoned for more than a year, a trial date has been set for 11 July. The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held without any 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.”

“Some people in Iran are seeking to use Britain as an explanation for the legitimate Iranian voices calling for greater openness and democracy. However, we will continue, with our international partners, to raise our concerns with Iran, including on the issue that the honorable Gentleman raised,” Mr Brown said.

According to information conveyed by the authorities in Tehran’s Evin prison to the family members of the seven Bahá’ís who have been imprisoned for more than a year, a trial date has been set for 11 July.

The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held without any 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, where American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. She was eventually released 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 Bahá’í 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.”

The trial date was provided to the family members only orally and - since 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 date, says the Bahá’í World News Service.

A member of the Surrey Bahá’í community who has devoted nearly half a century to charity work has been honoured by the Queen.

82-year old Christina Kitchen - who lives in Epsom - became an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Mrs Kitchen - a former biology teacher at Epsom’s Rosebery School for girls - has been raising funds for charities, particularly Oxfam, for more than 45 years.

“I was jolly pleased,” said Mrs Kitchen. “When people do things for the community it’s nice to be recognised.”

Mrs Kitchen told the Surrey Comet that her four sons were “all very amused and delighted” at her award. “All of them have followed in her footsteps in supporting various charities,” wrote the newspaper.

The veteran actor Earl Cameron has received his medal as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The 91 year old actor was honoured with a CBE in HM the Queen’s New Year Honours list for his “services to drama”. In an investiture ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, Mr Cameron received his award from HRH The Prince of Wales.

“The Prince was very warm and friendly,” said Mr Cameron after the presentation, “and he seemed to be aware of my work which I was very pleased about.”

Mr Cameron attended the ceremony on Thursday 28 May with his wife Barbara, and two daughters Jane and Serena, pictured, who are all Bahá’ís.

A dedicated member of the Bahá’í faith since 1963, Bermudan-born Mr Cameron - who now lives in Kenilworth, Warwickshire - made his screen debut in the Ealing drama, Pool of London, in which he played a Jamaican sailor on shore leave who befriends a white girl. This was the first British film to show, however tentatively, a mixed-race relationship.

Mr Cameron’s most famous screen roles were in two films that confronted racism in Britain – Sapphire (1959) and Flame in the Streets (1961). He also became a familiar face on television in such cult favourites as Danger Man, Doctor Who and The Prisoner. In his 80s, he co-starred as a despotic African dictator in The Interpreter, with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Most recently, he had a cameo role in The Queen with Helen Mirren.

The experiences of two members of the Scottish Bahá’í community have been featured in an exhibition on the subject of pilgrimage, staged at a prestigious Glasgow museum.

The exhibition, at the St.Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, entitled Sacred Journeys: Expressions of Faith, explored the journeys of nine different religious adherents from Glasgow, two of whom - Menai Shahim and Carrie Varjavandi - are Bahá’ís who have recently returned from their pilgrimages to the Bahá’í holy places in the Haifa-Acre area of northern Israel.

Cabinets and panels explored aspects of pilgrimage in the different religions, showing objects associated with the journey and displaying quotations from the pilgrims themselves who were also featured in moving video testimonials about the  spiritual journeys they experienced. 

The St.Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art showcases the importance of religion in people’s lives across the world. “The museum plays a vital role in promoting understanding and respect about faiths in the city and in Scotland as a whole,” said Allan Forsyth, spokesperson for the Scottish Bahá’í community.

The continuing persecution of Bahá’ís and other minorities in Iran has been highlighted in Amnesty International’s State of the World’s Human Rights 2009 report.

The report, launched in London by Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan, reviews human rights abuses and developments throughout the world.

“In Iran, the authorities continued to harass and persecute Bahá’ís and members of other religious minorities, detaining Sunni clerics and sentencing one Sufi religious leader to five years in prison and flogging for “spreading lies”,” says the report. 

“Adherents of the Bahá’í faith continued to be denied access to higher education and some sites considered sacred by them were destroyed… School administrators were required to report to local security offices the presence in their schools of members of “subversive sects” such as the Bahá’í, Ali-Ellahi and Ahl-e Haq. In March and May, seven Bahá’í community leaders were arrested by Ministry of Intelligence officials. In August they were charged with vaguely worded national security offences. All were prisoners of conscience.”

The report also notes how the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi - who offered to take the case of the seven detained Bahá’í leaders - has faced increasing harassment, threats and intimidation by Iranian authorities. “On 29 December officials claiming to be tax inspectors raided her offices and removed clients’ confidential files,” the report says, adding that in December, Dr Ebadi’s Centre for Human Rights Defenders was “forcibly closed by security officials shortly before the centre was to hold an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Iran’s record of human rights abuses also includes “tight restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly…They cracked down on civil society activists, including women’s rights and other human rights defenders and minority rights advocates. Activists were arrested, detained and prosecuted, often in unfair trials, banned from travelling abroad, and had their meetings disrupted. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees were common and committed with impunity. Sentences of flogging and amputation were reported. At least 346 people were known to have been executed, but the actual number was probably higher. Two men were executed by stoning. Those executed included eight juvenile offenders.”

Amnesty’s report, however, does note the rise in individuals throughout the Middle East who are now standing up to champion human rights “in the face of such varied, and often seemingly insurmountable problems.”

“All across the region, many individuals – men, women and even children – worked to realize their and others’ rights… In Iran, women – and men – promoted a One Million Signatures petition to demand an end to legal discrimination against women, despite repeated harassment, arrests and assaults by state officials acting in breach of the law, while others campaigned for an end to executions of juvenile offenders.”

“In these countries and others, human rights defenders were in the vanguard of promoting change…Slowly but surely, there were signs in 2008 that a new generation is emerging, more aware of their rights and of what should be open to them, and with a growing resolve to achieve them,” the report added.

Launching the report, Dr Khan called for “a new global deal on human rights – not paper promises but commitment and concrete action from governments to defuse the human rights time bomb. World leaders must invest in human rights as purposefully as they are investing in the economy.”

The European Union has reiterated its concern for the seven Bahá’í leaders being held without charge in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for more than a year.

A declaration made on behalf of the 27 European Union Member States was also signed by ten other European countries.

“Evidence suggests that the persecution deliberately aims to suppress Bahá’í religious identity and legitimate community activities,” said the declaration. “Concerns relating to this case are further reinforced by numerous reports of official harassment of members of the Bahá’í community, including detentions, police summons and pressure to desist from community religious activities.”

The declaration also condemned the continuing persecution by the Iranian authorities of legitimate expressions of Christian belief, citing the cases of five Iranian nationals who continue to be detained without charges. It also expressed concern at the plight of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, who has been imprisoned for his religious activities along with several of his followers.

“Available evidence suggests that the aim of this persecution is to suppress the free choice and expression of religious belief,” says the declaration.

The European Union has urgently called upon the Iranian authorities to “uphold their international legal undertakings to safeguard religious freedom and to stop their persecution of legitimate religious activities. The European Union also reminds the Iranian authorities of their duty to safeguard the health of all persons in prison or under detention.”

The United Kingdom government has reiterated its concern for seven Bahá’í leaders imprisoned in Iran on the first anniversary of their detention.

Foreign Office Minister of State Bill Rammell MP renewed calls on behalf of the UK government for the seven to be guaranteed a fair trial.

“A year ago today, 14 May 2008, six Iranian Bahá’ís; Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm were arrested,” said Mr Rammell. “Mrs Mahvash Sabet had been arrested in March of that year. The five men and two women made up an informal national committee, serving the needs of Iran’s 300,000 strong Baha’i community.”

“Despite being formally charged in February with spying for Israel, “insulting religious sanctities” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” - charges which could attract the death penalty - they are still awaiting trial,” said Mr Rammell.

Mr Rammell stated how the European Union has, on a number of occasions, expressed its deep concern for the wellbeing of the seven detainees, who have been denied access to legal counsel.

“I would like to reiterate these very genuine concerns today, and renew calls for the Iranian government to ensure that the lives and rights of these individuals are protected and that they are given a fair trial in accordance with international standard,” he said.

The first anniversary of the arrest of six prominent Bahá’ís in Iran has sparked calls for their release from leading human rights organisations around the world.

“These Bahá’í leaders have been languishing in prison for a year now, with no access to their lawyers and no glimmer of a trial date,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, adding that reported new charges of  ’spreading corruption on earth’ only “add to the fears for their lives under a government that systematically discriminates against Bahá’ís.”

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has also joined in the call for the prisoners to be released. “The illegal and unjust detention of these seven Bahá’í leaders, which again shows a policy of oppressing a religious minority, must be brought to an end,” said Aaron Rhodes, spokesman for the Campaign, which has called upon the Iranian government to comply with international human and civil rights standards and account for the detentions of all Bahá’ís in Iran. 

“The continued persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran degrades all of the people of Iran,” Mr Rhodes said. “The arbitrary detention and targeting of members of any single community should not be tolerated in any country, including Iran.”

The Bahá’í  community makes up Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. In recent years, persecution has intensified to include cemetery desecration, arbitrary detention, home raids, property confiscation, work expulsion and denial of basic civil rights. Iranian Bahá’í  youth continue to be denied the right to higher education, and any university found to have a Bahá’í  student is ordered to expel them. Bahá’í professionals are denied government jobs and face discrimination from private businesses because of their faith. Harassment also occurs from ordinary citizens, for example the cars and homes of Baha’is reportedly being vandalized. Even those who come to their defense are targeted. Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has come under fire for taking up the case of the seven Bahá’í  leaders.

There are currently at least 40 Bahá’ís  in detention throughout Iran. In the month of April alone, arrests were reported in six cities.

Bahá’í News UK is pleased to share an extract from an article written by Dr Moojan Momen, an Iranian author and academic, and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. The article is published in full on the New Statesman website.

International pressure may have set Roxana Saberi free, but the plight of seven Iranian Baha’is, imprisoned in Tehran a year ago, has gone largely unnoticed.

Earlier this week, US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was freed from prison in Iran after having her sentence for “spying” reduced. The charge, which she strongly denied, sparked international attention and calls for her release, which has now been widely welcomed.

But Ms Saberi leaves behind her many other inmates in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison whose “crimes” against the Iranian state are also open to question.

Thursday (14 May) marks the first anniversary of the arrest and detention of seven prominent members of the Baha’i faith, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.