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Jun
30
Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize laureates call for release of Bahá’í prisoners
Filed Under Human Rights, Iran, women | Leave a Comment
The two women who won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work for peace in Northern Ireland have joined an international call for the release of seven Bahá’í leaders currently being detained in Iran.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams – along with four other women Nobel Peace Prize laureates – have issued a statement registering their “deepest concern” at the “mounting threats and persecution of the Iranian Bahá’í community.”
The six – all founder members of the Nobel Women’s Initiative – are asking the Iranian Government to guarantee the safety of seven prominent Bahá’ís being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, and to grant their immediate unconditional release. No charges have been filed against any of the seven, who comprise the entire membership of a coordinating committee that saw to the minimal needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community of Iran. Besides the seven committee members imprisoned in Tehran, some 15 other Baha’is are currently detained in Iran, some incommunicado and most with no formal charges.
The statement issued by the Nobel Women’s Initiative reads:
“We note with concern the news of the arrest of six prominent Bahá’ís in Iran on 14 May 2008. We note that Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfahm are members of the informal group known as the Friends in Iran that co-ordinates the activities of the Bahá’í community in Iran; we further note that another member of the Friends in Iran, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, has been held in custody since 5 March 2008; we register our deepest concern at the mounting threats and persecution of the Iranian Bahá’í community.
We call on the Iranian Government to guarantee the safety of these individuals and grant their immediate unconditional release.”
Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Mairead Corrigan Maguire was co-founder, along with Betty Williams, of the Peace People. They were honoured in 1976.
The other Nobel laureates to support the statement are:
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a leading advocate of ethno-cultural reconciliation in her native Guatemala and winner in 1992;
- Professor Jody Williams, international campaigner for the banning of landmines, winner in 1997;
- Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights lawyer, winner in 2003;
- Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, Kenyan environmental activist, winner in 2004.
“We are thankful to these internationally prominent activists for calling publicly for the release of our fellow Bahá’ís, who are unjustly detained for no reason other than their religion,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative was established in 2006 when the six women laureates – representing north and latin America, Europe, the middle east and Africa – decided to combine their experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality. Their vision is “a world transformed, a nonviolent world of security, equality and well-being for all.”
Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Iran, human rights, women, Nobel Peace Prize, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire
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