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Around one third of all eligible Members of Parliament have now signed an Early Day Motion concerning the plight of Iran’s Bahá’í community.

In May, six of the country’s Bahá’í leaders were arrested during an early morning sweep on their homes. They have been detained ever since. No charges have been made nor have they been allowed any legal representation. Members of the All Party Friends of the Bahá’ís, a parliamentary group dedicated to defending the human rights of Bahá’ís, immediately tabled an Early Day Motion, calling for the arrested Bahá’ís to be released. Members of the Bahá’í community throughout the United Kingdom wrote to their MPs, asking them to sign the motion or write to the Foreign Secretary.

“We deeply appreciate this generous response from our Members of Parliament”, said Robert Weinberg, Secretary for External Affairs for the UK Bahá’í community. “As the summer recess began, there were a total of 146 signatures from across all parties. The strength of feeling sends a message to the Iranian authorities that throughout British politics, there is a profound concern for the human rights of Bahá’ís in Iran, and indeed all Iranian citizens.”

A similar motion was tabled in the Scottish Parliament and has attracted considerable support with signatures from five different political parties.

In addition to the signatures on the motion, other MPs have tabled questions to the Foreign Secretary in the House of Commons and there have been a substantial number of letters from Parliamentarians to the Foreign Office, urging the UK government to press the Iranian authorities to grant human rights to the Bahá’ís.

“There is no quick and easy solution to complex human rights problems”, said Lembit Opik MP, chair of the All Party Friends of the Bahá’ís group. “We are under no illusion that a single motion, or question or debate will lead to emancipation for the Bahá’ís instantaneously. We do believe, however, that there are growing numbers of people in Iran who wish to live in a society in which all of their citizens have rights. This is a battle of ideas and we are calling on Iran to respect and to act on the idea of human rights for all.”

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