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Feb
12
Grave fears for fate of Iranian Bahá’ís, accused of “espionage”
Filed Under Human Rights, Iran, Parliamentary | Leave a Comment
Reports that the case of seven members of the Bahá’í faith in Iran is to be referred to the revolutionary court next week are “deeply worrying” and demand an immediate worldwide response.
According to press reports, Tehran’s deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad has announced that charges have been laid against seven Bahá’ís who are accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.”
“This news is of the gravest concern and deeply worrying,” said Dr Kishan Manocha, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom. “We are calling upon the UK government to formally protest to Iran that such accusations are entirely without foundation. The seven detained Bahá’ís must be released immediately.”
Those facing charges are presumed to be the seven members of an ad hoc coordinating body known as the “Friends in Iran” who had been looking after the basic needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Bahá’í community. One of them has been detained since March 2008. The remaining six since last May. All Bahá’í institutions were banned by the Iranian government following the Islamic revolution. In the absence of any national governing council, the “Friends in Iran” was formed with the full knowledge of the government who had routine dealings with them.
“To now say that the Friends are an “illegal” group is misleading,” said Dr Manocha. “The accusation of “spying” against these 5 men and 2 women is contrived, and has been used as a pretext to persecute Bahá’ís for more than three quarters of a century.”
“It has taken more than eight months for the government to accuse these individuals of any crime,” said Dr Manocha, “during which time no evidence against them has been brought to light.”
At no time during their incarceration have the Bahá’í leaders been given access to their legal counsel, Nobel Prize winning laureate Mrs Shirin Ebadi. Mrs Ebadi has been harassed, intimidated, and threatened since taking on their case and has not been given access to their case files.
“If the Baha’is are accused of spying for Israel, then why were hundreds previously executed for refusing to recant their faith and embrace Islam? Why have thousands been deprived of their jobs, pensions, businesses and educational opportunities? Why have holy places, shrines and cemeteries been confiscated and demolished? All of this demonstrates a concerted attempt to destroy a religious community,” said Dr Manocha. “They are innocent. The charges against them must be dismissed immediately.”
Full story at Baha’i World News Service
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