Feb

24

Human Rights Watch call for end to persecution of Iran’s Baha’is

Filed Under Baha'i community, Human Rights, Iran | Leave a Comment

International human rights advocates Human Rights Watch have called for an end to the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran.

In a news release published yesterday, HRW condemns the arrests of Baha’is in January and February this year:

The Iranian government should immediately stop harassing and arbitrarily detaining members of the Baha’i community, Human Rights Watch said today.

The detention of 13 Baha’is on February 10 and 11 follows the arrest of 13 others in early January. The government alleges that those arrested in January helped to organize recent anti-government demonstrations but has not made public any charges against those detained in February. These arrests come during a broad government crackdown on opposition activists.

“The Iranian government seems to be using the post-election unrest as a cover for targeting the Baha’i community,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These arrests are only the latest chapter in the government’s systematic persecution of the Baha’i.”

The most prominent group of Baha’is to have been arrested is the seven-member former leadership group, six of whom were detained in May 2008, one having been held earlier. Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm are on trial on a range of spurious charges.

As Human Rights Watch explain, the seven have been charged with:

…a range of national-security-related offenses, including spying for the benefit of foreigners, propaganda against the system, establishing and spreading illegal organizations, undermining the image of the Islamic Republic in the international community, and spreading “corruption on earth.” Most of these charges carry the death penalty. During the more than a year and a half that the five men and two women have been held, they have been allowed only limited visits from family and lawyers.

The trial of the seven began on 12 January, and they will appear in court again on 10 April.

Amongst the many others arrested on entirely spurious grounds are members of the the family of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the leadership group.

In a press statement on January 12, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran general prosecutor, said that 10 Baha’is who have been held since January 3 faced charges of “organizing the unrest on Ashura [December 27] and sending photos of the unrest abroad.” In a previous statement on January 8, he claimed that authorities had found arms and ammunition in some of their homes. Dolatabadi denied that the arrests had anything to do with their Baha’i affiliation.

The Baha’i International Community has indicated that 60 Baha’is are currently in detention, with an additional 90 having been released but awaiting trial. Since 2004, 99 Baha’is have been convicted of various charges, including acting against national security, teaching against the Islamic Republic, propaganda against the regime, involvement in establishing illegal groups and organizations, and insulting the sacred institutions of Islam. These individuals are free pending appeal. Scores of others have been summoned and interrogated by security and intelligence agents without being taken into custody, according to the Baha’i International Community.

More details, including the names of those arrested in January and February, are available on the Human Rights Watch website.

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