Homes belonging to some 50 Baha’i families in the Iranian village of Ivel in Mazandaran were torched last Thursday, 22 June, a report from the Baha’i World News Service confirms.

Villagers – incited by elements inimical to the Baha’i community –- blocked normal access to the village, while allowing trucks and at least four diggers to begin levelling the houses.

Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires.

The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha’is.

“They’re being forbidden to associate with Muslims, or even offer service to their friends and neighbours,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

“Even the smallest acts of good will – such as taking flowers to someone who’s sick in hospital or donating gifts to an orphanage – these are being seen as actions against the regime.”

Most of the Baha’i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched.

“Baha’is have lived in this area for more than 100 years and it once had a large community,” said Ms. Ala’i. “But in 1983, a few years after the Iranian revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighboring villages were put on buses and expelled.

“Since then, they have tried to seek legal redress to no avail, while returning in the summer to harvest their crops,” she said.

A Baha’i man who came to the site with his family the day after the demolitions to try to harvest his produce was set upon and beaten by villagers.

Members of the Baha’i community have repeatedly complained to local government officials, including the provincial governor in Sari. The authorities always deny knowledge of the demolitions or the motive behind them.

“The UK Baha’i community is deeply concerned about this utterly unjust treatment of their fellow Baha’is in Iran,” said Dr Kishan Manocha, Secretary of the UK community’s national governing body.

“We keep the Foreign and Commonwealth Office informed of the latest developments in Iran and we are grateful for the support of many parliamentarians,” Dr Manocha continued. “The whole community constantly remembers their brethren in Iran in their prayers.”

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, persecution, human rights, demolitions

The Baha’i World News Service reports that the ongoing trial of the seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran appears to have concluded after three days of successive court hearings.

The seven appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on the morning of Saturday, 12 June and returned to Evin Prison shortly after noon.

The Court was reconvened the next day, as well as this morning.

“We can confirm that a court session was held today in Tehran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, “and it seems from what we have heard that the trial itself has now concluded. But we have no further information at this time.”

The defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm.

Worldwide support

Mobile billboard near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in central London, showing the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders of Iran

The plight of the seven Baha’i leaders was highlighted as part of the Global Day of Action on human rights in Iran on 12 June, according to this report from the Baha’i World News Service.

People in more than 80 cities around the world took to the streets to call for an end to human rights abuses in Iran.

In London Unite4Iran circulated a mobile billboard calling for freedom for the Baha’i leaders.

“This is not about party-politics or calls for punitive action,” said one campaigner in Johannesburg, “this is a principled call to respect the human rights of every person.”

In Berlin a group erected a replica prison cell at the city’s historic Brandenburg Gate. A display depicting the seven Baha’i leaders read, “Ideals cannot be locked up. But people with ideals can be. In Iran, these people need your help.”

“For more than two years the seven Baha’i leaders have been under arrest without justification,” said a supporter. “They are imprisoned only because they are Baha’is. Today it is the Baha’is. Tomorrow it could happen to the Sunnis, Jews, Christians or other minorities.”

“I hope we are sending a powerful signal of solidarity to the people in Iran,” said another. “The Iranian people should know that our thoughts are with them.”

Further reports can be read on the http://12june.org and Baha’i World News Service websites.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, Global Day of Action, Unite4Iran, London

“I am extremely concerned by the impending trial of the seven spiritual leaders of the Bahá’í faith,” Mr Burt said.

“This trial comes at a time when we are remembering the human rights abuses surrounding the elections in Iran a year ago.  I call on the Iranian Government to ensure, without delay, that the rights of these individuals are fully protected; that they are given due legal process, including being released on bail and given a fair and transparent trial, in accordance with international standards.

“I also urge the Iranian government to cease the harassment of, and to also respect the rights, of many members of minority groups who continue to face arrest and lengthy prison sentences, often on vaguely worded charges of acting against national security.”

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, UK, Foreign Office

Iran’s imprisoned leaders, l to r: Behrooz Tavakkoli, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Mahvash Sabet, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Saeid Rezaie, Afif Naeimi

The seven Baha’i leaders in Iran, imprisoned for more than two years, face their fourth court appearance on 12 June, the Baha’i World News Service has reported.

The trial of the seven began on 12 January after they had been incarcerated without charge in Tehran’s Evin prison for 20 months.

Further hearings in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran took place on 7 February and 12 April.

“In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented. As their lawyers have confirmed, the defendants are completely innocent and are being persecuted solely for their religious belief,” said Diane Ala’i, Baha’i representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

“The Iranian government should know that its actions against these innocent citizens are under scrutiny throughout the world,” she said.

“Once again we call for their immediate release. Failing that, the seven should – at the very least – be released on bail pending a fair trial.”

Baha’is in the UK, amongst whom are relatives of the imprisoned Baha’is in Iran, are anxiously waiting for the outcome of this protracted and unjust trial.

The seven defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Before their imprisonment, they attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran’s Baha’i community, which numbers more than 300,000. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

There are currently some 38 Baha’is in detention in various cities in Iran.

A summary of the human rights abuses suffered by the Baha’is in Iran is provided here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, leadership, Yaran, trial, justice

The Baha’i International Community will be amongst a range of organisations cosponsoring the 12 June Global Day of Action demanding an end to human rights abuses in Iran, reports the Baha’i World News Service.

The initiative is coordinated by human rights group United4Iran. Cosponsors include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the Baha’i International Community, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, FIDH (Federation Internationale des ligues des Droits de l’Homme), and Pen International.

“In our support for this nonpartisan initiative, we are standing together with ordinary citizens throughout the world to draw attention to the continuing and widespread abuse of human rights in Iran,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

The prominent nongovernmental organizations are joining with a wide range of local, student and Internet-based groups to host simultaneous events in cities and on campuses around the globe. Online initiatives include sending messages to specific recipients in support of individual prisoners of conscience.

Tiny cells

Earlier this month, United4Iran marked the second anniversary – on 14 May – of the jailing of seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran’s Evin prison, calling for individuals to show support by replicating the size of the small jail cells and taking a photograph.

“The response was overwhelming,” reported the United4Iran website. “Notes, emails, video, old photographs of the leaders, former students, (and) community representatives from all the world participated.”

As a gesture of solidarity, supporters were asked to mark off the size of the cells shared by the Baha’i prisoners then occupy the space, so as to better appreciate their suffering.

The cells of the Baha’is in Evin prison do not have beds, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the concrete floor.

The seven Baha’i leaders jailed in Tehran for the past two years are among about 36 Baha’is currently imprisoned in Iran because of their religion.

“All I can do is pray…”

Fariba Kamalabadi, left, pictured with a former student, who sent the photo to United4Iran

United4Iran also published an old photograph of one of the jailed Baha’is, Fariba Kamalabadi, with one of her former students. The student sent the picture to United4Iran along with words from a letter she wrote to her teacher: “Now that you are in prison … for making the world a better place, … it brings tears to my eyes. And all I can do is pray. The things you taught me I will always know.”

“We are grateful for this outpouring of sympathy being offered to the people of Iran who are subject to oppression,” said Ms. Ala’i.

Other initiatives

Several other organizations have recently launched campaigns in support of Iran’s oppressed Baha’i community.

The latest newsletter of the French branch of the organization Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) includes a call for action in support of the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders, as well as 12 other Baha’is who have been recently detained.

On 14 March, Amnesty International requested messages of goodwill be sent to prisoners of conscience in Iran in order to mark the traditional Persian new year holiday.

The detained leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community were included among seven cases selected by Amnesty International.

To date, almost 600 messages have been received for the Baha’i prisoners – both individually and collectively – from as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Photos © Baha’i International Community

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, United4Iran, Amnesty International

Mary McAleese, President of the Republic of Ireland, has praised the universality of of the Baha’i teachings and the contributions of the Baha’i community make to life in Ireland, according to this report in the Baha’i World News Service.

“You are marked out as people with values that are worth observing, worth learning from, worth looking at, worth imitating and so never be in any doubt of the value you are every single day in this world,” President McAleese told a gathering of some 60 Baha’is during her first ever visit to the national Baha’i Centre in the Irish capital.

President McAleese, first elected as Ireland’s President in 1997, made her special visit to the Baha’i Centre on 30 April to mark the Festival of Ridvan, the anniversary of Baha’u'llah’s declaration in 1863 that He is the most recent in a line of divine Messengers that includes Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, and others.

The President also expressed concern about the persecution of Baha’is in other countries. She said it was both sad and remarkable that a Faith with such principles would attract, in any shape or form, violence from others.

Photo © Baha’i International Community

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Ireland, Dublin, McAleese

On 14 May the seven members of Iran’s Bahá’í leadership group will begin their third year in prison.

The prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

Inhumane prison conditions

The cells, which have neither fresh air nor natural light, smell rancid and are so small that it is difficult for the Bahá’í prisoners to move around or get any rest. If the lights are turned off, the cells are plunged into darkness. The Bahá’ís have no beds and only limited bedding.

The prisoners are allowed fresh air for only two hours each week and contact with their families is mostly limited to a maximum of one ten-minute telephone call per week. On the rare occasions when their families are allowed to visit, the prisoners are separated from their loved ones by a glass barrier and they are deprived of the comforting embrace of spouses and children.

According to the journalist Roxana Saberi, who shared a cell for three weeks with two of the Baha’i prisoners, the women are confined in a small space. “They roll up a blanket to use as a pillow,” she said. “The floor is cement and covered with only a thin, brown carpet, and prisoners often get backaches and bruises from sleeping on it. … When I was with them, we were allowed into a walled-in cement yard four days a week for 20 to 30 minutes.”

UK Baha’is gravely concerned

“The Bahá’ís in the UK are gravely concerned by the injustice of the continued detention of the Bahá’í leaders in Iran,” said Dr Kishan Manocha, Secretary of the UK Bahá’ís’ national governing council. They are being held on baseless charges, which they have categorically denied.”

“We’re also worried by the deterioration of their health,” Dr Manocha said. “The utterly inhumane conditions in which they are being held contravene international human rights treaties which forbid torture and subjecting people to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”

“We are calling upon the British government to press the Iranian Republic of Iran to set these prisoners free immediately,” he commented. “If the Iranian authorities refuse to free the Bahá’ís, they  should at the very least release them on bail and try them promptly and fairly, in accordance with international standards.”

International action

The Universal House of Justice – the head of the Baha’i Faith – has called for the worldwide Baha’i community to host special prayer meetings across the globe this Friday, to remember the Baha’is of Iran and all their compatriots who are similarly subject to oppression.

“It grieves our hearts to contemplate the passing of yet another year in which the seven former members of the Yaran remain imprisoned on baseless charges for which the authorities have no evidence whatsoever,” the House of Justice has written.

The second anniversary, they say, calls to mind the “multifarious forms of oppression” being faced by Iran’s Baha’i community, including “interrogations, summary arrests and imprisonment, deprivation of the means to a livelihood, wanton destruction of property, and the denial of education to Baha’i students.”

A collective gesture of solidarity with the imprisoned Baha’i leaders has also been called for by the human rights network United4Iran. They are asking sympathizers worldwide to replicate the dimensions of the cells in Evin prison, and document themselves confined to the space. Photographs and video clips will be then shared on the Internet to bring the international community’s attention to the ongoing arbitrary imprisonment being endured by the seven.

Read more about the United4Iran campaign here.

Read more about the situation on the Baha’i World News Service.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, Yaran, leaders, persecution, human rights, prison

The Baha’i International Community has reported that the families of the Baha’i leaders were not allowed into the court. It quickly became clear that the trial hearing was to be held in closed session.

However, officials and interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence were already in the courtroom when the Baha’i prisoners entered, and a film crew had already set up its cameras.

Concerned over the presence of non-judicial personnel in a supposedly closed hearing, the Baha’is refused – with the agreement of their lawyers – to be party to the proceedings.

The judge adjourned the hearing, but did not announce any date for the continuation of the trial.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran should immediately set free these seven innocent prisoners,” said Diane Ala’i, Baha’i representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

“The dictates of justice demand no less,” she said. “They are now about to enter the third year of their incarceration on baseless charges which they have categorically denied and for which the government has no evidence whatsoever.

“At the very least, they should be released on bail and steps be taken to ensure that their trial is conducted fairly, in accordance with international standards of jurisprudence.

“If their confinement is to continue, the harsh conditions under which they are being held must be improved,” she said.

Yesterday’s session was the third in the ongoing trial of the seven Baha’is, who have been accused of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and “corruption on earth,” among other charges. Their first court appearance was 12 January this year.

The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

See latest report on Baha’i World News Service.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, Tehran, persecution, human rights

The Baha’i World News Service has reported that the seven imprisoned Iranian Baha’i leaders faced a third court session in their ongoing trial in Tehran today. No details of the closed hearing are available.

“We know that a session did take place, but we do not have any specific information from reliable sources,” said Diane Ala’i, Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

“These seven innocent Baha’is will soon enter their third year of imprisonment,” she said. “At the very least, they should have been released on bail pending the outcome of the tortuous judicial process they have been subjected to. This is unacceptable in light of international human rights law.”

The seven have been held in Tehran’s Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008, but the did not appear in court until 12 January this year, when they were charged in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court with espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and “corruption on earth.”

A second court session on 7 February was largely procedural.

The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

They have categorically denied all the charges.

Baha’is in the UK, including relatives of the seven, remain anxious about the fate of their fellow Baha’is.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran,   Tehran, Evin, Yaran, human rights, persecution

The third court session for seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned in Iran is scheduled for 10 April.

According to Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, the court date was confirmed to in writing to lawyers in Iran.

The seven defendants have been imprisoned since 2008. It was only January this year that they were presented with formal charges – including espionage and “corruption on earth” – which they categorically deny.

You can find profiles of the seven leaders here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, persecution