IRANIAN BAHA'I LEADERS BEING HELD INCOMMUNICADO; GROWING CONCERN FOR THEIR FATE

IRANIAN BAHA'I LEADERS BEING HELD INCOMMUNICADO; GROWING CONCERN FOR THEIR FATE

NEW YORK, 27 May 2008 (BWNS) -- Six Baha'i leaders who were arrested nearly two weeks ago are being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or relatives, and the Baha'i International Community is increasingly concerned about their fate.

"Although initial reports indicated they were taken to Evin prison, in fact we don't know where they are, and we are extremely concerned," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"What is clear is that none of their fundamental rights are being upheld. They have had no access to family members or counsel. We don't even know if they have been before a judge or whether they have been formally charged.

"All we know is what a government spokesperson said last week, which is that they were arrested for 'security reasons,' a charge that is utterly baseless.

"We appeal to the international community, human rights groups, and people of conscience, as well as the news media, to continue their efforts to press the Iranian government so that the rights of these people as detainees be upheld and that they be allowed access to counsel and general communication with the outside -- as a minimum step," said Ms. Dugal.

The six, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Baha'is in Iran, were arrested on 14 May 2008 in an early morning sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha'i leaders were rounded up and killed.

A seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there.

The whereabouts of none of the seven are known, said Ms. Dugal.

"We understood that the six were taken to Evin prison -- the seventh remaining in Mashhad -- principally because some of the government agents who arrested the six on the 14th had documents indicating they would be taken to that notorious place," she said.

"However, in light of the fact that relatives have made repeated attempts to learn more about the fate of the seven, and in all cases have been met with evasion and conflicting stories from government officials, we must now say that we don't know where they are -- and that our level of concern for their fate is at the highest," Ms. Dugal said.

Arrested on 14 May were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran.

Arrested in Mashhad on 5 March was Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, who also resides in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Baha'i cemetery in that city.

Last week, Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham gave a press conference at which he acknowledged the arrest and imprisonment of the six. News reports quoted Mr. Elham as saying on 20 May that the six were arrested for "security issues" and not because of their religious beliefs.

Those assertions -- the only public statement by the government about the seven -- were immediately rebutted by Ms. Dugal.

"The group of Baha'is arrested last week, like the thousands of Baha'is who since 1979 have been killed, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed, are being persecuted solely because of their religious beliefs," Ms. Dugal said on 21 May.

Urgent Appeal for Action For Religious Prisoners

Six leaders of a group managing the Baha’i community’s religious and administrative affairs in Iran were arrested at their homes by officers from the Ministry of Intelligence on 14 May and are now detained in Evin Prison in Tehran. A seventh person, acting secretary for
the group, Mahvash Sabet, has been in detention since 5 March. They may all be prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their religious beliefs or their peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community.

The six Baha’i leaders, Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm, were arrested following raids on their homes by officers from the Ministry of Intelligence in the early hours of 14 May. Their homes were
extensively searched for about five hours.

Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Jamaloddin Khanjani have previously been arrested for their activities on behalf of the Baha’i community. Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi and Behrouz Tavakkoli were arrested in Mashhad in Khorasan Province, north-eastern Iran,
on 26 July 2005 after they arrived at the city’s bus station from Tehran in order to meet some other Baha’is and discuss community affairs. Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, who was released on bail on 19 September 2005, is a member of a coordinating group that supervises
course work for Baha’is in Iran who wish to study their religion. She had previously been arrested on 25 May 2005 and released on bail on 28 June. Behrouz Tavakkoli was released on bail on 15 November 2005. Mahvash Sabet, who lives in Tehran, was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence as part of its investigation into the burial
of an individual in the city’s Baha’i cemetery. She was arrested on 5 March and later transferred to Evin Prison, where she remains.

Three other Baha’is are also currently detained in unclear circumstances in Shiraz and may also be prisoners of conscience (See UA 25/08; MDE 13/017/2008, 25 January 2008).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Baha’i faith was founded about 150 years ago in Iran and has since spread around the world. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the Baha’i community has been systematically harassed and persecuted. There are over 300,000 Baha’is
currently in Iran, but their religion is not recognized under the Iranian Constitution, which only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Baha’is in Iran are subject to discriminatory laws and regulations which violate their right to practise their religion
freely, as set out in Article 18(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party, and which deny them equal rights to education, work and to a decent standard of living by restricting their access to employment and benefits such as
pensions. They are not permitted to meet, to hold religious ceremonies or to practice their religion communally. Since President Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, dozens of Baha’is have been arrested because of their faith.

Members of the Baha’i community in Iran profess their allegiance to the state and deny that they are involved in any subversive acts
against the government, which they state would be against their religion. For further information, please see the report: Iran – New government fails to address dire human rights situation
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/010/2006/en/dom-MDE130102006en.html


Recommended Action:
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- asking why the seven individuals (please name them) have been detained by the Ministry of Intelligence;
- stating that Amnesty International would consider them to be prisoners of conscience if they are detained because of their Baha’i faith
or their peaceful activities managing the religious or administrative affairs of the Baha’i community in Iran;
- calling for their release if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and brought to trial promptly and fairly;
- calling on the authorities not to torture or ill-treat them;
- urging the authorities to ensure that they are given immediate and regular access to their relatives and lawyers of their choice.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: http://iranjudiciary.org (In subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: via website: http://www.president.ir/en/

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
C/o Office of the Deputy for International Affairs
Ministry of Justice,
Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad (Ark) Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 5 537 8827 (please keep trying)
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 26 June
2008.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day... On the Eve of History in the Making

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream"

Without justice, there can be no peace. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Stride Towards Freedom

Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail' Why We Can't Wait 1963.

For Audios of Dr. King's Talks
http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/


Brief Biography
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html


The King Center
http://www.thekingcenter.org/


A Resource for Children
My Dream of Martin Luther King- By Faith Ringgold
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0517885778/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0094345-1470508#reader-link


Martin's Big Words- By Doreen Rappaport
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786807148/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0094345-1470508#reader-link