I wish to express our gratitude as Irish Baha'i members for the continued interest of the committee in the persecution of our co-religionists in Iran. I propose to give the committee a background outline regarding the particular case of the seven former leaders who are now incarcerated.
Since the committee's kind invitation to appear at this meeting was issued, there has been growing international support for the call of the Baha'i international community issued in an open letter addressed to the head of the judiciary in Iran, Ayatollah Larijani, dated 7 December 2010, for the release of the seven former leaders of the Baha'i community. This international condemnation of Iran's treatment of the seven former leaders includes specific mention of their case in a resolution passed at the UN General Assembly in late December. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, has also issued a very clear statement of support in a written response to a parliamentary question on the last day of the Dáil sitting before the Christmas recess.
We are particularly concerned for the well being of these seven former leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran: Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm. They were arrested in mid-2008, held without charge for months and denied proper access to lawyers or regular visitation from their families. When finally charged with unsubstantiated crimes, in particular, the capital crime of spreading corruption on earth, the seven Baha'i members categorically denied the charges. Their lawyer, Nobel laureate, Shirin Ebadi, is quoted as saying that the charges were "without cause or evidence". The only charges upheld were that these Baha'is had ministered to the social and spiritual needs of their religious community and yet the Government has known of the role they fulfilled for the past 20 years. To suddenly brand their work as illegal is baseless and unjust. The Iranian judiciary distorted the peaceful religious beliefs of the defendants and sought to criminalise their benign service to the Baha'i community. This is a brazen contravention of freedom of conscience and belief, which is safeguarded by Iran's own constitution, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which Iran has ratified.
Not only was there no proof for the charges brought against these Baha'is, but the treatment they received during their detention and trial violated every legal norm and standard of fairness. Officials from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence used interrogation methods that disregarded the standards of civilised behaviour and they were still unable to extract false confessions. During the trial, the judge declared the proceedings open and public and then refused to grant requests to attend the trial from family members and international observers. Journalists were excluded but Government cameramen and intelligence agents were an active presence. The trial was devoid of impartiality and exposed the absurdity of Iran's claim to be a champion of human rights.
The plight of these seven individuals represents an ongoing campaign of state-sponsored persecution of the largest religious minority in Iran and their experience mirrors that of countless Iranians in general. Their individual ages range from 37 to 77. Some have ageing parents and all have children, the youngest of whom was only nine when his father was arrested. They come from across the country. Their professions are also varied: psychologist, industrialist, manufacturer, engineer, social worker, optician. The Islamic Republic of Iran would like the world to forget about these prisoners, their long-suffering coreligionists, and the countless other victims of human-rights abuse in that country.
The seven Baha'is are now incarcerated in Gohardasht prison, near Karaj. This facility is notorious for its appalling conditions and the privation of adequate facilities for basic personal hygiene. They are being held in prison cells that make it difficult to lie down, or even to perform their daily prayers. The prison is overcrowded, with reports of inmates being forced to sleep in corridors. These inhuman conditions contradict the Islamic republic's professed principles of Islamic compassion and justice.
As one commentator wrote recently, "The Baha'is in Iran are not "others"; they are an inseparable part of the Iranian nation". The injustices they have suffered reflect the oppression that has engulfed the nation. If the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran could respect the rights of Iranian Baha'is, it would signal their willingness to respect the rights of all Iranian citizens. The Baha'i community calls for the release of the seven Baha'i prisoners, and the dozens of other Baha'is incarcerated throughout the country. Our call is not limited to Baha'is. The Iranian Government must respect the rights of all Iranian people. This is no more than what the Islamic republic asks on behalf of Muslim minorities in other lands. Baha'is merely seek the same treatment.
We would be grateful for any action the sub-committee could take to support this call.
