Prayer for the
Persecuted Bahá’ís in Írán
O God, my God! Thou seest Thy loved ones turning their hearts to Thee, and holding fast onto the cord of Thy ordinances and laws. I beseech thee by the waves of the sea of Thine utterance, and by Him through whom Thou didst adorn the heavens of Thy might, to graciously protect them by the aid of Thy hosts.
O God! Thou beholdest Thy lovers in Írán in the clutches of hate and enmity. I beg of Thee, by Thy mercy which hath preceded the contingent world, to raise up from the earth those who will be moved to aid and protect them, and to preserve their rights and the restitution due to them by those who broke Thy Covenant and Testament, and perpetrated such acts as made the inmates of the cities of Thy justice and equity to lament. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All- Wise.
– Bahá’u’lláh
(Fire and Light, p. 13)



I have learned silence from the talkative,
toleration from the intolerant,
and kindness from the unkind;
yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
Kahlil Gibran

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,663013,00.html

Abuses in Iran

Journalist Held without Charge in Notorious Tehran Prison

By Ulrike Putz and Mathieu von Rohr

Catalina Gomez

Fariba Pajooh has been held without charge since August.

Fariba Pajooh has been held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison since she was arrested in August, with no access to an attorney. No charges have been filed against the Iranian journalist.
When she received the call from the intelligence service, Fariba Pajooh knew that it didn't bode well for her. We want to talk to you, they told her. It was supposedly just an informational meeting.

The men came to pick her up a few days later, on Aug. 22, the first day of Ramadan. Pajooh had spent the entire day at home with her mother, preparing the evening meal. She only left the house for a short time to buy some sweets. When she returned, she was being accompanied by three men.

The men were polite, says the mother. They spent an hour searching drawers and cupboards and checking the computer. They allowed the mother and daughter to break the fast together. Trembling with fear, the pair ate dates and drank tea. Then the men said that Pajooh had to come with them, but only for an hour. They promised the mother that they would treat her as if she were their own daughter. But they were lying.
Harsh Crackdown
Since that day in August, Pajooh, 29, a petite woman with an attractive, girlish face, has been incarcerated in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, in section 209, which is controlled by the intelligence service. She is one of more than 100 journalists and bloggers the regime ordered arrested in the wake of the widespread protests against the fraudulent elections that brought President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back into power. But few have been locked up for as long as Pajooh, whose case makes it abundantly clear just how harshly the regime is cracking down on journalists.
In prison, Pajooh is suffering from severe depression and stress-related cardiac arrhythmia. Her parents were not permitted to see her during the first month of her incarceration. Now they are allowed to visit on Mondays, although they are often turned away. Pajooh's current attorney has not been given access to her at all. It was only after Pajooh had been imprisoned for two months that the lawyer even learned of the charges being leveled against her client: initially espionage, followed by "propaganda against the regime."
Pajooh is part of the generation of Iranians who have been striving for freedom since their youth. She was arrested for the first time at 18. She became a journalist, writing for reform-oriented publications, government news agencies and newspapers -- not about politics, but about Iran's social problems.
She was detained a second time in 2008, when she sought to travel to the United States for the presidential election there. When this year's protests against the Iranian regime rocked the country, Pajooh worked around the clock. She also worked as a translator for a Colombian correspondent, which made her even more suspicious to the authorities. She knew that she was in danger, she told friends, but insisted that she only wanted a better future for Iran.
"The pen is the enemy of ignorance," she wrote in her blog, a few days before she was arrested. "My pen is the friendliest of the friendly. I have conspired with my pen."
Demoralizing Conditions
Pajooh spent the first month of her captivity in a "grave," the word Iran's prisoners use to describe the tiny underground cells at Evin Prison, which is almost a city unto itself, hidden behind high walls on a hill above Tehran. She was not kept in any of the wards controlled by the Basij militias, from which reports of torture and rape have reached the outside world. But the loneliness of solitary confinement is demoralizing. Several times a day, the prisoners are taken to interrogations, where they are beaten and subjected to body searches.
After a while, prisoners learn to distinguish among their interrogators, identifying them by their shoes, which they can see despite being blindfolded, and by how aggressive they are. The interrogators berate, threaten and beat the prisoners, and then they try to entice them with the promise of freedom if they agree to confess.
After a month, Pajooh was moved to the above-ground section of the prison, where she shared a cell with another journalist, Hengameh Shahidi. The two women staged a hunger strike at the end of October and were taken to the infirmary after five days. Shahidi was released, but Pajooh was moved to a new cell.
The cell where she is now kept together with a handful of other prisoners is only about 10 square meters (around 100 square feet), with a tiny porthole providing daylight. The temperature drops to freezing at night. Pajooh needs to take eight pills every day: three for her heart, three antidepressants and two sleeping pills.
Empty Promises
Farideh Pajooh, the mother, says that Fariba is still being interrogated daily, sometimes until 11 in the evening. As young as she is, says the mother, her daughter already has a lot of white hairs. Her mental state is very worrying, the mother says.
The mother has spent the last three months going from one government office to the next, where she has heard many empty promises. Human rights organizations have become involved, but nothing has happened. The hearing of evidence was supposedly completed days ago, but a trial date has yet to be set.
Last week, the desperate family staged an eight-hour sit-down strike at the Revolutionary Court. When they were finally allowed to speak with Tehran's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, he told them that he would look into the matter. Another promise.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

UN resolution on Iran sends powerful message on human rights


UNITED NATIONS – The approval today of a strongly worded resolution on human rights in Iran sends a powerful signal to the Iranian government that the world is gravely concerned about how Iran treats its citizens, said the Baha'i International Community.

The resolution, approved by a vote of 74 to 48 by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, expressed "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran." The list of violations included oppressive measures taken after the June presidential election and "increasing discrimination" against minority groups, including Baha'is.

"This year's resolution – which is among the most forcefully worded in more than 25 years of resolutions on Iran – sends a potent message to the government there, stating vigorously that the international community will not turn a blind eye to human rights violations," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"The General Assembly identifies numerous violations, including the use of torture, the repeated abuse of legal rights, the violent repression of women, and the ongoing discrimination against minorities, including Baha'is, who are Iran's largest religious minority and are persecuted solely because of their religious belief," she said.

The resolution also expresses concern over the treatment of "Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims and their defenders."

"The resolution also sharply condemns Iran's severe curbs on freedom of expression and its use of violence to silence dissent after the presidential election in June," said Ms. Dugal. "We can only hope that, given the severity of the resolution's expression, Iran will at long last heed the international community's recommendations and change its ways."

The resolution, which was put forward by Canada and cosponsored by 42 other countries, calls on Iran to better cooperate with UN human rights monitors, such as by allowing them to make visits to Iran, and asks the UN secretary general to report back next year on Iran's progress at fulfilling its human rights obligations.

Noting the turmoil that followed the presidential elections, the resolution devoted eight paragraphs to express "particular concern" about oppressive measures used by the government to suppress dissent. It noted specifically the persecution of journalists, human rights defenders, students and "others exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and association."

It also noted the "use of violence" against "Iranian citizens engaged in the peaceful exercise of freedom of association, also resulting in numerous deaths and injuries." And it criticized the holding of "mass trials and denying defendants access to adequate legal representation."

It makes extensive mention of the persecution of Baha'is, expressing concern over "attacks on Baha'is and their faith in State-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the State to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain Baha'is, preventing members of the Baha'i Faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically."

The resolution also notes the continued detention of seven Baha'i leaders who were arrested in March and May 2008, stating they have faced "serious charges without adequate or timely access to legal representation."



For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org


________________________________________________

Copyright 2009 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories and photographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

• Theft at the Baha’i cemetery in Sangsar
• November 4th, 2009
• According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, unidentified persons took one of the two large water tanks at the Baha’i cemetery in the city of Sangsar (near Semnan) in the past few days.
  
  This type of water tank is very large and holds a considerable volume of water. Moving it without proper equipment and a crane is impossible. It is noteworthy that the road leading to this cemetery has been closed by the Municipality of Sangsar for a while now, and access has been restricted to Municipality personnel only.
  
  [Source: http://hra-news.info/news/8275.aspx; Translated by Iran Press Watch]
  
  Comments (3)
• Court order for the arrest and imprisonment of a Baha’i woman in Semnan
• November 4th, 2009
• According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mrs. Manizheh Manzavian, a Baha’i in Semnan, who was arrested and detained during the month of Khordad of the current year [May-Jun 2009] and subsequently released on bail [see http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/4091], has been sentenced to three years and six months of imprisonment by the [Islamic] Revolutionary Court of the city of Semnan, presided over by Judge Zangui.
  
  The charges brought against Mrs. Manizheh Manzavian, as stated, include activities against [National] security by teaching the Baha’i Faith, as well as membership in an organization opposing the Islamic regime and related to the Baha’is. It is important to note that Mrs. Manizheh Manzavian was previously a member of the informal administrative committee of the Baha’is of Semnan which, in the last month of Esfand [Feb-Mar 2009], was shut down by order of the Prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, after which she had had no further activities [in the Baha’i administration].
  
  [Source: http://hra-news.info/news/8276.aspx; Translated by Iran Press Watch]
  

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community


Kidnapping and Torture of a Baha’i in Shiraz

Posted: 03 Nov 2009 08:33 AM PST

A Baha’i has been kidnapped, persecuted, and tortured by unknown individuals in Shiraz.

According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mr. Rouh’u’llah Rezaie, a 45-year-old Baha’i in Shiraz, was stopped, kidnapped, and moved to an unknown place as he was returning home, to his wife and child, from a gas station early in the morning on 8/8/1388 [October 27,2009]. There, he was threatened, insulted, and subjected to a simulated hanging in a show-execution. He was left naked in extreme cold, and different parts of his hands, chest, and forehead were burnt by cigarettes. Finally, he was released on a road in the suburbs of Shiraz.

It should be noted that Mr. Rezaie was imprisoned for five years in 1360 [1971], when he was 18, in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz. He has endured the most terrible conditions and all possible physical and psychological pressure due to his religious beliefs.

[Source: http://hra-news.info/news/8174.aspx; Translated by Iran Press W

Prominent Iranians call for religious liberty

WASHINGTON, 30 September (BWNS) – A best-selling author and an Oscar-nominated actress are among those who have called for religious freedom in Iran, including an end to the persecution of Baha'is in that country.

Some 1,400 people heard Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and Shohreh Aghdashloo, Academy Award-nominated actress for "House of Sand and Fog," speak at a public gathering this month at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Both Dr. Nafisi and Ms. Aghdashloo were born in Iran, and neither is a member of the Baha'i community.

Dr. Nafisi spoke passionately about the common humanity of all people and the suffering of one being the suffering of all. She particularly focused on minorities in Iran and pointed to the example of the Baha'is.

"I ask myself," she said, "how does it feel to be deprived of every single basic human right in a country you call your own, in a country where you have been born into the language and the culture, a country where your parents and your parents' parents ... have lived and contributed to, what does it mean to be deprived of the right to education, of the right to property, of even the right to life?"

She said the struggle is "not a political struggle, it is an existential one." It goes beyond the Baha'is, she said, to "every single person in Iran who dares to be different, who dares to express his or her desire for the freedom to have a choice."

"Baha'is in Iran have become the canaries in the mine," she said. "You want to know how much freedom the Iranian people enjoy today, you go to the fate of its Baha'is."

Depriving people of their individuality is a way of killing them, she said. "It is worse, in fact, that just being plainly murdered. To deny your humanity, your individuality, is to be dead."

"The show trials that have been going on in Iran – all these people coming from such different backgrounds, such different ages, such different political and religious beliefs, all of them deprived of their individuality," she said.

The defendants, she said, were forced into confessing that "whatever they believed in, whatever lifestyle they led ... was a farce and sham. That is another way of killing people."

Ms. Aghdashloo, addressing the gathering via video from Los Angeles, said everything she had "ever read or understood about the Baha'i Faith" is that is stands for the oneness of humanity and inherent nobility of all human beings.

"I stand with many others around the world in conveying our unified voice in support of the Baha'is in Iran and wish to speak out against the ongoing and deplorable actions of the Iranian government," she said.

The event in Washington, held on 12 September, was dedicated to the Baha'is who are jailed in Iran, including the seven "leaders" who have been detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for more than a year on trumped-up charges of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic."

It was one of a number of gatherings held in recent months across the United States to offer prayers for the prisoners, including events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and now Washington. ...


To read the rest of the article, see accompanying photographs, and find video links for the speeches, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/731

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org




________________________________________________

Copyright 2009 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories and photographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

Prominent Iranians call for religious liberty

WASHINGTON, 30 September (BWNS) – A best-selling author and an Oscar-nominated actress are among those who have called for religious freedom in Iran, including an end to the persecution of Baha'is in that country.

Some 1,400 people heard Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and Shohreh Aghdashloo, Academy Award-nominated actress for "House of Sand and Fog," speak at a public gathering this month at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Both Dr. Nafisi and Ms. Aghdashloo were born in Iran, and neither is a member of the Baha'i community.

Dr. Nafisi spoke passionately about the common humanity of all people and the suffering of one being the suffering of all. She particularly focused on minorities in Iran and pointed to the example of the Baha'is.

"I ask myself," she said, "how does it feel to be deprived of every single basic human right in a country you call your own, in a country where you have been born into the language and the culture, a country where your parents and your parents' parents ... have lived and contributed to, what does it mean to be deprived of the right to education, of the right to property, of even the right to life?"

She said the struggle is "not a political struggle, it is an existential one." It goes beyond the Baha'is, she said, to "every single person in Iran who dares to be different, who dares to express his or her desire for the freedom to have a choice."

"Baha'is in Iran have become the canaries in the mine," she said. "You want to know how much freedom the Iranian people enjoy today, you go to the fate of its Baha'is."

Depriving people of their individuality is a way of killing them, she said. "It is worse, in fact, that just being plainly murdered. To deny your humanity, your individuality, is to be dead."

"The show trials that have been going on in Iran – all these people coming from such different backgrounds, such different ages, such different political and religious beliefs, all of them deprived of their individuality," she said.

The defendants, she said, were forced into confessing that "whatever they believed in, whatever lifestyle they led ... was a farce and sham. That is another way of killing people."

Ms. Aghdashloo, addressing the gathering via video from Los Angeles, said everything she had "ever read or understood about the Baha'i Faith" is that is stands for the oneness of humanity and inherent nobility of all human beings.

"I stand with many others around the world in conveying our unified voice in support of the Baha'is in Iran and wish to speak out against the ongoing and deplorable actions of the Iranian government," she said.

The event in Washington, held on 12 September, was dedicated to the Baha'is who are jailed in Iran, including the seven "leaders" who have been detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for more than a year on trumped-up charges of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic."

It was one of a number of gatherings held in recent months across the United States to offer prayers for the prisoners, including events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and now Washington. ...


To read the rest of the article, see accompanying photographs, and find video links for the speeches, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/731

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org




________________________________________________

Copyright 2009 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories and photographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community

Iran Press Watch
Documenting the Persecution of the Baha’i Commu



Baha’i Cemetery Ruined for the 18th Time
Posted: 21 Sep 2009 06:44 PM PDT
On Sunday, September 20, 2009, the Committee of Human Rights Reporters posted the following news, which appears below in translation:
From September 6 through September 10, using large trucks and bulldozers, a number of unknown individuals destroyed and excavated the Baha’i Cemetery of Najafabad and Vilashahr [near Isfahan].
The cemetery, which belongs to the Baha’is of Najafabad and Vilashahr, and which is known as Gulestan Javid [“eternal garden”], is situated about 9 miles from Najafabad. This land was given to the Baha’is of Najafabad and Vilashahr in the winter of 1995; it has been attacked 18 times since them. It has been reported that 119 graves are located in this cemetery – 95 are in the first section and 24 more are in the second section.
According to reports by eyewitnesses, when Baha’is visited the cemetery on Thursday, September 10, 2009, they were confronted with a destroyed cemetery and excavated land. The entire first section and portions of section 2 of this cemetery had been excavated, and large craters and earth-mounds were created. In some segments, the earth had been removed to the depth of over a yard, and in other segments earth had been brought in from other areas and piled up in long rows as high as 10 yards.
Moreover, parking lots located on the northern and southern parts of cemetery were also excavated up to 35 yards from the graves, and large craters and mounds were created in them.
It should be noted that tracks from bulldozers and large trucks were clearly evident throughout the cemetery and surrounding land. In addition, the remains of previously destroyed facilities that had included water tanks were taken away from the property.
It should be noted that the previous Baha’i cemetery of this region was thoroughly destroyed and eradicated in 1984.
According to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
Despite the fact that Iran is a signatory of this Universal Declaration, for the past 30 years Baha’is have been deprived of the most basic rights, such as the right to individual dignity and personal security – and even their cemeteries in many different towns have been attacked and destroyed.
Below are a series of photographs showing before and after the latest destruction of the Baha’i cemetery of Najafabad and Vilashahr.
[Posted on Sunday, September 20, 2009, at: http://chrr.us/spip.php?article5776. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

4 Baha’i Prisoners Released Posted: 11 Sep 2009 05:10 PM PDT The online site of Khabar Navard has reported the following on Friday, September 11, 2009, which appears below in translation: Mrs. Didar Hashemi, Mrs. Vesal Yusufi and Payam Yusufi were released from prison in Sari on Wednesday, September 9, 2009. Mr. Anvar Moslemi was also released from Sari’s prison on Wednesday, September 9 after a 300,000 tuman [equivalent of US$300] surety was posted. [Posted on Friday, September 11, 2009, at Khabar Navard. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Forced Closure of Baha’i Businesses Posted: 11 Sep 2009 01:44 PM PDT As reported previously by Iran Press Watch(IPW1, IPW2 and IPW3), on July 8, 2009, around 4 pm in the afternoon, four agents of the Information office of the Ministry of Intelligence of the city of Sari, in Province of Mazandaran, visited the optical store of Sohrab Laqa’i and detained him. The following update is provided by the online site of Human Rights Activists News Agency: According to a report by the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, towards the end of last week, agents of the Public Properties went to the optical shop of Sohrab Laqa’i, a Baha’i prisoner, and without presenting any evidence, proceeded to close and seal that business location. Afterwards, the same agents went to the shop of Mr. Laqa’i’s wife, Mrs. Zahra Golabian, and closed that business as well. It should be noted that Sohrab Laqa’i was arrested at the place of his work on July 8 by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of Sari on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.” He was kept at the incarceration center of the same Ministry. After 38 days in solitary confinement in Shahid Kachouie detention center, he was transferred to the general prison facility of Qa’emshahr. Despite continual efforts of his lawyer and family, he continues to languish in prison. It should be noted that security agents had previously threatened this prisoner of conscience with the closure of his business. [Posted on Thursday, September 10, 2009, at hra-news and hra-iran. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

New Form of Discrimination Posted: 11 Sep 2009 12:50 PM PDT The following news was posted on the site of Khabar Navard and Bah19 on Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10, 2009, respectively, and appears below in translation: In Iran, even giving private language lessons by Baha’is is now a crime. Last year, security and municipality agents raided the home of Dariush Latifi in Kashan and after a thorough search of the residence, confiscated various booklets and tapes that help teach English language. Afterwards, Mr. Latifi and his wife, Marjan Abu’l-Fazli, were routinely summoned and illegally interrogated. Authorities insisted that this couple could not hold private English training classes in their home, unless they had received a special Educational and Training permit. This interrogation and harassment has intensified and escalated during the past year. However, the law indicates that no one is required to have a permit for giving private lessons. In fact, since the beginning of Islamic Revolution, when all Baha’is were discharged from governmental jobs, giving private tutorials and training is one way that Baha’is have earned a living. And now in Kashan this legal right is being violated and trampled by those responsible to uphold the law. Posted on Khabar Navard and Bah19. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community

---

Baha’i Tried by the Revolutionary Court Posted: 05 Sep 2009 02:04 PM PDT On Saturday, September 5, 2009,Human Rights Activists News Agency reported the following news, which appears below in translation. For previous reference to this case on Iran Press Watch, please consult: here A Baha’i prisoner was tried by the Revolutionary Court on security charges. Shahram Chiniyan-Miyanduab was tried by Branch 31 of Revolutionary Court of the town of Ray, with Mr. Zendeh-Del being the presiding judge. Mr. Chiniyan is a Baha’i and arrested in January by police units in Ray, first because of personal complaints by several individuals. Later additional security charges were brought up against him and he was transferred into the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence. In the course of his trial, the prosecutor read the following charges against him: “activities against the regime”, “membership in illegal groups”, “claim to Mihdi [the Promised One of Islam]”, and “insulting religious sanctities”. Mr. Chiniyan’s lawyer rejected these charges and said they were baseless. The court will issue its ruling during the coming week. It should be noted that after the conclusion of the trial, the aforementioned Mr. Chiniyan was taken the quarantined section the Evin prison, where in accordance with the law, he would be kept for 3 days. This section is notoriously without a proper hygienic environment and lacks basic standards of health. Moreover, while incarcerated, prisoners must observe the Islamic law and are compelled to fast. [Iran is presently observing the fasting month of Ramadan – translator.] [Posted on Saturday, September 5, 2009 at: http://hra-news.info/news/4733.aspx. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

An Arrest in Semnan Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:06 PM PDT Editor’s Note: Iran Press Watch regrets that due to the pressure of work it failed to report on an important development in Semnan, as reported throughMihan site on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. For the sake of the completeness of our historical records, that report is now shared in translation: In mid February 2009, Murteza Hamidi [presumably a Muslim] was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Semnan. Previously, on December 15, 2008, his home was raided at the same time as the homes of 20 Baha’i families were attacked by agents of the same Ministry in a widespread operation. The charge against Mr. Hamidi is “possession of Baha’i books and materials”, and “relationship with Baha’is”. It should be noted that his grandfather is a Baha’i, as are many other members of his family; therefore it is perfectly natural and understandable for Hamidi to have Baha’i printed materials in his possession and to have interactions with Baha’is. Repeated efforts by his family to secure his freedom have remained futile, and Mr. Hamidi continues to languish in prison without any recourse. The other point that adds to the anxiety of this situation is that Mr. Hamidi and his family have been extensively pressured by the Ministry of Intelligence to file complaints against some Baha’i residents of Semnan for promoting the Baha’i Faith to him and his children. Through this method, the authorities hope to create a legal pretext for further harassment and persecution of the Baha’is of Semnan. Is this effort not another step in an organized and systematic campaign to eliminate the Baha’is of Semnan? This would then be an effort which could serve as a dangerous and inhumane model for the rest of the nation to entirely eliminate the Baha’is. [Posted on http://emails.mihanblog.com/post/125. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

First National ID Issued for Baha’is in Egypt Posted: 18 Aug 2009 02:12 PM PDT Editor’s Note: The following report by Safaa Abdoun was published on Daily News Egypt and because of its implications for the entire area, including Iran, it is reposted here. Following years of legal battles and calls for state recognition, two Bahais issued their first national ID in which the religious affiliation field was left blank, instead of falsely listing Islam, Christianity or Judism as their religion. Sixteen-year-old twins Nancy and Emad Hindy issued their ID cards after a legal battle which ended last March with Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court upholding, definitively, the right of Egyptian Bahais to obtain personal identification documents without stating their religious affiliation. The Administrative Court in January 2008 had allowed Bahais to leave the religious affiliation field on birth certificates and identity cards blank. The Hindys’ case was brought forward by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). “Nancy and Emad issuing ID cards which implementation of the new ID policy is a welcomed [yet] a long overdue step which we have been working on since the court ruling in March,” said chairman of EIPR, Hossam Bahgat. Read full article here: Daily News Egypt Read a similar story at: Baha\’i World News Service

A Baha’i Home Searched Posted: 18 Aug 2009 01:32 PM PDT According to Baha’i World News Service, on July 29, 2009, the home of Mr. Nader Munzavi in Delijan, in the province of Makazi, was searched and his computer and Baha’i books were confiscated. Mr. Munzavi is the sole Baha’i resident of this small town. Last year, he was summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence for interrogations. [Posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at BWNS. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Baha’is on Temporary Leave from Prison Posted: 18 Aug 2009 01:15 PM PDT On separate reports, the Persian page of Baha’i World News Service has advised that Baha’i prisoners in Shiraz and Yazd have been given temporary leave from prison: Three Baha’i youth prisoners have been given a temporary family leave. Haleh Rouhi was given a leave from July 12 to August 8, and Raha Sabet from July 12 to August 6. Both have now returned to their incarceration. On Sunday, August 2, Sasan Taqva had a foot surgery and it not known at this time when he will resume his detention. He has been on leave since July 27. The above three youth were arrested on November 19, 2007, and are completing their four year prison sentence. On another report, BWNS stated: The family of Mr. Mehran Bandi in Yazd has been advised that the medical authorities in the prison where Mr. Bandi is incarcerated have determined that he is physically unable to endure the rest of his sentence (see, Iran Press Watch1). For this reason, from July 28, he has been given a month of temporary leave and it is not know whether he has returned to incarceration since the commencement of his leave. Mr. Bandi has been imprisoned since May 20, 2008 [Iran Press Watch has recorded the beginning of his sentence as Aug. 28, 2008; see Iran press Watch2]. He is sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment, followed with three years of exile. [Source BWNS1 and BWNS2. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

A Baha’i Sentenced to Imprisonment Posted: 18 Aug 2009 12:05 PM PDT According to Human Rights Activists News Agency, the Revolutionary Court of Semnan has convicted a Baha’i resident to 18 months imprisonment. According to the court ruling, Mrs. Susan Tebyanian[-Jabbari], a Baha’i resident of Semnan was convicted to 18 months imprisonment. In the course of her sentencing, the court noted that because of lack of appropriate facilities in Semnan (given her background), one of the prisons in Tehran would be designated for her by the court. It should be noted her trial took place about a month ago, but the present ruling was issued and communicated on August 12. [Source: August 18, 2009, hra-news] The Persian page of the Baha’i World News Service provides further details: On June 2, 2009, the trial of Mrs. Susan Tebyanian, a Baha’i of Semnan, took place. She had been arrested on April 27, 2009, and released on bail and surety on May 1. The court sentenced her to 18 months imprisonment on the following charges: § Formation of illegal groups and societies associated with the Baha’i community under the pretext of “moral training classes” § Membership in illegal groups and societies of the Baha’is, such as, “Education Committee”, and “Committee for Training and Education” § Propaganda against the regime and in support of the Baha’is, such as, local gatherings and associations. [Source: BWNS. Translations by Iran Press Watch]

Iran Press Watch

• An Iranian Cleric Protests Trial of Yaran (part 1)
• Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari-August 14th, 2009

• Editor’s Note: Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari (b.1950) is an Iranian cleric, researcher, journalist and reformist. He has been described as “an active supporter of the revolution” who became “an outspoken and influential critic of the current Iranian version of theocracy”. He spent seven years in prison after having been convicted in the Special Court for the Clergy for a number of charges including “insulting Islamic sanctities”. As a result of his conviction, he was de-frocked. Prior to his arrest, Eshkevari was the Director of the Ali Shariati Research Centre and contributing editor of the newspaper Iran-e Farda, which was banned in April 2000. Mr. Eshkevari has written several articles in support of human and civil rights of the Iranian Baha’i community, which Iran Press Watch will bring to the attention of its readers in translation. The present article (which appears below in translation) had the title, “Hounding the Baha’is and followers of other religious groups from historical religious and Islamic Constitution perspective” in Persian.

  by Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari

  Recently, a statement titled “We are Ashamed” was published, addressing the Baha’i community of Iran. About 270 writers, researchers, journalists, actors and actresses, and intellectuals residing outside Iran put their signatures on this statement. Anyone, even those least familiar with the contemporary history of Iran (from the time of the Qajar dynasty to present time), knows that this undertaking has immense importance and implications. It is a turning point for numerous reasons, especially with respect to the yearning for freedom, equality, or to sum it up,” human rights”.

  The bitter reality is, from its inception as a religious phenomena, in 19th century Iran, followers of the Babi [forerunner of the Baha’is] and Baha’i religions have been continuously subjected to condemnation and persecution by the Muslim society of Iran. There have been bloody confrontations by Muslims and by governmental authorities in different parts of Iran. This coercion continues in different shapes and forms to date.

  Historically speaking, there is not much room for discussion and argument as to why there has been suppression and why Baha’is have been subjected to atrocities. Since the beginning of human history, there have always been confrontations between the followers of new and old religions. It could be said that even now there exist confrontations between new and old religious groups. This trend is only a historical reality, it has nothing to do with which group is right or wrong, whether the truth lies with the followers of the new religion or with the ones attached to old belief systems and rituals. The same differences have existed between the messengers of God and the followers of different religions of their time. Also, in the internal history of all the old religions (Zoroastrians, Judaism, Christianity and Islam), there have been harsh confrontations between sects within the same religion and, to a lesser degree, between devout followers who have different viewpoints. For example, consider the relentless and bloody attacks on Protestants by Catholics, and the cruelties inflicted on Catholics by Protestants from the 16th to the 18th century, and massacres by both sides all over Europe. It is said that in the St. Barthelme Paris battle, about 30,000 Protestants were slaughtered.

  The issue is that the followers of the prevailing religion label heterodox thinkers who exit their religion as heretics and apostates and ultimately consider them as enemies of God, enemies of their prophet, and enemies of their legitimate devout governing bodies. They are under the impression that, as a religious obligation and to attain God and His messenger’s salvation, it is their responsibility to protect their faith. This is the logic behind the harsh confrontation of religious rulers of different eras with the apostates of their time. It should be noted that at the beginning the issue is only religious, but later on, especially when the dissenting group completely branches out and separates from the existing religion, numerous political, economical and even personal and group egotistic factors play a crucial and decisive role in prolonging the violence.

  If we look at the Baha’is of Iran from a historical perspective, their mistreatment is clearly the repetition of what has happened a thousand times throughout the history of Iran, the world, and Islam. Shortly after its growth and expansion, combined with political, social, and cultural factors, the struggles and complexities between the ruling religious groups and the Baha’is increased.

  From the start of the Babi movement, over 150 years ago, we have experienced a lot of social, cultural and political changes; moreover we have initiated and put behind us two big social and political revolutions. It is surprising that in this long period, with respect to human rights and civil rights, the “Baha’i issue” has not only remained unresolved, but has become even more complicated and even more grievous in recent years. The important matter is that in the long periods of human and civil rights discussions, the rights of the followers of the Baha’i faith have been completely overlooked. There has been a silence and ambiguity as if a religion by the name of Baha’i faith did not exist in Iran and a considerable number of followers of this religion did not live alongside other citizens in our homeland.

  The silence on the part of Muslims is somewhat understandable, but this intentional and unintentional silence is also noticeable among non-religious groups, such as secular humanists, democrats, freedom fighters, and irreligious leftists. In all the talks and writings of the freedom fighters and justice seekers from the pre-constitutional revolution to date, there has been almost no mention of Iranian Baha’is and their civil rights. In the Constitution not only is there no mention of them, but their role in political and social change is undermined. At that time, even being a Babi (forerunners of Baha’is) was equivalent to being guilty of being an “enemy of the people”. In the Islamic revolution of 1979, and in the Islamic Constitution, the silence is even heavier.

  The main reason, or one of the main reasons for this silence is that the “Baha’i issue” has been taboo; no one has dared to approach the Baha’i faith and openly discuss it. It is surprising that in the Islamic regime, non-religious and anti-religious persons have been victims of the same taboos and oppressive atmosphere.

  Because of the ongoing, wide-scale boycott and censorship, few researchers have taken the liberty to study Baha’i ideologies and to familiarize the public with Baha’i beliefs, ideas, spiritual and social laws, an accurate history of their faith and of its followers. Hardly any researchers have been free from religious and political quarrels and pre-judgments, in order that they could mention who the Baha’is are, what they offer and what role they play in shaping the contemporary history of Iran. For this reason, even today, neither the general public nor researchers have accurate information about Baha’is and their convictions. Accurate and trustworthy documentation about the Baha’is is rare or nonexistent in Iran.

  On the contrary – the immense volumes of anti-Baha’i writings that are available are often worthless, void of substance, non-scientific and laden with blind religious discrimination and prejudice. The same boycott and censorship imposed upon Baha’i ideas has in general harmed the free flow of information and research findings. In any case, the emergence of the Baha’i faith in Iran at the time of the Qajar Dynasty is a part of our history. Neutral, scientific research and an overall understanding of the Baha’i faith is integral to a thorough understanding of the general, religious, and social history of our land.

  Now is the time to forgo this boycott and censorship. It is mainly the responsibility of broadminded people and researchers to investigate Baha’i ideologies and to end this void and poverty of accurate information. It is the ethical and the humanitarian duty of open-minded free thinkers, democrats, freedom fighters and human rights activists, to defend and endeavor to restore the lost rights of the Baha’is. Similarly, it is their responsibility to uphold the rights of all other Iranian residents, irrespective of their religion, convictions, political and social views. The foundation of democracy and liberty is based on the equality of human beings, meaning that the innate and natural human rights of any Iranian living in any geographical part of the country is equal to the right of any other Iranian. Based on this logic no one is considered more Iranian than any other. On the surface, we have accepted this reasoning since the time of the Constitutional Revolution, but in reality, we are living in an era before the Constitutional Revolution.

  It seems that in our culture, our main quandary is due to religious beliefs. There is a lot of room for argument and discussion in this area which I can’t get into at this time. I only make a suggestion to the theologians and the learned, to ponder and issue laws based on the duty to act rationally and to follow the guidelines within the framework of the general Islamic laws and wholesome religious principals. I request a response to my question: “Assume the first generation of the Baha’is were considered heretics: why, and based on what rationale, should the next generations until the day of resurrection be called heretics?” Is the religious ruling for the Baha’is any different from the ruling for Muslims converting to Christianity or Judaism? I believe it does not make any difference whether one is converting to a religion recognized by Islamic rulers (Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians) or not. When someone strays from Islam, he is exiting Islam, whether the conversion is to any religion or to no religion.

  Today we are living in a world whose foundation of social interaction is based upon the equality of human beings. No citizen may be deprived of his civil rights because of his beliefs, convictions, race, religion or any other differentiating factor. At one time Sheikh Fazlollah Noori[1] said, “in Islam the foundation is based on discrimination and not on equality”. Are our theologians upholding the same belief after the passage of a century? If that is the case, what is the meaning of the claim “Islam values human beings”, and is a “just religion”?

  [1] Sheikh Fazlollah Noori was a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric in Iran during the late 19th and early 20th century who fought against the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and was executed for treason as a result. Today he is considered a martyr in the fight against democracy by Islamic conservatives in Iran.

  [Posted on July 9, 2009, at Roozonline. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

BWNS: Due process ignored as trial date is set for Iranian Baha'i prisoners

GENEVA, 12 August (BWNS) - In yet another example of the denial to Baha'is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders - despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country.

Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families - contact that did not begin until some five months' after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement.

Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha'is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha'is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.

The writ of notification giving 18 August as the trial date was specifically addressed to Mr. Soltani, a well-known human rights lawyer and a principal of the Tehran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and has since last year undertaken to defend the seven Baha'is.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Ebadi, the senior member of the legal team, remains outside the country.

"The judiciary's decision to schedule the trial under these circumstances is an effrontery and yet another tactic aimed at depriving the seven Baha'i leaders of competent legal counsel," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

"The Iranian authorities know full well who is serving as legal counsel for the Baha'is. Indeed, authorities have several times tried to pressure the seven to change lawyers.

"It is the height of absurdity to issue a trial notice to a lawyer who has himself been unjustly imprisoned," she said.

"The willingness of Iran's judiciary to flout the most fundamental internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence were brought to light in the widespread publicity attending the trial of Roxana Saberi.

"More recently, the attention of the world has been focused on the show trial of scores of individuals arrested in post-election turmoil in Iran, also without due process and which has included 'confessions' that were clearly coerced through torture," said Ms. Ala'i.

The Baha'i International Community has called for the human rights of all the people of Iran to be respected and upheld. "Today, then, we raise the call on behalf of our innocent co-religionists, whose only 'crime' is their religious belief, and who face the most severe punishments if they are found guilty of the trumped-up charges against them.

"Instead of going on trial, they should be immediately released on bail, and, at the very least, be given adequate time for their attorneys to prepare a defense," said Ms. Ala'i.

Ms. Ala'i also said that the 18 August trial date could not be taken as firm, noting that the families of the seven had been told in June they were to be tried on 11 July, only to have that date come and go.

"Given the past history of this case, the utter lack of concern for procedure on the part of authorities, and the current situation in Iran, it is simply not possible to know when the proceedings will actually begin," she said.

The seven Baha'i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have since been held without formal charges or access to their lawyers at Evin prison in Tehran.

Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic," charges that are rejected completely and categorically.

The ongoing imprisonment of the seven and pending trial is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as the former members of a national-level coordinating group known as the "Friends in Iran." Some 25 years ago, other Baha'i leaders were executed after being rounded up in a manner similar to the way in which these seven were arrested last year.

To read the article online, with a photograph, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/725

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org


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