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Los lideres baha’is aparecen en el juzgado por segunda vez
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Baha’i leaders make second court appearance
GENEVA, 7 February (BWNS) - Seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders appeared in
court today in Iran for a second session of their trial.
The session was once again closed, and family members were not permitted in
the courtroom, the Baha’i International Community has learned.
The hearing, which lasted just over one hour, does not seem to have gone
beyond procedural issues. No date was given for any future sessions.
The seven were arrested nearly two years ago and have been held in Tehran’s
Evin prison since that time, spending the first year there without formal
charges or access to lawyers.
After several postponements, their trial officially began on 12 January,
when the seven were arraigned in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in
Tehran.
That session was also closed to the public, but accounts in
government-sponsored news media said the defendants were formally charged
with espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the
establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending
secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the
country, and corruption on earth.
All the charges have been categorically denied. The defendants are Mrs.
Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid
Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
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Entre las ruinas de Haiti, un nacimiento trae esperanza
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El servicio de noticias en ingles, The Baha’i World News Service ha
publicado el siguiente articulo acompaado por una coleccion de 30
fotografias. Se pueden ver en el siguiente enlace:
http://news.bahai.org/story/755
Amid wreckage in Haiti, new birth brings hope
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 5 February (BWNS) Little Tina Rose Wome came into
the world on 28 January in a makeshift clinic, fashioned from a classroom at
the Anis Zunuzi Baha’i School on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
An entire team of visiting doctors and nurses was on hand for her arrival
the first birth at the school in the 30 years since its founding.
The delivery was poignant in another way, too Magdalah Wome had been
pregnant three times previously but none of her other babies survived
childbirth. Tina Rose is the first she has taken home -a home which now is
no more than a tent pitched in front of the rubble that at one time was a
house.
International relief agencies have reported that dealing with the aftermath
of the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on 12 January is one of the
biggest challenges they have ever faced. As many as 170,000 people are
believed dead, and the number of homeless may top one million.
“Whatever you see on television, it is 10 times worse,” said Dr. Munirih
Tahzib, a pediatrician from New Jersey who helped organize the medical team.
“We would meet people whose entire family had been killed and their house
destroyed. Yet they would just pick up and carry on. That is what kept us
going.”
Indeed, the inspiration provided by the Haitian population is a common
refrain in reports from the scene. “The Haitians are not just sitting back
with their hands out. They’re doing a lot of the heavy lifting so humble
in its nature, it seems invisible,” Time magazine said. “They dig survivors
out of the wreckage by hand, not with big yellow machines.”
The 18 members of the particular medical team that welcomed Tina Rose into
the world were from the United States and Canada. They had come to Haiti to
deliver medical supplies and treat as many patients as possible during the
week that they were able to stay. Additional goals were to teach people how
to recognize and treat infection, and assess needs for sustainability.
The 18 visitors, many of whom were Baha’is, had made arrangements to set up
their tents in the yard at the Anis Zunuzi school and create a temporary
clinic in the classrooms that were still standing.
The directors of the school, Yves and Susanna Puzo, lost their home in the
earthquake but helped arrange for food and logistical support for the
medical team, which included two pediatricians, two orthopedic surgeons,
four obstetricians/gynecologists, an intensive care specialist, a hospital
doctor, a nurse, a respiratory therapist, and a fourth-year medical student.
Back home, members of the group have already had follow-up consultations
about how they can provide ongoing assistance to efforts by Haitians
including the local Baha’is to rebuild their country.
“We all learned the power of grassroots action,” said Dr. Tahzib.
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Una prestigiosa exposicion presenta “Nuevo Jardin”
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Prestigious exhibition presents “New Garden”
BRISBANE, Australia, 2 February (BWNS) - Traditional Pacific island bark
cloth stenciled with designs depicting a vision of a “New Garden” was one of
the artworks commissioned for a prestigious exhibition at the Queensland Art
Gallery.
The sixth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art - APT6 - is now well
into its four-month run and features works by some of the best-known artists
of the Pacific region.
Prominent New Zealand artist Robin White was invited to participate, with
organizers mentioning a possible collaboration with a tapa artist from Fiji.
Eventually Mrs. White proposed that she work with two Fijians, Leba Toki and
Bale Jione.
All three artists are Baha’is and used their vision of a future society to
inspire their work.
“What we wanted to do was to present our vision of what Fiji could be - and
what it will be,” said Mrs. White.
In Fiji, she explained, almost all of the world’s great religions are
represented by a significant portion of the population - Hindu, Muslim,
Buddhist, Christian, and a small but growing Baha’i community.
“That makes it special,” she said. “Somehow we wanted to get that idea
across.”
The tapa - or masi, as the Fijians call the craft of tapa and the plant from
which it is made - is traditionally made for a wedding, and the artists
indeed used that concept.
“The idea was not about a literal wedding between two individuals but rather
the idea of a marriage of cultures - namely the indigenous and Indian
cultures that constitute contemporary Fijian society - connected by bonds of
love and respect,” Mrs. White said.
In the end, many elements were incorporated into their tapa. For the main
piece, a vision of the Shrine of the Bab in the Holy Land and its
surrounding terraces was combined with images of importance to Fijians.
For Mrs. Toki, the mere act of a Fijian like herself collaborating with a
New Zealander to create artwork on tapa was a breakthrough.
“I knew that only the Fijians can do the tapa,” she said, remembering her
skepticism when Mrs. White first contacted her for an earlier project. “I
was thinking, ‘How can we work together?’”
For Mrs. White, it was during her travels in the Pacific that she had gotten
the idea of a collaboration. Already a well-known artist in other media, she
had known about the tapa produced in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. But when she
saw a particularly beautiful piece hanging in the transit lounge in the Nadi
airport, she decided she must learn the technique for making it.
In Fiji, she met Mrs. Toki at a Baha’i gathering and later at the Toki
residence noticed some beautiful tapa on the wall.
“Who did these?” Mrs. White asked.
When she discovered that Mrs. Toki herself was the artist, an idea was born.
At first Mrs. Toki was reluctant to work jointly - she had never heard of
the type of tapa she did being created by anyone other than Fijians. But
when she discovered that Mrs. White indeed was an artist, she was willing to
give it a go. And when they began collaborating, she found the relationship
rewarding.
“Working together is very powerful,” Mrs. Toki says now. “Different races,
both giving ideas.”
She said a pattern of consultation, action, and reflection - familiar to all
three women through their Baha’i activities - became a key part of the
creation of their artwork for the APT6 exhibition.
The trio completed their new work several months ago and traveled to
Brisbane in early December for the opening of APT6 and to participate in
stimulating conversations with other artists from throughout the Asian
Pacific region.
The exhibition runs through 5 April.
For a longer version of the article, and to see photographs of the art and
the artists, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/754
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/
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Los baha’is denuncian la falta de garantias procesales en el juicio en Iran
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Baha’is condemn lack of due process at trial in Iran
NEW YORK, 31 January (BWNS) - The Baha’i International Community has issued
a statement condemning the trial of 16 individuals in Iran yesterday as a
“violation of all internationally accepted standards of legal due process.”
The statement highlights the lack of proper legal representation for the
defendants and the use of unreliable “confessions” in the trial. One of the
16 on trial is a Baha’i.
“The use of coerced ‘confessions’ and the denial of adequate legal
representation reflect the Iranian authorities’ growing assault on human
rights,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i
International Community to the United Nations.
The complete statement follows:
The trial yesterday of 16 individuals in Iran, apparently accused of
participating in the Ashura demonstrations on 27 December, stands in
violation of all internationally accepted standards of legal due process.
While facts are unavailable to the Baha’i International Community concerning
15 of the defendants in the court proceedings, it can confirm that one
individual - identified only as “P.F.” in government reports - is a Baha’i.
The show trials in the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential election, at
which defendants have been forced to read statements incriminating
themselves, have completely discredited “confessions,” such as the one
purportedly made by “P.F.,” both inside and outside of Iran. It is well
known that such confessions are obtained while prisoners are under extreme
duress, often after being exposed to such appalling tactics as food and
sleep deprivation, fake executions, threats against their families, and
worse. Rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country,
the Iranian government organizes such show trials in order to lay the blame
on innocent citizens and others.
While it is claimed that the court proceedings are open, not even the
families of the defendants are notified of the trial of their loved ones.
The person identified as P.F., along with nine other Baha’is who were
arrested on 3 January in Tehran, has not been able to contact his family,
has been denied access to a lawyer, and was not allowed to choose his own
legal representation. The government-appointed lawyer who acted on behalf of
P.F. did nothing more than to accept the “confession” of his client and make
a pro forma request for leniency.
The Iranian government is well aware that it is a fundamental principle of
the Baha’i Faith that its followers strictly refrain from involvement in any
partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international.
Consequently, the arrest of ten Baha’is on 3 January, a full week after the
Ashura demonstrations, and the claims that Baha’is were behind the recent
anti-government turmoil have come as a complete surprise to the Baha’i
community. These fabricated accusations clearly appear to be not so much
about some Baha’is participating in the Ashura demonstrations. They point
instead to a scenario which has been concocted by the authorities to justify
placing further restrictions on the activities of the Baha’i community. This
is but the most recent tactic in the ongoing systematic campaign of
persecution that seeks to eliminate the Baha’i community as a viable entity
in that country.
We call on governments and fair-minded people throughout the world to join
us and raise their voice to protest against the blatant violations of human
rights in Iran, of which yesterday’s trial is only the most recent example.
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
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Los jovenes buscan una vida “coherente” a la hora de planificar su futuro
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Young people aim for a “coherent” life as they plan their future
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, 28 January (BWNS) - Having a belief system is
not so difficult, said 25-year-old Nava, participating in a recent
university seminar in Honduras. The challenging part is building your life
around your beliefs.
More than 1,500 young people addressed this challenge at recent Baha’i
gatherings in five countries - Honduras, Italy, Australia, England, and the
Philippines.
The youth are trying to examine their lives at a time when they have the
opportunity to develop a lifestyle and career path that incorporate the
values and activities which they believe can shape the kind of world they
want to live in.
Nava Kavelin, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, helped facilitate sessions for some
of the 60 university students from Central America who signed up for a
10-day seminar in Santa Rosa de Copan in early January.
Participants explored educational paths in light of their beliefs, said Ms.
Kavelin. Among the professions they discussed was advertising.
“We looked at the mass media and the messages it communicates. We talked
about how the media can paint people in a less-than-favorable light - yet as
Baha’is we believe in promoting the nobility of man,” Ms. Kavelin said.
“The question for university students becomes, how will I use my degree to
promote the values I agree with - and to not promote values that I don’t
agree with.”
Students of business and economics discussed how some business models are in
agreement with their principles and some aren’t, she said.
“The participants are learning to become owners of their own education
rather than passive recipients, looking critically at how the classes they
take can help them with their objectives,” Ms. Kavelin said.
“A coherent life”
Luke Bolton, 22, of New York was one of 300 young people from 39 countries
who attended the six-day conference in Italy, which was aimed at assisting
participants to see all aspects of their life as complementary elements
devoted to the service of humanity.
Since Mr. Bolton’s return home, he and colleagues at his office have
discussed the subject of not compromising your principles while working at
your job.
“One thing that resonates with people is living a coherent life,” he says.
Some of the participants at the conference in Italy, held in Verona in late
December, talked about having useful skills and good jobs - but still
feeling that their work is not related to the type of community-building
activities that Baha’is believe are vital to grassroots change in the world.
Those people, Mr. Bolton said, tended to feel that they need to devote more
of their time to service to the community. Some discussed how they could use
job skills - computer knowledge, for example - outside of work and apply it
to service.
“New vigor to the concept of service”
Service to humanity was at the crux of a message sent by the Universal House
of Justice to the more than 800 Baha’i youth who gathered in early January
at a conference in the Australian coastal city of Wollongong.
“Central to your role in the present day is to give new vigor to the concept
of service - being devoted to high ideals far removed from purely selfish
interests, oriented to advancement of society, and committed to the welfare
of humanity,” the House of Justice wrote to the youth.
The young people seem to be taking the guidance to heart.
“The conference helped me to raise my level of consciousness about the
individual and society,” Negin Sedaghat of Sydney said afterwards.
The presentations “challenged the youth to move beyond their frivolous
pursuits,” said another young woman.
“We are not just here to engage in idle talk but to put everything into
practice,” commented a third.
“Greater coherence and a life of service,” said Rewa Worley of Auckland, New
Zealand, summing up the message she was taking home from the conference.
Building capacity among youth
A key feature of the conference in England, held at the University of
Warwick in Coventry, was that the young people themselves were running it.
Bonnie Smith - who at only 16 is a veteran of dozens of Baha’i gatherings -
said the difference was noticeable.
“Suddenly a lot of youth I had never seen before were giving talks and
performances,” she said. “The idea was to give the youth skills that they
could take home with them.”
Aryan Ziaie, at age 20 one of the four main organizers, guessed that about a
third of the 346 registered participants were presenters or performers or in
some way contributed their skills to the event.
“The purpose of this conference was developing capacity,” he said. “It was
run by the youth - people who hadn’t done this before. It is a hallmark of
the success of the conference.”
A first-year law student at the London School of Economics, Mr. Ziaie said a
more typical conference might have two or three keynote speakers. This one
had many.
Even at his university, when he and his friends have serious discussions
about social change, the assumption seems to be that only a handful of
people will be the catalyst - “top down,” he said.
The mood at the conference was different, he said, with a “grassroots
sharing of experiences.”
“You saw people pledging their future to learning about how to effect social
transformation,” he said. “They are conscious of this, and they know where
to look for the guidance.”
The Baha’i youth seemed to have changed in the past year, he observed.
“You can tell by the level of conversations,” he said. “They share
experiences so that they can further refine their activities. They plan,
they act, and they reflect - they have been brought up with this dynamic.”
He said his own experience at the gathering was of less social chitchat and
more time spent in focused discussion.
“The vision was clearer,” he said.
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
________________________________________________
Copyright 2010 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/
———
La detencion de 10 baha’is causa preocupacion por otros encarcelados
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Detention of 10 Baha’is leads to fears for other prisoners
NEW YORK, 27 January (BWNS) - Concern is growing over the lack of
information about the status of 10 Baha’is who were arrested earlier this
month in Iran.
In addition to worry about their safety, there are fears that charges
against these 10 will be used to create false evidence in court against the
seven Baha’i leaders who have been held since 2008 and whose trial is set to
resume on 7 February.
“Our concern is that in the absence of any evidence against the seven
leaders, the authorities may be attempting to build a case by perhaps
forcing these newly arrested Baha’is to ‘confess’ that they were involved in
organizing December’s Ashura demonstrations under orders from their
‘leadership’,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i
International Community to the United Nations.
“Any such claim would be absurd, given that the seven leaders have been in
prison for the last two years,” she said.
Since their arrest on 3 January, statements have been made in Iranian
state-sanctioned media that the 10 possessed arms and ammunition in their
homes as part of an anti-government plot related to the December
demonstrations.
The 10 have virtually disappeared into Iran’s detention system, said Ms.
Dugal.
While it is not known whether any of these 10 were in fact present at the
Ashura demonstrations, any suggestion that they were central to the
organization of these events or that they possessed arms to be used against
the government is completely without foundation, she said.
“In the three weeks since these Baha’is were detained, their families have
had no contact with them, aside from a brief telephone message to one family
member on 11 January.”
While families have been unable to contact the 10, it has been learned that
they have been transferred recently to Gohardasht prison in Karaj.
“A cellmate of some of the Baha’i prisoners was recently released, and this
individual informed the families of this transfer,” said Ms. Dugal. “We
don’t know exactly what this means, but we do know that families tried to
bring clothes and money to the prisoners. The money was accepted by
authorities in Karaj, but not the clothing.”
The 10 Baha’is who were arrested on 3 January are Mrs. Leva Khanjani,
granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the seven Baha’i leaders, and
her husband, Mr. Babak Mobasher; Mr. Artin Ghazanfari and his wife, Mrs.
Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Nobel laureate and human rights attorney
Shirin Ebadi; Mr. Mehran Rowhani and Mr. Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Mr
Payam Fanaian; Mr. Nikav Hoveydaie; and Mr. Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son,
Mr. Zavosh Shadmehr.
On 12 January, the formal arraignment of the seven leaders was held in
Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
According to accounts in government-sponsored news media, the seven have
been charged with: espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic
order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with
Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the
security of the country, and corruption on earth.
In court, the defendants explicitly denied all of these charges.
Ms. Dugal said the judge has reportedly indicated that the next session of
the trial on 7 February will be open and the families will be permitted to
attend. The first court appearance was closed to the public.
The seven “leaders” are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr.
Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli,
and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.
This group of seven and the 10 Baha’is arrested on 3 January are among
hundreds of Baha’is who have been detained in the ongoing persecution of
Baha’is - a systematic campaign that has increased in severity in the last
few years.
To view the photos with the article:
http://news.bahai.org/story/751
For the Baha’i World News Service home page:
http://news.bahai.org
________________________________________________
Copyright 2010 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/
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Fecha fijada para siguiente sesin del juicio contra los Baha’is
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Date set for seven Baha’i leaders’ next court session
GENEVA Iranian authorities have notified the lawyers of seven imprisoned
Baha’i leaders that the next session of their trial will be held on 7
February, the Baha’i International Community learned today.
At their first court appearance, held 12 January in Tehran, the charges were
read to the seven, who categorically denied the accusations.
“While we know little about what actually took place inside the court, we
can now say for certain that these seven innocent Baha’is stood up and
firmly rejected all of the charges against them,” said Diane Ala’i of the
Baha’i International Community.
“We can also say that, based on the international outcry that accompanied
the first session of their trial, the world is watching this proceeding
closely and that the Iranian government will be held accountable for any
injustices,” she said.
The charges against the seven, according to accounts in government-sponsored
news media, were: espionage, “propaganda activities against the Islamic
order,” the establishment of an “illegal administration,” cooperation with
Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the
security of the country, and “corruption on earth.”
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.
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
been held in Tehran’s Evin prison ever since, spending their first year
there without formal charges or any access to lawyers.
For the Bahai World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
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Reaccion mundial al juicio de los siete Baha’is
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World reacts to the trial of the seven Baha’i leaders
GENEVA, 13 January (BWNS) - Iran’s decision to begin the trial yesterday of
seven Baha’i leaders has triggered a strong international reaction,
including a call by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi for their immediate release
and ultimate acquittal.
“If justice is to be carried out and an impartial judge should investigate
the charges leveled against my clients, no other verdict can be reached save
that of acquittal,” said Mrs. Ebadi, in comments posted on WashingtonTV, a
Web-based news service in the United States.
Mrs. Ebadi, who is one of the lawyers for the seven, said she had carefully
read the dossier of charges against them and “found in it no cause or
evidence to sustain the criminal charges upheld by the prosecutor.”
Others also expressed concerns about the fairness of the trial, calling for
it to be open and held in accordance with international legal standards.
Governments and prominent individuals in the European Union, the United
States, Brazil, India, and Canada issued strong statements of concern.
The European Union statement came yesterday, echoing an earlier call for
international observers to be allowed in the trial of the seven Baha’is.
“The EU recalls that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a
fundamental and undeniable right which shall be guaranteed in every
circumstance,” the statement said. “The EU calls for a just, fair and open
trial respecting all international standards and obligations. …”
In Brazil yesterday, Luiz Couto, the president of the Human Rights
Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies, said in a letter to the
Iranian ambassador to Brazil that it appears the “trial is not transparent
and public,” and that any closed trial would violate the right to a full and
fair defense.
“We consider the freedom of religion and belief - that of Muslims,
Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Baha’is, and all other religious expressions -
a fundamental human right for democracy, both in the east and west,” said
Congressman Couto.
On Monday, the United States Department of State condemned Iran’s decision
to move ahead with the trial.
“Authorities have detained these persons for more than 20 months, without
making public any evidence against them and giving them little access to
legal counsel,” said Philip J. Crowley, assistant secretary, Bureau of
Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State. “These persons are entitled to due
process.”
In India, prominent Indians called upon the government to take up the issue
of the Baha’i persecution with Tehran. “Our country has a long record of
pluralism and tolerance and must speak out,” said Maja Daruwala, director of
the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, according to The Hindu newspaper
on Saturday.
In Canada, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon issued a statement on Friday
expressing deep concern about the ongoing detention of the seven Baha’i
leaders. “It is deplorable that these individuals were detained on the sole
basis of their faith and have been denied a fair trial,” said Mr. Cannon.
Leading human rights barrister Cherie Blair in an interview today with the
BBC World Service called for the release of “this group of people who live a
religion which preaches peace and did nothing whatsoever to deserve this
trial.”
In the WashingtonTV interview, Mrs. Ebadi, who is currently outside Iran,
also offered a glimpse of what happened yesterday inside Branch 28 of the
Revolutionary Court, where the “first session” of the trial was held.
She said only two lawyers of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which she
established, were able to be present in the court. And that in spite of a
request for an open hearing, the court was closed.
The charges against the seven were reiterated yesterday in news accounts in
government-sponsored news media. They were given as: espionage, “propaganda
activities against the Islamic order,” the establishment of an illegal
administration, cooperation with Israel, the sending of secret documents
outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and
“corruption on earth.”
Diane Ala’i of the Baha’i International Community said the seven have
consistently and categorically denied such accusations. “We can be certain
that they also did so in front of the judge yesterday,” she said.
The seven 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
been held in Tehran’s Evin prison ever since, spending their first year
there without formal charges or any access to lawyers.
Prior to their arrest, the seven served as an appointed, ad hoc group known
as the “Friends.” Their role, carried out with the government’s knowledge,
was to see to the minimum spiritual and material needs of Iran’s Baha’i
community, which has been without formal leadership since its elected
governing bodies were disbanded in response to a government decree in 1983.
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
________________________________________________
Copyright 2010 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/
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Se inicia el Juicio contra 7 lideres Baha’is en Iran
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cuadro a la derecha –>
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Trial of seven Baha’i leaders under way in Tehran
GENEVA, 12 January (BWNS) - The trial of seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders
began today in Iran. Initial reports indicate that the trial is marked by
numerous violations of legal due process.
“We understand that no observers were allowed in the court,” said Diane
Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United
Nations in Geneva. “We find this completely outrageous, given that these
seven have been held purely because of their religious beliefs, in total
contradiction to any human rights standards.
“We understand that even the lawyers had to argue their way inside the court
- lawyers who in any case had virtually no access to the accused for nearly
two years.
“At the same time, the prisoners’ interrogators from the Ministry of
Intelligence and a film crew were seen going in, raising questions about the
nature of the trial,” she said.
Ms. Ala’i also noted that an Iranian Web site linked to state-run television
posted a story Monday evening announcing that the trial had already begun
and listing the same baseless accusations made in the past against the
seven.
“In any event, all of these accounts point to a trial that is highly
irregular, very similar to the show trials that have been held in Iran in
recent months,” she said.
The seven 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
been held in Tehran’s Evin prison ever since, spending their first year
there without formal charges or any access to lawyers.
“Whatever happens, it is clear that the trial of these seven innocent people
represents the trial of an entire religious community, and is an attempt to
further intimidate and ostracize all Iranian Baha’is simply because they
hold a different religious viewpoint from those in power.”
To view the article with photograph, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/748
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
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La Comunidad Internacional Baha’i rechaza las acusaciones de Iran
Lea una traduccion automatica al espanol de esta noticia pinchando en el
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Baha’i International Community rejects allegations that arrested Baha’is had
weapons in homes
GENEVA, 9 January (BWNS) - The Baha’i International Community today
categorically rejected new allegations by the Iranian government that arms
and ammunition were found in the homes of Baha’is who were arrested in
Tehran last Sunday.
“This is nothing less than a blatant lie,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i
International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
“Baha’is are by the most basic principles of their faith committed to
absolute nonviolence, and any charge that there might have been weapons or
‘live rounds’ in their homes is simply and completely unbelievable.
“Without doubt, these are baseless fabrications devised by the government to
further create an atmosphere of prejudice and hatred against the Iranian
Baha’i community. For more than a century Baha’is have suffered all manner
of persecution in Iran and have not resorted to armed violence, and everyone
knows this. Unfortunately, the Iranian government is once again resorting to
outright falsehoods to justify its nefarious intentions against the Baha’i
community. It should know that these lies will have no credibility
whatsoever.
“We are particularly concerned by the fact that these accusations come just
days before the scheduled trial of seven Baha’i leaders, who have been
locked up for nearly two years on equally unfounded charges,” she said.
“All of these latest accusations are so far-fetched as to be ludicrous if
they were not so obviously aimed at putting innocent lives at risk,” she
said. “As we have said before, rather than accepting responsibility for the
turmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on
others, including foreign powers, international organizations and media
outlets, students, women, and terrorists.”
On Friday, several news agencies reported that Tehran’s general prosecutor,
Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said the Baha’is who were arrested on Sunday “were
arrested because they played a role in organizing the Ashura protests and
namely for having sent abroad pictures of the unrest.”
“They were not arrested because they are Baha’is,” said Mr. Dolatabadi,
according to Agence France Presse. “Arms and ammunition were seized in the
homes of some of them.”
Ms. Ala’i also rejected Mr. Dolatabadi’s assertions that Baha’is were
involved in the planning of the Ashura demonstrations, or in any violent or
subversive activity related to the recent turmoil in Iran.
“For the past 30 years, Iranian Baha’is have been subjected to the worst
forms of persecution, ranging from arbitrary execution to the exclusion of
their children from school,” said Ms. Ala’i. “Yet they have responded only
through means that are peaceful and legal.”
Seven Baha’is leaders are scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday on trumped-up
charges of espionage, “insulting religious sanctities,” and “propaganda”
against the government. They have been held in Evin prison since mid-2008.
The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif
Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr.
Vahid Tizfahm.
On Sunday, 13 Baha’is were arrested in early morning raids on their homes in
Tehran. Three have been released but 10 remain detained at Evin prison.
They are: Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, and her
husband, Babak Mobasher; Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Mrs. Shirin
Ebadi, and her husband Artin Ghazanfari; Mehran Rowhani and Farid Rowhani,
who are brothers; Payam Fanaian; Nikav Hoveydaie; and Ebrahim Shadmehr and
his son, Zavosh Shadmehr.
For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org
