Julgamento dos sete líderes bahá'ís presos em Teerã é adiado

BRASÍLIA (Com informações de Genebra) – O julgamento das sete lideranças bahá'ís presas no Irã foi postergado para o dia 18 de outubro, conforme informações recebidas hoje pela Comunidade Internacional Bahá'í.

De acordo com Diane Ala’i, a representante da Comunidade Internacional Bahá'í para as Nações Unidas em Genebra, após um pedido de adiamento realizado pelo Sr. Hadi Elsmaielzadeh e a Sra. Mahnaz Parakand—advogados do Centro de Defensores de Direitos Humanos que estão representando os sete bahá'ís — a corte decidiu postergar a audiência por dois meses.

Dois advogados sêniores, membros do time de advogados, a Prêmio Nobel Sra. Shirin Ebadi e o Sr. Abdolfattah Soltani encontravam-se impedidos de participar da audiência, uma vez que a Sra. Ebadi está fora do país e o Sr. Soltani está preso, tendo sido detido em 16 de junho de 2009 na onda dos tumultos civis que se seguiram à eleição presidencial no Irã.

“Nossa esperança agora é que nossos sete correligionários inocentes sejam libertados sob fiança”, disse a Sra. Ala’i.

Os sete prisioneiros bahá'ís são: Sra. Fariba Kamalabadi, Sr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Sr. Afif Naeimi, Sr. Saeid Rezaie, Sra. Mahvash Sabet, Sr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, e Sr. Vahid Tizfahm. Todos, a exceção da Sra Sabet, foram presos em 14 de maio de 2008 em suas casas em Teerã. A Sra. Sabet foi presa em 5 de março de 2008 enquanto estava em Mashhad. Desde então, os sete encontram-se detidos na prisão de Evin, em Teerã, sem acusações formais e sem acesso a seus advogados.

Informações na mídia oficial iraniana disseram que os sete serão acusados de “espionagem para Israel, insultar santidades religiosas e de propaganda contra a república Islâmica”.

A Comunidade Internacional Bahá'í rejeita categoricamente todas as acusações contra os sete, afirmando que eles estão detidos exclusivamente por causa de perseguição religiosa.

No Brasil, o representante de Ações com a Sociedade e o Governo da Comunidade Bahá'í, Iradj Roberto Eghrari, coloca a importância de o mundo continuar atento para este caso. “Se a sociedade mundial fechar os olhos, é como se estivesse dando carta branca para que as autoridades iranianas procedam com seu plano de erradicar a comunidade bahá'í naquele país. A mobilização é imperativa para que estes sete não sejam martirizados em execuções sumárias, como já vimos acontecer antes”, relembra ele.

Para mais informações:

Diane Ala’i em Genebra/CZ (escritório) +41-(22)-798-5400 ou (celular) +41-(78)-60-40-100

Bani Dugal em Nova Iorque/EUA (escritório) +1-(212)-803-2500 ou (celular) +1-(646)-404-4210

Farhad Sabetan em São Francisco/EUA +1-(925)-461-2903

Iradj Roberto Eghrari em Brasília/BR +55-(61)-8126-3828

Lawyer: Iran has no evidence against Baha'i prisoners

Story Highlights
* Seven Baha'i prisoners accused of espionage to go on trial Tuesday in Iran
* Baha'is are accused of spying for Israel, spreading propaganda against Iran
* One of defendants' attorneys is in jail; another is outside the country
* Case of the seven Baha'is has drawn global attention



August 16, 2009 -- Updated 0754 GMT (1554 HKT)

(CNN) -- Iran should release seven Baha'i prisoners accused of espionage because it does not have any evidence against them, their lawyer Shirin Ebadi told CNN on Saturday.

"In the files, in the case basically, there is nothing, no reason that basically convicts them," said Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The trial will begin Tuesday despite the fact that one of their lawyers is behind bars and Ebadi is outside the country.

Other attorneys can be appointed, Hassan Haddad of the Prosecutor's Office in Tehran told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

But the court must recognize the replacements, who are colleagues of Ebadi at her Tehran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, not appoint other lawyers, Ebadi said.

The imprisoned lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, is a well-known advocate with the human rights center. He was arrested in the aftermath of Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election and is being held at Evin prison, the same place where his clients are detained, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights.

He is being held on charges of taking "measures against national security," Ebadi said. "Mr. Soltani is completely innocent."

Soltani had an opportunity to leave prison, but under conditions he chose not to accept, Ebadi said.

Along with not giving any interviews after his release, Soltani would also have to end his work with the human rights center and no longer support Ebadi, she said.

In another attack on the law firm, a lawyer was arrested after agents entered the center with guns, searched each room and then declared that they found opium on the premises, Ebadi said.

That lawyer, whose family had been harassed by police, accused the agents of planting the opium, she said.

Ebadi was on a speaking tour when Soltani was arrested and has not returned to Iran.

The firm founded by Ebadi took up the case of the seven Baha'is last year. They are accused of spying for Israel, spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and committing religious offenses. The Baha'i International Community, which has a delegation to the United Nations, denies the allegations.

The evidence against the defendants includes communication from Israel, but that is because the Baha'i World Center has its headquarters in Israel, said Kit Bigelow, director of external affairs at the American Baha'i Community. Prosecutors are calling that communication espionage, she said.

Human rights groups have demanded the release of the prisoners and accused the government of targeting them because of their religious beliefs.

The Baha'i faith originated in 19th-century Persia, and while modern-day Iran does not recognize it, the government denies any mistreatment of the members of the largest non-Muslim religious minority.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has reported a rise in persecution of Baha'is in recent years, including cemetery desecration, arbitrary detention, home raids, property confiscation, work expulsion and denial of basic civil rights.

The case of the seven Baha'is has drawn global attention. Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist freed from Evin prison earlier this year, spoke on their behalf, as have Human Rights Watch and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent bipartisan federal commission.

The defendants face the death penalty if convicted.

Six of the defendants were arrested in May 2008 at their Tehran homes, and one was arrested in the eastern city of Mashad in March 2008, said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations. The defendants were held under solitary confinement for the first five months of their incarceration, she said.

The investigation into the charges against the prisoners concluded months ago and the trial was initially scheduled to start in July. Iran has continued to hold them in Evin prison without access to their lawyers and with minimal contact with their families, Ala'i said.

Professor da UFSC Jonny Carlos da Silva discursa sobre perseguição aos seguidores da religião BAHAI

13-08-2009 18:00:08

Foi realizada nesta quarta-feira, dia 12, a palestra “Perseguição Religiosa e Direitos Humanos”, no Auditório do Centro Sócio-Econômico (CSE), ministrada pelo professor Jonny Carlos da Silva, do Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica da UFSC. O coordenador do Curso de Relações Internacionais da Universidade, Jaime Coelho, abriu a palestra falando sobre a importância do tema e da visão ampla que o profissional da área precisa ter, suas perspectivas ideológicas.

O palestrante, que é da religião BAHAI desde 1985, explicou para os presentes a origem da fé BAHAI e até os conflitos e perseguições que os seguidores sofrem no Irã. Para Silva, todas as perseguições têm uma origem em comum, a ignorância, que é a principal causa do declínio do povo.

O professor deu um exemplo dentro da própria Universidade sobre a distância que as pessoas criam, a “síndrome do rio”. “Aqui na UFSC tem um rio que separa alguns Centros Universitários fisicamente, e acaba separando-os intelectualmente também. Temos que criar pontes dentro da gente”, concluiu Silva.
A religião BAHAI foi fundada por Bahá`u`lláh (em árabe significa Glória de Deus), na Pérsia (atual Irã), em meados do século XIX. São cerca de seis milhões de seguidores espalhados por 178 países. A religião tem suas próprias leis e escrituras sagradas, não possui clero e rituais, e seus seguidores são apartidários políticos.

O palestrante afirma que “a idéia de haver Mensageiros de Deus depois de Muhammad é visto por muitos mulçumanos como heresia”. Desde a formação da República Islâmica no Irã, jovens bahá’ís são impedidos de ter acesso ao ensino. Além disso, muitos seguidores foram mortos, presos ou tiveram seus bens confiscados. “É um apartheid de fundo religioso, não se vê a cor, mas a consciência”, lamentou Silva.

O palestrante é engenheiro mecânico pela UFPB, mestre e doutor em Engenharia Mecânica pela UFSC. Desde 1993 é professor do Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica da UFSC, além de ser membro do Comitê Editorial do International Journal of Fluid Power e co-autor do livro Projeto Integrado de Produtos, Editora Manole, 2008.

Por Fernanda Burigo / Bolsista de Jornalismo na Agecom/ Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC

URGENT ACTION: Members of Baha'i Faith Face Unfair Trial

Seven members of Iran’s Baha’i religious community may face the death penalty at a trial that could begin around 18 August. They have not had any contact with their lawyers, and it is unlikely that their trial will be fair. They are prisoners of conscience, held for their beliefs.

The seven have been charged with spying for Israel and “insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the system”. In addition, their families were told in May 2009 that they were now facing the additional charge of "mofsed fil arz", or "corruption on earth", which can carry the death penalty.

The seven include two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and five men: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm. All are leading members of a group responsible for the Baha’i community’s religious and administrative affairs. Mahvash Sabet who acted as the group’s secretary, was arrested on 5 March 2008. The others were arrested on 14 May 2008. All seven are held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. They haven not been allowed to meet with their lawyers at all while they have been in custody.

They had been scheduled to be tried before Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 11 July 2009, but the trial was postponed. It appears that the trial may now take place on 18 August because an official notification has been sent to one of their lawyers, Abdolfattah Soltani, who is himself in prison (see UA 160/09, MDE 13/059/2009, 19 June 2009), that he should attend court on 18 August for the case of the seven members of the Baha’i community. Amnesty International has consistently criticized Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for their failure to adhere to international standards for fair trials.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, Arabic, English, French, or your own language:

• expressing concern that Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm, and Mahvash Sabet may imminently be facing an unfair trial before Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court;

• calling for their immediate and unconditional release, as Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience, held solely because of their beliefs and peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community;

• expressing concern that the charges brought against them are politically-motivated and calling on authorities to drop them;

• expressing concern that the seven could face the death penalty if convicted.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 24 SEPTEMBER 2009 TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street,

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

via website:

http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)

http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh

(Office of the Head of the Judiciary)

Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran

1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: shahroudi@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

MEMBERS OF BAHA'I FAITH FACE UNFAIR TRIAL

Additional Information

The Baha’i faith was founded in Iran about 150 years ago and has since spread around the world. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, the Baha’i community has faced systematic persecution and harassment. They are denied equal rights to education and their access to employment and advancement in their jobs is restricted. They are furthermore not allowed to meet or hold religious ceremonies.

Since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was first elected in 2005, several members of the Baha’i community have been arrested. Three of the seven people named above (Fariba Kamalabadi Taefi, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Jamaloddin Khanjani) had been arrested previously for their activities on behalf of the Baha’i community.

The seven were previously the subjects of UA 128/08 (MDE 13/068/2008) and follow-ups.

Under Article 502 of the Penal Code, those convicted of espionage can be sentenced to between one and five years’ imprisonment. Under Article 508, those convicted of the more serious charge of “cooperating with foreign states to harm national security” can face either the death penalty or a sentence of one to 10 years’ imprisonment. “Insulting the religious sanctities” carries the penalty of execution or one to five years’ imprisonment. “Propaganda against the system” carries a penalty of three months to one year’s imprisonment. Ali Ashtari, a telecommunications salesman, was hanged in November 2008 after being convicted for espionage for Israel.

Prominent human rights attorney Abdolfattah Soltani, a member of the Center for Defense of Human Rights and a close associate of Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, was arrested on 16 June and has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since then.

UA: 215/09 Index: MDE 13/085/2009 Issue Date: 13 August 2009