Secretary Clinton condemns 20-year sentences for Iranian Baha’i leaders
Iranian Baha'i prisoners
August 13, 2010 - 3:16pm
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a statement yesterday, August 12, condemning the recent sentencing of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders each to 20 years in prison.
The United States is deeply concerned with the Iranian government’s continued persecution of Baha'is and other religious minority communities in Iran,” Secretary Clinton said in her statement.
“This week, seven Baha’i leaders, who were incarcerated and held for nearly two years without due process, were each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. The United States strongly condemns this sentencing as a violation of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
“Freedom of religion is the birthright of people of all faiths and beliefs in all places,” her statement continued. “The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran. We will continue to speak out against injustice and call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens in accordance with its international obligations.”
Reports of the 20-year sentences surfaced on Sunday, August 8, nearly two months after the defendants’ trial concluded on June 14 and more than two years since the seven were arrested in spring 2008. They were jailed in Evin prison in Tehran for 20 months, with limited access to their attorneys or their families, before their trial commenced on January 12.
Iran’s state media have reported the charges to include espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations. All the charges are completely and categorically denied and lawyers are in the process of launching an appeal.
In the meantime, the seven prisoners—Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm—have been transferred to Gohardasht Prison (also known as Rajaishahr Prison) in Karaj, some 20 kilometers west of the Iranian capital.
All seven were members of a national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. Their trial and recent sentencing have received widespread criticism from governments, human rights activists and non-governmental organizations around the world for failing to adhere to international or Iranian law.
For more information, please visit http://iran.bahai.us or http://news.bahai.org
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Reprinted with permission from the Baha'is of the United States(see U.S. Baha'i News)