Popeyesays
Well-Known Member
Bahá'í World News Service
Last updated: 19 June 2008
Note: This report, updated regularly, is provided as a service to news media and others desiring details of the situation of the Baha'is in Iran. All information has been verified by the Baha'i International Community.
All seven members of national coordinating committee still in prison.
The seven members of the committee that had seen to the minimum needs of the 300,000-member Bahai community of Iran are still being held by the government. No formal charges have been filed against them, and none of them have been allowed contact with an attorney.
The Bahai International Community has learned, however, that all seven have now had very brief telephone contact with their families.
After being held incommunicado Mrs. Mahvash Sabet since her arrest on 5 March and the other six since their arrests on 14 May on 3 June 2008 Mrs. Sabet and Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi were each permitted to make a short phone call to their families. Since then, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm also have had brief phone contact with their families.
Mrs. Sabet had been held in the city of Mashhad but on 26 May was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran. It is believed that the other six people are also in Evin Prison.
See Baha'i World News Service articles of 27 May, 21 May, and 15 May for information about the arrests and detention.
More than 20 Bahais currently detained.
More than 20 Bahais are incarcerated, many without any specific charges. Dozens more are out on bail and awaiting trial on various charges.
In a few instances, there have been trials followed by convictions and prison sentences, but it is clear that the reason for all the arrests in question is the fact that the individuals are Bahais. No credible charges have ever been stated.
Examples of some recent detentions:
§Mr. Mehran Bandi of Yazd was arrested and taken away on 29 May 2008. His whereabouts are unknown. On the day of his arrest, his computer company was raided and searched by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence; computers and CDs were seized and the premises locked and sealed. Mr. Bandis home and workplace had been subjected to raids several times previously.
§On 22 May 2008, Mr. Foad Naeemi of Sari in Mazandaran province began serving a prison sentence for his conviction last September of being active in the Bahai sect. His sentence is two and a half years in prison followed by two years banishment to a small town in Fars province.
§In late May, in Vilashahr, five Bahais three men and two women -- were called in for questioning by the Ministry of Intelligence, purportedly about an illegal burial in a Bahai cemetery that has been in use for 15 years. The men were subsequently subjected to a hearing and then locked up until they were able to post bail. A trial presumably will be held at some point, but no details have been given as to the charges against the men.
§In Ghaemshahr in Mazandaran province, two Bahai men were taken into custody on 19 May 2008 to serve prison sentences following rejection of their appeals of earlier convictions. Mr. Changiz Derakhshanian was convicted of propagation on behalf of an organization which is anti-Islamic a charge the Bahais categorically deny and sentenced to five months in prison. Mr. Ali Ahmadi was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment plus one year in exile.
continued-----
For more information go to:
http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html
Last updated: 19 June 2008
Note: This report, updated regularly, is provided as a service to news media and others desiring details of the situation of the Baha'is in Iran. All information has been verified by the Baha'i International Community.
All seven members of national coordinating committee still in prison.
The seven members of the committee that had seen to the minimum needs of the 300,000-member Bahai community of Iran are still being held by the government. No formal charges have been filed against them, and none of them have been allowed contact with an attorney.
The Bahai International Community has learned, however, that all seven have now had very brief telephone contact with their families.
After being held incommunicado Mrs. Mahvash Sabet since her arrest on 5 March and the other six since their arrests on 14 May on 3 June 2008 Mrs. Sabet and Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi were each permitted to make a short phone call to their families. Since then, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm also have had brief phone contact with their families.
Mrs. Sabet had been held in the city of Mashhad but on 26 May was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran. It is believed that the other six people are also in Evin Prison.
See Baha'i World News Service articles of 27 May, 21 May, and 15 May for information about the arrests and detention.
More than 20 Bahais currently detained.
More than 20 Bahais are incarcerated, many without any specific charges. Dozens more are out on bail and awaiting trial on various charges.
In a few instances, there have been trials followed by convictions and prison sentences, but it is clear that the reason for all the arrests in question is the fact that the individuals are Bahais. No credible charges have ever been stated.
Examples of some recent detentions:
§Mr. Mehran Bandi of Yazd was arrested and taken away on 29 May 2008. His whereabouts are unknown. On the day of his arrest, his computer company was raided and searched by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence; computers and CDs were seized and the premises locked and sealed. Mr. Bandis home and workplace had been subjected to raids several times previously.
§On 22 May 2008, Mr. Foad Naeemi of Sari in Mazandaran province began serving a prison sentence for his conviction last September of being active in the Bahai sect. His sentence is two and a half years in prison followed by two years banishment to a small town in Fars province.
§In late May, in Vilashahr, five Bahais three men and two women -- were called in for questioning by the Ministry of Intelligence, purportedly about an illegal burial in a Bahai cemetery that has been in use for 15 years. The men were subsequently subjected to a hearing and then locked up until they were able to post bail. A trial presumably will be held at some point, but no details have been given as to the charges against the men.
§In Ghaemshahr in Mazandaran province, two Bahai men were taken into custody on 19 May 2008 to serve prison sentences following rejection of their appeals of earlier convictions. Mr. Changiz Derakhshanian was convicted of propagation on behalf of an organization which is anti-Islamic a charge the Bahais categorically deny and sentenced to five months in prison. Mr. Ali Ahmadi was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment plus one year in exile.
continued-----
For more information go to:
http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html