Bishop condemns arrest of Iranian Baha’i leadership

The Rt Revd Dr Tom Butler, Anglican Bishop of Southwark, has issued a statement on behalf of the Church of England, condemning the arrests on 14 May of members of the Bahá’í leadership group in Iran.

The Bahá’í community has for long played a distinguished role in fostering positive inter faith relations in this country both through its membership of the Inter Faith Network UK and in many other ways as individuals and as a community. It is therefore deeply concerning to hear reports of the arbitrary arrest by the Iranian authorities on 14th May of six members of the leadership of the Iranian Bahá’í community.

Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr Vahid Tizfah, all members of the informal leadership group that coordinates the Iran’s Bahá’í community activities, are now in custody in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, having had their houses searched by agents of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. The Bahá’í community is also anxious about the safety of Mrs Mahvash Sabet, secretary of the leadership group, who has been detained in Mashhad since 5 March.

There is a worrying similarity of these arrests to the abduction in 1980 of all nine members of Iran’s Bahá’í National Assembly. None of them were ever seen again and there must be a presumption that they were killed. The Assembly was reconstituted, but eight of its members were executed on 27 December 1981 and since then the Bahá’ís have been deprived of their elected administrative institutions.

These arrests are an extremely worrying development, especially when added to the rising tide of persecution against the Bahá’ís in Iran. Everyone, whether holding a religious faith or not, should be deeply concerned that these people have been detained solely on the basis of their religious affiliation. I hope that all those who believe in the fundamental freedoms of religious belief will join in calling on the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate and safe release of these prisoners.

The Rt Revd Dr Tom Butler
21 May 2008

This is a tremendously helpful statement and the UK Bahá’í community is most grateful to Dr Butler for issuing it. Dr Butler is not only one of the senior bishops of the Church of England - he is one of the 26 bishops who have seats in the House of Lords - but he is also Co-Chair of the Inter Faith Network for the UK and a great supporter of inter-faith dialogue. He’s a regular broadcaster, particularly on the “Thought for the Day” spot on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme.

Perhaps the Iranian authorities will take notice of what a Christian religious leader says than they do of the condemnations issued by governments and politicians.

Iran Baha’i arrests - previous posts

Read some of my previous posts on the arrests of Bahá’í leaders in Iran:

Baha’is arrested in Iran - grave news
Baha’i leaders arrested in Iran - Baha’i World News Service story
Bahá’í arrests in Iran - Wendi’s excellent article
Baha’i arrests in Iran - more coverage
EU condemns arrests of Baha’is in Iran
Iran - whereabouts of arrested Baha’is unknown
More danger signs for Baha’is in Iran

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, persecution, Iran, Church of England, Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler, human rights, religious freedom

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite