Who is “spreading corruption on earth”?
Come Thursday, six of the members of the ad hoc group that coordinated the life of the Baha’i community of Iran – the Yaran – will have been in jail for exactly a year. They are Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naemi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfam.
The seventh member, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, has been in jail since 5 March 2008.
All seven are in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
Legal limbo
For a whole year the authorities have not seen fit to treat these leading Baha’is with anything remotely like justice.
Why are they in jail? Because they are Baha’is
Have they been formally charged? No.
Why not? Well, what would they be charged with? They’ve committed no crimes.
Charging madness
They may not have been formally charged, but they have certainly been publicly accused of “espionage for Israel” (they communicated with the Baha’i World Centre, which has been located in what is now Israel since the late 1860s), of “insulting religious sanctities” (they are Baha’is), and of “membership in an illegal body” (they were members of the Yaran, a body about which the Iranian authorities have known for many many years).
It took seven months of intensive interrogations to get to this point.
The Yaran voluntarily gave up their coordinating role in the Baha’i community so that the Iranian government would not be able to hold anything against them.
Except one thing: they are Baha’is.
And now, a year after their original detention, the authorities have told their families that the seven may face the more sinister charge of Mofsede fel-Arz – “spreading corruption on earth”.
What is “spreading corruption on earth”?
It’s one of those charges that covers anything the the Iranian government doesn’t like. If they can’t get you for a sensible charge, they’ll sure get you for “spreading corruption on earth”.
Especially if you’re a Baha’i.
And these seven Baha’i leaders could face one of Iran’s choice ways of putting its citizens to death. After all, “spreading corruption on earth” was the charge used against the Baha’is who were executed in the years immediately after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
One thing this clearly demonstrates: the authorities have no basis other than blatant religious persecution for any allegation against these individuals.
Tip of the iceberg
The seven members of the Baha’i leadership are the tip of a large iceberg. There are more than 300,000 Baha’is in Iran – the community is the largest non-Islamic religious minority in Iran – and they are all facing increased persecution by a government that claims to be a paragon of justice and human rights, but which routinely abuses the rights of women, children, journalists and others who seek dignity and justice.
Time for international action
I hope that the world’s governments will tell Iran in no uncertain terms what they think about this utter injustice. I hope that the world’s governments will demand the immediate release of Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naemi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfam. Or at least for a fair trial.
Read the full story here.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, persecution, human rights, Evin, prison, corruption, Islam
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It’s a heartbreaking and ugly situation. I don’t know what else to say.
You are absolutely right, Tess. It is heartbreaking and ugly. We are maintaining our lobbying of parliament and government, and we shall soon be asking local Baha’i communities to contact their MPs.
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