Dear Editor:
The Baha’i Community  of Cochrane is deeply concerned about the plight of seven Baha’is who are to go on trial in Iran this week.  
Recent newspaper articles in Iran attempt to link Baha’is to the current turmoil in that country, and are ominous signs that the trial may proceed on Jan. 12, and is nothing but a show trial with a predetermined outcome.

In Canada on Jan. 9, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued the following strong statement:

“Canada remains deeply concerned by Iran’s ongoing arbitrary detention of seven Bahá’i community leaders.  It is deplorable that these individuals were detained on the sole basis of their faith and have been denied a fair trial.”

Canada notes that the seven Baha’is (Behrouz Tavakkoli, Saeid Rezaie, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi and Mahvash Sabet) have been detained since spring  2008.

Furthermore, Iranian officials have recently made statements linking the seven to political unrest.  These are unfair accusations, and cause concern for the safety and well-being of the seven Bahá’is and of all those unjustly detained in Iran.

The Iranian government’s unrelenting targeting of the Bahá’i, and other religious and ethnic minorities, particularly after the country’s June 12 presidential elections, is a troubling trend.

We once again urge Iran to protect the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and to live up to its commitments and obligations under domestic and international law.

The Baha’i Community of Cochrane is grateful for such statements and for the leadership of the Government of Canada, which sponsored the recently-passed resolution in the United Nations condemning human rights violations in Iran, including the plight of the Baha’is.

We are also concerned that on Sunday, 13 young Bahá’ís were arrested in early morning raids on their homes in Tehran.
Three have been released, but 10 remain detained at Evin prison.

Baha’is are by the most basic principles of our faith committed to absolute non-violence. For the past 30 years, Iranian Baha’is have been subjected to the worst forms of persecution, ranging from arbitrary execution to the exclusion of their children from school. Yet they have responded only through means that are peaceful and legal.

Since members of our local Bahá’í community have relatives in Iran, and we are all deeply worried about the wellbeing of the Baha’is and all other targeted groups in Iran, we bring these issues to the attention of your readers and ask for their prayers.

Thank you very sincerely.

Pat Verge, Secretary,
Baha’i Community of Cochrane

No related stories.

• Filed under Letters to the Editor | Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.