BAHAIS’ PHONY TRIAL
The US based “Iranian Studies Center” underlined the
treatment of the Bahais in Iran. The trial of the 7 Bahais, who had been accused
of spying on behalf of Israel and of carrying out propaganda against the
government in 2008, was initiated on January 12, 2010. Fariba Kamalabadi,
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Said Rezai, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli
and Vahid Tizfahm, who are prominent figures within Bahai circles, are kept
under detention in the Evin Prison in Tehran under the pretext that they could
launch chaos in Iran by cooperating with dissident expatriates abroad. It is
stated that the 12 Bahais who were detained during the protest demonstrations on
the Ashura Day will be put on trial soon.
It is stated that during their first hearing the defendants
were informed that they were accused of “carrying out espionage and activities
against national security by cooperating with Israel.” According to the trial
process which has officially been condemned by the US, the International Bahai
Community underlines that “the refusal to invite observers in hearings indicates
that the trial is phony”.
“In the person of the mentioned 7 Bahais, the whole Bahai
community is tried to be intimidated. Iranian judicial authorities did not
permit any observers on behalf of the Bahais in the trial. Basic human rights
have been violated in the treatment of the Bahai detainees. A website connected
with the Iranian State Television reiterated the baseless accusations that had
previously been stated,” underlined the statement made by Diane Alai, the
representative of the International Bahai Community that is subordinated to the
United Nations.
It is known that Iranian Bahais have been subjected to
oppression and violence for the last 30 years like the other religious and
ethnic minorities. It is the primary method of Ahmadinejad Government’s
assimilation policy that Bahais are officially disregarded and their creeds are
tried to be annihilated entirely. It is stated that the first known attack
aiming at destroying the temples of Bahais dates back to 1978 and that 2100
Bahais have been executed since the Islamic revolution. Although around 300
thousand Bahais are living in Iran, the government does not recognize them as a
religious minority.
