Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment today, according to the Baha'i World News Service. The seven were part of a national level administrative body overseeing the needs of the 300,000 member Iranian Baha'i community.
Baha'i Leaders Sentenced After Short Trials
The seven leaders have been held since 2008 in Tehran's notorious Evin prison until very brief trials held recently which were closed to news media. The Iranian court convicted the seven of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and the establishment of an illegal administration. All charges are categorically denied by international Baha'i officials.
Brief Trials
"The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances which began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge for 20 months, during which time they were allowed barely one hour's access to their legal counsel. The trial ended on 14 June," According to the Baha'i World News Service.
Shocking News
"If this news proves to be accurate, it represents a deeply shocking outcome to the case of these innocent and harmless people," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.
Ongoing Persecution
The Baha'i Faith is facing its severest persecutions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran is the country where the Baha'i Faith was born in 1844 and the Baha'is have always faced persecution by the Muslim majority. Persecution of Baha'is has increased since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the BBC.
Baha'is are banned from working in government jobs and are forbidden to attend universities. Iranian inheritance laws do not apply to members of the Baha'i Faith. Baha'i businessmen are often denied permits necessary to open a shop.. Baha'i cemeteries are desecrated and Baha'i homes are burned and destroyed.
Fifty homes were burned and demolished in a remote village in Northern Iran in July. "The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha'is," according to the Baha'i World News Service.
Basic Beliefs
According to The Baha'i Faith:
- All humanity is one family
- All prejudice--racial, religious, national or economic--is destructive and must be overcome
- We must investigate truth ourselves, without preconceptions
- Science and religion are in harmony
- Our economic problems are linked to spiritual problems
- The family and its unity are very important
- There is one God
- All major religions come from God
- World peace is the crying need of our time
Sources
Resources
The Baha'i Faith - The international website of the Baha'is of the world
Baha'i Introductory and Informational Resources
Rothwell Polk - Rothwell C. Polk, Jr. is a sixty-one-year-old living in Englewood, Colorado.. His interests include independent living, community and ...
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