Take Action! Urge Iran to Release the Seven Baha’i Leaders!

فارسی

Background
Iran's seven Baha'i leaders are serving 20-year prison sentences solely on the base of their faith. The two women and five men formed the national leadership of the Baha’i community in Iran, known as ‘Yaran’ or ‘friends,' and tended to the spiritual needs of Iran's largest religious minority. The Baha'i community faces systematic discrimination by Iran’s government, including denial of education and government jobs, home raids, arbitrary detention, and cemetery desecration. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has noted that the Government's tolerance of an intensive defamation campaign meant to incite discrimination and hate against Baha'is violates its obligations as set out in article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The seven leaders' initial sentence of 20 years imprisonment was met with outrage all over the world. One month later, the appeals court reduced their sentence to 10-year jail terms, but their original 20-year sentences were reinstated in March 2011.

Read more about this case and learn about other ways to take action here: http://united4iran.org/2012/03/press-release-worldwide-action-for-irans-bahai-seven

Directions
The letter is below. If you choose to add a personal message, please keep it polite, human-rights focused, and without rhetoric. To the right of the letter are the various recipients. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at info@united4iran.org.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Your Excellency,

Religious freedom is a cornerstone of a democratic society and a fundamental and inalienable human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As such, I write to express my deep concern about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ongoing persecution of religious minorities. In particular, I am troubled about members of the Baha’i faith, as they continue to suffer disproportionate and systematic discrimination in Iranian society, including denial of education, arbitrary detentions, cemetery desecration, home raids, property confiscation, and work expulsion.

The politically motivated sentencing of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders to twenty-year sentences while being denied fair trial is an alarming indication of the severe religious persecution taking place against this community.  Given the advanced ages of several of the Baha’i leaders, the sentences effectively amount to life sentences. On April 1, 2012, the seven leaders will have collectively spent a total of 10,000 days in prison – solely due to their faith.

There have been repeated condemnations from the international community regarding Iran’s systematic persecution of Iranian Baha’is, including from the UN Secretary-General, UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council, UN Human Rights Committee, UN Special Procedures, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. Despite this unified call by the international community to reverse and remedy its practice of religious persecution, Iranian authorities have yet to revise their policies of government-sanctioned discrimination against the country’s Baha’i community.

At its February 2010 Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council, Iran accepted several recommendations relating to its treatment of religious minorities. In particular, Iran accepted recommendations that specifically require it to implement measures that demonstrate respect for freedom of religion, afford the seven Baha’i leaders due process, ensure legislation conforms with Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and extend rights guaranteed under Iran’s own legislation to all religious groups.

The 2011 UN General Assembly passed a resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran that repeated its request that Iran eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds, while further noting the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Baha'i community. The UN Secretary-General noted in his March 2012 report that Special Procedures mandate holders have continually raised Iran’s mistreatment of the Baha’i community and remain concerned about the security of Iran’s seven Baha’i community leaders. The report further emphasizes that the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has stressed the obligation of all states to protect the fundamental right of freedom of religion.

The Special Rapporteur on Iran, in his first report to the Human Rights Council in March 2012, noted with alarm the systemic persecution of members of unrecognized religious communities, particularly the Baha'i. The report stated that the Government's tolerance of a campaign of defamation meant to incite discrimination and hate against Baha’is is a clear violation of Iran’s obligations under Article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Special Rapporteur also highlighted arbitrary arrests of Iran’s Baha’i community, severe socio-economic pressure in violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, education deprivation, and other forms of systematic discrimination.

Despite Iran’s acceptance of UPR recommendations meant to improve the treatment of Iran’s minorities, and claims made by the Iranian government that it is working to abide by core human rights treaties, Iran has yet to show progress in remedying its policy of state-sanctioned discrimination against the Baha’i community.

Excellency, Iranian Baha’is are an integral part of Iran’s rich cultural and spiritual tapestry. It is time to end discrimination and persecution against this vibrant and productive community.

I urge Iranian authorities to:

1)	Treat with dignity and unconditionally release the seven Baha’i leaders and all others detained for their faith;

2)	Respect freedom of religion and belief in Iran, and protect religious minorities against discrimination, in conformity with its obligations under international law;

3)	Implement all recommendations that Iran accepted during its Universal Period Review; and

4)	Accept technical assistance from and respond to the concerns raised by the General Assembly, Secretary-General, Special Rapporteur, and other UN Special Procedures.

Thank you for addressing my concerns. I look forward to your response.

Your Sincerely,

Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei

Office of the Supreme Leader

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani

Head of the Judiciary

Mohammad Javad Larijani

High Council for Human Rights

Ali Larijani

Head of Parliament

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

President

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati

Chair of the Council of Guardians

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