A special service to pray for the Baha’is in Iran will be held at the Sydney Baha’i Temple at Ingleside at 12 noon on Sunday, 15 March 2009.
The service comes at a time when seven Baha’is in Iran look set to face trial on false charges in the Revolutionary Court of Iran.
The seven, who are members of the national coordinating committee of the Baha’i Faith in Iran, have been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since early last year without access to their lawyer, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Three of them have close relatives living in Australia. They include a sister in Melbourne, a brother in Adelaide, and a nephew in Sydney.
Iranian officials have announced the seven are accused of espionage for Israel, insulting Islam and propaganda against Iran.
Open letter
Recently, the Baha’i International Community, an NGO officially accredited to the United Nations, sent an open letter to Iran’s prosecutor general, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, suggesting that the government’s continued oppression of Baha’is will ultimately have a wide impact on Iranian society as a whole.
“It is our hope that, for the sanctity of Islam and the honor of Iran, the judiciary will be fair in its judgment,” it said.
False charges
A spokesperson for the Australian Baha’i community, Natalie Mobini, said the whole world, and the Iranian authorities themselves, know the charges are false.
“Governments around the globe, including Australia, have expressed serious concern about the trial,” Dr Mobini said.
“Amnesty International has also called upon people to participate in its appeal on behalf of these Baha’is,” she said.
“Baha’is are known for being law-abiding, non political and respectful of other religions,” she said.
“These arrests and charges have taken place amidst an accelerating, systematic program of religious persecution designed to eliminate the 300,000 strong Baha’i community, the biggest non-Muslim religious minority in the country.
“More than 34 Baha’is are being held in prison in Iran solely because of their faith”.
Among the imprisoned Baha’is is Mr Aziz Samandari, who also has relatives living in Melbourne.
Mr Samandari was arrested on 14 January 2009, an action that has led to an international outcry.
Torture
Dr Mobini said that in the 1980s, the Iranian authorities tortured and executed many leading Baha’is.
“We are fearful of what might happen to the Baha’is currently so unjustly imprisoned in Iran,” Dr Mobini said.
“We are very grateful for the statement made recently by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,” she said.
“The European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States have also spoken out, as has the human rights commission in Brazil.”
Dr Mobini said people of all faiths and no faith are invited to attend the service. Baha’is throughout Australia are holding similar services.