Relatives and friends of Baha’i leaders imprisoned without charge in Iran spoke movingly at a National Refugee Week event at the Baha’i national centre at Ingleside, Sydney, on Sunday, 22 June.
The event coincided with gatherings throughout Australia to say prayers and express support for the seven members of the co-ordinating committee of the Baha’i community of Iran.
The arrested leaders are being held without charges or access to legal representation, and have been allowed only a brief telephone call to their families.
Speaking at the reception, Sydney filmmaker Mehrzad Mumtahan said he was very worried for his uncle, Saeid Rezaie, who is one of the seven arrested.
Mr Mumtahan said his own family home in Iran was attacked and looted by a mob when he was 10 years old because his family were Baha’is.
He said that his parents’ small businesses were also targeted and closed down for the same reason.
Mr Mumtahan said the international community should raise its concern for the prisoners with the Iranian government and the United Nations.
An aunt of Mahvash Sabet, another of the prisoners, also spoke at the reception.
Ghodsi Samimi said that her niece, Mahvash Sabet, had been detained since 5 March, 2008.
“For months no-one knew about her whereabouts or wellbeing,” Mrs Samimi said.
“In three months she has been allowed only one short phone call to her husband.”
Mrs Samimi said her niece had previously been arrested in May 2005 due to her membership of the Baha’i Faith, and was held in jail for six weeks.
“It was no coincidence that she was arrested on her daughter’s wedding day,” she said.
“A family’s happy day changed to a day of sadness and fear.”
Mrs Samimi said she was praying for the safe return of Mahvash and the other prisoners.
The third speaker at the reception was Hornsby resident Melody Tajali, who spoke about her friend, Vahid Tizfahm, also among those arrested.
“I know Vahid’s wife and kids are thinking about him and missing him every night,” she said.
“I know he is scared, not for himself, but for his family if anything should happen to him.”
Ms Tajali said that when Mr Tizfahm was a child, he lived in the apartment downstairs from her family in Tehran.
He would go to prison every week to visit his father, who had also been arrested due to his faith, and was eventually executed, she said.
In addition to the seven committee members imprisoned in Tehran, about 15 other Baha’is are currently detained in Iran, some incommunicado and most with no formal charges.
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