Seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders in Iran should be released on bail immediately, a spokesperson for the Australian Baha’i Community, Tessa Scrine, said today.
“Their trial finished on 14 June with no verdict and yet they remain locked up under appalling conditions,” Ms Scrine said.
“Their detention, which is now entering its third year, has just been extended for another two months even though there is no legal basis to refuse bail,” she said.
“Baha’is in the Australia, amongst whom are close relatives of the seven, are increasingly concerned for the safety of these innocent people.
“These Baha’i leaders have been held under successive orders for their ‘temporary’ detention, which legally must not exceed two months.
“The seven still remain in Teheran’s notorious Evin prison in a gross violation of their human rights.”
The seven prisoners are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They categorically deny charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and “corruption on earth,” among other allegations.
Before their incarceration, the seven attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran’s Baha’i community, which numbers more than 300,000.
Australia speaks out
Australian diplomats this year spoke out at the United Nations, the latest of the repeated official expressions of concern for the seven leaders by Australian Government representatives over the past two years.
Resolutions of the Australian Federal Parliament and State Parliaments have called for their immediate release as have individual MPs from both major parties.