{"id":1104,"date":"2010-01-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/unfair-trial-of-seven-bahais-opens-in-iran\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:54:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:54:14","slug":"unfair-trial-of-seven-bahais-opens-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/unfair-trial-of-seven-bahais-opens-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Unfair trial of seven Baha&apos;is opens in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/friends%20in%20iran.jpg\" alt=\"Unfair trial of seven Bahais opens in Iran\" \/><figcaption>The seven arrested Baha&#8217;i leaders in Iran: Standing L to R: Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, and Mahvash Sabet Seated L to R: Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Violations of internationally-accepted rules for fair trials have been reported at the trial of seven long-imprisoned Baha\u2019i leaders which opened in Iran yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Obstruction of defence lawyers and the exclusion of neutral observers points to a highly irregular trial, a spokesperson for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, Natalie Mobini, said today.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Mobini said that an indication of the way the trial was being handled lay in the fact that defence lawyers had to argue their way into the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis follows a trend of giving the Baha\u2019is virtually no access to lawyers during their imprisonment since March and May in 2008,\u201d Dr Mobini said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe exclusion of independent observers at the trial means that any objective description of the proceedings or outcome is not available internationally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trial is following a pattern very similar to other show trials held in Iran in recent months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The charges of espionage, insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the Islamic republic and spreading corruption on earth are completely baseless, Dr Mobini said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe seven on trial are innocent people who have been imprisoned only because of their religion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir trial symbolises the persecution of an entire religious community and is an attempt to intimidate and stigmatise Iran\u2019s biggest religious minority.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dr Mobini said it had been reported that Iranian authorities said yesterday\u2019s proceedings were merely the first session of the trial and that no date for future sessions was given.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Australian Government<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are grateful to the Australian Government for its statement yesterday expressing its concern about the treatment of these Baha\u2019is,\u201d Dr Mobini said.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday said the Government has expressed deep concern about the treatment of the Iranian Baha\u2019i community including the arrest of seven leading members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe urge the Iranian Government (to ensure) that any trial be fair and transparent and conducted in accordance with Iran\u2019s international obligations,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson said the Government was concerned at reports that at least 10 more Baha\u2019is had been arrested early this month.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian Government and the Federal and State parliaments last year called for the release of the seven Baha\u2019is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cherie Blair<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr Mobini said the unjust treatment of the Baha\u2019is had drawn international condemnation, including in an article published this week by Cherie Blair, a human rights lawyer who is the wife of former United Kingdom prime minister Tony Blair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe continued imprisonment of the (Baha\u2019i) leadership has drawn international protest, but this pressure must be stepped up,\u201d Mrs Blair said in the article, published in the Guardian and in Australian metropolitan newspapers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe revolutionary court system is secretive; the only chance of justice being served is for the case to be held in open court so proceedings can be independently monitored,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trial of the Baha\u2019i leaders should matter to all who care about human rights. In Iran, for the Baha\u2019i community among others, the fight for human rights has become a matter of life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Relatives in Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr Mobini said three of the accused have close relatives who are members of the Australian Baha\u2019i community and who are extremely anxious about the fate of their loved ones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are Baha\u2019is in all parts of Australia and we are watching news about this trial with great concern,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news.bahai.org\">Baha&#8217;i World News Service<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Violations of internationally-accepted rules for fair trials have been reported at the trial of seven long-imprisoned Baha\u2019i leaders which opened in Iran yesterday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - 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