{"id":1106,"date":"2010-02-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:52:07","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:52:07","slug":"prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/","title":{"rendered":"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prominent
Maxine McKew MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prominent Government MP Maxine McKew has become the latest Australian political figure to speak out against the treatment of seven Baha\u2019i leaders imprisoned in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cI condemn in the strongest terms the arbitrary nature of the arrest of these seven Baha\u2019i members in Iran,\u201d Ms McKew, the member for Bennelong, told the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to recognise international standards of human rights and take their place as a responsible member of the international community,\u201d Ms McKew told the Main Committee of the House on 11 February 2010.<\/p>\n

Ms McKew is Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Before becoming an MP, she was one of Australia\u2019s leading journalists.<\/p>\n

Ms McKew\u2019s strong statement is in line with similar calls by other MPs and resolutions by the Australian Federal Parliament and State parliaments.<\/p>\n

On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued a series of statements condemning the treatment of the Baha\u2019i leaders and of the Iranian Baha\u2019i community in general.<\/p>\n

Relatives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms McKew said many members of the Baha\u2019i Faith in this country have friends and relatives in Iran who have suffered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell terrible stories of having a knock on the door in the middle of the night and then immediate arrest and detention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have previously met with representatives of a very active group of Baha\u2019is in my electorate of Bennelong and I know that groups all over the country held prayers [on 7 February] in support of the seven detained Baha\u2019is in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms McKew noted that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has said that the Iranian Government is using its justice system as an instrument of religious persecution.<\/p>\n

\u201cReports also state that the defendants were formally charged with espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country and something that is called \u2018corruption on earth\u2019. I am advised that the final charge under Islamic law is a crime punishable by the death sentence in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeedless to say, all of these charges have been categorically denied by the defendants,” Ms McKew said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is widely believed that the seven Baha\u2019is were detained on the sole basis of their faith. Prior to their arrest they served as an appointed ad hoc group known as the \u2018friends\u2019. Their role was to manage the minimum spiritual and material needs of Iran\u2019s Baha\u2019i community. That was a role that was carried out with the government\u2019s knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, at an event at the NSW Parliament House attended by State MPs, faith leaders and Australian relatives of the accused, eminent jurist John Dowd AO QC called for international pressure on Iran to release the Baha\u2019is.<\/p>\n

The seven Baha\u2019is have been imprisoned since March and May 2008. The second session of their trial, closed to independent observers and family members, was held before a Revolutionary Court on 7 February. No date has been given for any future session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prominent Government MP Maxine McKew has become the latest Australian political figure to speak out against the treatment of seven Baha\u2019i leaders imprisoned in Iran.<\/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-1106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nProminent MP condemns treatment of Baha&apos;is - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha&apos;is - Australian Baha'i Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prominent Government MP Maxine McKew has become the latest Australian political figure to speak out against the treatment of seven Baha\u2019i leaders imprisoned in Iran.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Australian Baha'i Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-16T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-14T04:52:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"it-admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"it-admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/\",\"name\":\"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is - Australian Baha'i Community\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-16T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-14T04:52:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/\",\"name\":\"Australian Baha'i Community\",\"description\":\"The official website of the Baha'is of Australia\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f\",\"name\":\"it-admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"it-admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/author\/it-admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is - Australian Baha'i Community","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is - Australian Baha'i Community","og_description":"Prominent Government MP Maxine McKew has become the latest Australian political figure to speak out against the treatment of seven Baha\u2019i leaders imprisoned in Iran.","og_url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/","og_site_name":"Australian Baha'i Community","article_published_time":"2010-02-16T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-14T04:52:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg"}],"author":"it-admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"it-admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/","name":"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is - Australian Baha'i Community","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg","datePublished":"2010-02-16T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-14T04:52:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Maxine%20McKew.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/prominent-mp-condemns-treatment-of-bahais\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Prominent MP condemns treatment of Baha'is"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/","name":"Australian Baha'i Community","description":"The official website of the Baha'is of Australia","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f","name":"it-admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"it-admin"},"url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/author\/it-admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1693,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106\/revisions\/1693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}