{"id":1125,"date":"2009-05-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/parliament-calls-for-release-of-bahais\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:52:06","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:52:06","slug":"parliament-calls-for-release-of-bahais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/parliament-calls-for-release-of-bahais\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliament calls for release of Baha'is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Parliament
The seven arrested Baha’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

The Australian Parliament has called upon Iran to release without delay seven Baha\u2019i leaders who have been imprisoned for more than a year.<\/p>\n

Six Members of Parliament from both major parties spoke in support of a notice of motion in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

The motion notes with \u201cserious concern\u201d that the detained Baha\u2019is have had no access to legal representation and have not been subject to due legal process.<\/p>\n

It expresses concern about charges of spying, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic and that these could attract the death penalty.<\/p>\n

The Parliament called upon Iran to respect rights to freedom of religion and the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and association in accordance with international human rights conventions.<\/p>\n

The MP who introduced the motion, the member for Leichhardt, Mr Jim Turnour, called on Iran to drop the charges against the seven Baha\u2019is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Australian Government is concerned that these charges are part of a pattern of official discrimination against members of the Baha’i Faith in Iran,\u201d Mr Turnour said.<\/p>\n

“More recently, a number of incidents indicate that there has been a resurgence of extreme religious persecution against the Baha\u2019is, which is clearly disturbing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will maintain close interest in this case and will continue to raise our concern with the Iranian Government,\u201d Mr Turnour said.<\/p>\n

The member for Isaacs, Mr Mark Dreyfus, said that to be a Baha\u2019i in Iran is \u201cto live with the fear of state sanctioned abuse hanging over your family and your community\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Dreyfus referred to the \u201clong catalogue of oppression and mistreatment\u201d stretching back years and including the abduction of other Baha\u2019i leaders and the hanging of 10 Baha\u2019i women, the youngest 17 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the evidence suggests that the repression of the Baha’i emanates from the highest Iranian authorities,\u201d said Mr Dreyfus, who referred to an official statement saying that a plan must be devised \u201cto confront and destroy their cultural roots outside Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDehumanising any group of people and denying them rights because of their beliefs or race or religion has all too often been the first step towards physical attacks on or the murder of people in that group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the face of dawn raids on their homes, the desecration of their cemeteries with bulldozers, the vilification of Baha\u2019i children in their classrooms, the disbarring of Baha\u2019is from designated professions and threats against Muslims who associate with Baha\u2019is, the community has shown substantial bravery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The member for Cowan, Mr Luke Simpkins, said the charges had no validity and were inconsistent with Baha\u2019i teachings.<\/p>\n

Mr Simpkins said that the most recent charge of \u2018spreading corruption in the world\u2019 \u201chas nothing to do with offences, and everything to do with political control and religious persecution.\u201d He called for the Baha\u2019is to be \u201creleased immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranian government should also restore the rights of Baha\u2019is and withdraw discrimination and religious intolerance towards the Baha\u2019is\u2014that should happen now,\u201d Mr Simpkins said.<\/p>\n

The member for Hindmarsh, Mr Steve Georganas, said he was very proud that there were Baha\u2019is in his electorate.<\/p>\n

He said that on 17 April 2009 the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Stephen Smith, conveyed the Australian Government\u2019s serious concerns about the imprisoned Baha\u2019is directly to the Iranian foreign minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past year the Australian Government has regularly raised its concerns about the seven Baha\u2019i detainees with the Iranian authorities and will continue to do so,\u201d Mr Georganas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOthers who have spoken out this year in condemnation of the actions of the Iranian authorities against the Baha\u2019is include the European Union and the governments of Great Britain and the United States, as well as many parliamentarians in Brazil, Canada and Germany,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call on the Government of Iran to release the seven Baha\u2019i detainees without a single minute of delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Member for O\u2019Connor, Mr Wilson Tuckey, said he had found Baha\u2019is to be people of peace and good will. The charge of spying was \u201cridiculous\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Baha\u2019i just say, \u2018Can we please have the freedom to act in accordance with our faith?\u2019, \u201d Mr Tuckey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important motion which, above all else, deals with religious freedom and the prevention of persecution, particularly on religious grounds,\u201d Mr Tuckey said.<\/p>\n

The member for Longman, Mr Jon Sullivan, said the seven imprisoned Baha\u2019is have relatives in Australia and \u201cit is important that we as Australians support our fellow Australians of the Baha\u2019i Faith\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs has been said, the Baha\u2019i people are a wonderful, brave, peace-loving people,\u201d Mr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Australian Parliament has called upon Iran to release without delay seven Baha\u2019i leaders who have been imprisoned for more than a year.<\/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-1125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nParliament calls for release 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\/parliament-calls-for-release-of-bahais\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parliament calls for release of Baha&apos;is - 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