{"id":1155,"date":"2008-05-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/grave-fears-for-safety-of-arrested-bahais\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:49:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:49:54","slug":"grave-fears-for-safety-of-arrested-bahais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/grave-fears-for-safety-of-arrested-bahais\/","title":{"rendered":"Grave fears for safety of arrested Baha'is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Grave
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

Grave fears are held for the safety of seven Baha\u2019i leaders detained in Iran, some of whom have close relatives in Australia.<\/p>\n

Repeated efforts by their families in Iran to determine where they are being held have been unsuccessful, a spokesperson for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, Natalie Mobini-Kesheh said today.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir appeals to the authorities in this matter have been met with evasion and conflicting stories,\u201d Dr Mobini-Kesheh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are appealing to human rights groups, people of conscience and the news media to continue pressing the Iranian government so that the rights of these Baha\u2019i detainees be upheld and that, at the minimum, they be allowed access to counsel and general communication with the outside,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Six of the leaders were taken from their homes by Government intelligence officers in the early hours of 14 May and have not been seen or heard from since.<\/p>\n

A seventh Baha\u2019i leader, arrested in March, was believed to be in prison in Mashhad, but this cannot be confirmed.<\/p>\n

The seven are the members of the national-level coordinating group that helps see to the minimum needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran, the biggest religious minority by far in that country.<\/p>\n

Initial reports indicated that the six Baha\u2019is had been taken to Tehran\u2019s Evin prison, notorious for torture and executions.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, eleven Baha\u2019i leaders disappeared and their bodies never found. Many others were executed by the authorities.<\/p>\n

Iranian government documents made public by a United Nations official have since exposed a plan by the authorities to eliminate the Baha’i community of Iran.<\/p>\n

Relatives in Australia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of those arrested, Behrouz Tavakkoli, devotes himself to helping others, says his brother, Adelaide businessman Amin\u2019u\u2019llah Tavakkoli.<\/p>\n

“My brother has spent all his life serving his faith and humanity,” said Mr Tavakkoli, who lives in Campbelltown, South Australia.<\/p>\n

Roya Kamalabadi of Wantirna, Melbourne, a sister of another of the arrested leaders, said she is very worried for her sister, Fariba, a mother of three.<\/p>\n

No charges laid<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr Mobini-Kesheh said there is no indication that charges have been formally laid against the Baha\u2019is.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough a government spokesperson has been quoted in media reports as stating that the charges against the Baha\u2019is are related to issues of national security, there has been no explanation as to precisely what this means.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny contention that Baha’is in Iran would take action that would pose a threat to their homeland is utterly without foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaha\u2019is are committed through their religious beliefs to obey the laws of the land and not to be involved in political activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Baha’is arrested on 14 May are being persecuted solely because of their religious beliefs, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best proof of this is the fact that, time and again, Baha\u2019is have been offered their freedom if they recant their faith and convert to Islam,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

World reaction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The recent arrests have been condemned by the European Union and the Canadian and US governments, and have been reported by CNN, BBC, AFP and Reuters.<\/p>\n

Read the report from the Baha’i World News Service<\/a><\/p>\n

Background information on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

To subscribe to news stories by email, please click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grave fears are held for the safety of seven Baha\u2019i leaders detained in Iran, some of whom have close relatives in Australia.<\/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-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nGrave fears for safety of arrested 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\/grave-fears-for-safety-of-arrested-bahais\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grave fears for safety of arrested Baha&apos;is - 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