wfn.org | Baha'i news: Baha'is reject new allegations by Iranian government

[Sally Weeks <sweeks@bwc.org>]

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Baha'i International Community rejects allegations that arrested Baha'is ha d weapons in their homes

GENEVA, 9 January (BWNS) - The Baha'i International Community today categor ically rejected new allegations by the Iranian government that arms and amm unition were found in the homes of Baha'is who were arrested in Tehran last  Sunday.

"This is nothing less than a blatant lie," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i Int ernational Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "Bah a'is are by the most basic principles of their faith committed to absolute  nonviolence, and any charge that there might have been weapons or 'live rou nds' in their homes is simply and completely unbelievable.

"Without doubt, these are baseless fabrications devised by the government t o further create an atmosphere of prejudice and hatred against the Iranian  Baha'i community. For more than a century Baha'is have suffered all manner  of persecution in Iran and have not resorted to armed violence, and everyon e knows this. Unfortunately, the Iranian government is once again resorting  to outright falsehoods to justify its nefarious intentions against the Bah a'i community. It should know that these lies will have no credibility what soever.

"We are particularly concerned by the fact that these accusations come just  days before the scheduled trial of seven Baha'i leaders, who have been loc ked up for nearly two years on equally unfounded charges," she said.

"All of these latest accusations are so far-fetched as to be ludicrous if t hey were not so obviously aimed at putting innocent lives at risk," she sai d. "As we have said before, rather than accepting responsibility for the tu rmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on othe rs, including foreign powers, international organizations and media outlets , students, women, and terrorists."

On Friday, several news agencies reported that Tehran's general prosecutor,  Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said the Baha'is who were arrested on Sunday "wer e arrested because they played a role in organizing the Ashura protests and  namely for having sent abroad pictures of the unrest."

"They were not arrested because they are Baha'is," said Mr. Dolatabadi, acc ording to Agence France Presse. "Arms and ammunition were seized in the hom es of some of them."

Ms. Ala'i also rejected Mr. Dolatabadi's assertions that Baha'is were invol ved in the planning of the Ashura demonstrations, or in any violent or subv ersive activity related to the recent turmoil in Iran.

"For the past 30 years, Iranian Baha'is have been subjected to the worst fo rms of persecution, ranging from arbitrary execution to the exclusion of th eir children from school," said Ms. Ala'i. "Yet they have responded only th rough means that are peaceful and legal."

Seven Baha'is leaders are scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday on trumped-up  charges of espionage, "insulting religious sanctities," and "propaganda" a gainst the government. They have been held in Evin prison since mid-2008. T he seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naei mi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Va hid Tizfahm.

On Sunday, 13 Baha'is were arrested in early morning raids on their homes i n Tehran. Three have been released but 10 remain detained at Evin prison.

They are: Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, and her husb and, Babak Mobasher; Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi,  and her husband Artin Ghazanfari; Mehran Rowhani and Farid Rowhani, who ar e brothers; Payam Fanaian; Nikav Hoveydaie; and Ebrahim Shadmehr and his so n, Zavosh Shadmehr.

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