wfn.org | Baha'i news: Baha'is condemn lack of due process at trial in Iran

[Sally Weeks <sweeks@bwc.org>]

>Baha'i World News Service
>http://news.bahai.org
>For more information, contact: news@bahai.org<mailto:news@bahai.org

Baha'is condemn lack of due process at trial in Iran

NEW YORK, 31 January (BWNS) - The Baha'i International Community has issued  a statement condemning the trial of 16 individuals in Iran yesterday as a  "violation of all internationally accepted standards of legal due process."

The statement highlights the lack of proper legal representation for the de fendants and the use of unreliable "confessions" in the trial. One of the 1 6 on trial is a Baha'i.

"The use of coerced 'confessions' and the denial of adequate legal represen tation reflect the Iranian authorities' growing assault on human rights," s aid Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Commun ity to the United Nations.

>The complete statement follows:

The trial yesterday of 16 individuals in Iran, apparently accused of partic ipating in the Ashura demonstrations on 27 December, stands in violation of  all internationally accepted standards of legal due process.

While facts are unavailable to the Baha'i International Community concernin g 15 of the defendants in the court proceedings, it can confirm that one in dividual - identified only as "P.F." in government reports - is a Baha'i.

The show trials in the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential election, at  which defendants have been forced to read statements incriminating themsel ves, have completely discredited "confessions," such as the one purportedly  made by "P.F.," both inside and outside of Iran. It is well known that suc h confessions are obtained while prisoners are under extreme duress, often  after being exposed to such appalling tactics as food and sleep deprivation , fake executions, threats against their families, and worse. Rather than a ccepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian governm ent organizes such show trials in order to lay the blame on innocent citize ns and others.

While it is claimed that the court proceedings are open, not even the famil ies of the defendants are notified of the trial of their loved ones.

The person identified as P.F., along with nine other Baha'is who were arres ted on 3 January in Tehran, has not been able to contact his family, has be en denied access to a lawyer, and was not allowed to choose his own legal r epresentation. The government-appointed lawyer who acted on behalf of P.F.  did nothing more than to accept the "confession" of his client and make a p ro forma request for leniency.

The Iranian government is well aware that it is a fundamental principle of  the Baha'i Faith that its followers strictly refrain from involvement in an y partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international. C onsequently, the arrest of ten Baha'is on 3 January, a full week after the  Ashura demonstrations, and the claims that Baha'is were behind the recent a nti-government turmoil have come as a complete surprise to the Baha'i commu nity. These fabricated accusations clearly appear to be not so much about s ome Baha'is participating in the Ashura demonstrations. They point instead  to a scenario which has been concocted by the authorities to justify placin g further restrictions on the activities of the Baha'i community. This is b ut the most recent tactic in the ongoing systematic campaign of persecution  that seeks to eliminate the Baha'i community as a viable entity in that co untry.

We call on governments and fair-minded people throughout the world to join  us and raise their voice to protest against the blatant violations of human  rights in Iran, of which yesterday's trial is only the most recent example .

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to: http://news.bahai.org