(10 August 2010) Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community, each of whom has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on security, espionage and other crimes, should be freed by an appeals court, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
“We consider the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of these individuals to be politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.
“They have been sentenced for being Baha’is, nothing else, and their incarceration thus expresses a policy of oppression of the Baha’i Faith and its members,” he said.
The seven Baha’i leaders, who were arrested in the spring of 2008, include Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They had been jailed for 20 months prior to being charged and denied contact with their attorneys. The sentences will reportedly be appealed.
