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From: Iran Press Watch: The Baha'is <neysan@iranpresswatch.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 9:16 PM
Subject: Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community
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Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community

Baha'i followers Searched in Iran

Posted: 18 Dec 2008 09:14 AM CST

United News Network (UNN) reported on Tuesday 16 December 2008 at 4:09 am:

Tehran (UNN) Houses of 12 Baha'i followers in the Iranian city of Semnan were searched by the security forces.

Sources close to the Baha'i community of Iran reported that houses of Baha'i followers were searched on December 12-15, their families were interrogated and some documents were seized.

According to UNN News one Baha'i follower was arrested. His identity has not yet been established.

It is the first time Baha'i adherents underwent a massive search in the city of Semnan.

This religion is forbidden in Iran and its adherents do not have civil rights.

Source: http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=3668

Agents of the Intelligence Ministry Raided Baha'i Households in Semnan

Posted: 18 Dec 2008 09:04 AM CST

On Monday, 15 December 2008, Human Rights Activists of Iran posted the following report:

At 6 A.M. on December 14, 2008, the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided Baha'i households in Semnan in expanded and simultaneous operations.

Some of the families victimized during these raids include, Porhosseini, Tebyanian, Hedayati and Khanjani. As reported by eyewitnesses, this operation took place without a previous warning and the early hours of the raid was intended to create fear and confusion among the families. The agents involved with these operations searched Baha'i homes, confiscated paperwork, documents and personal belongings of family members.

The arrest of one Baha'i has been confirmed, but no further news is available about this victim.

[Posted by Human Rights Activists of Iran at: http://www.hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67:agents-of-the-the-ministry-of-intelligence-raided-semnan-bahai-households-in-an-expanded-operation&catid=78:english-page&Itemid=129. This report was slighted edited.]

Concern raised over detention of Baha'is in Mazandaran

Posted: 18 Dec 2008 08:55 AM CST

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran recently released a statement in which it expressed concern over the detention of 3 Baha'is in the Iranian province of Mazandaran on November, and urged the international community to protest the continued harassment of Baha'is in Iran. Below is the text of the release:

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran expressed serious concern today about the recent detentions of three Baha'is in the province of Mazandaran and called on Iranian authorities to account for them.

Security agents detained Masoud Ataian, Soheila Motallebi, and Anvar Moslemi during a six-day period in November in Qa'emshahr and Sari in the Northern province of Mazandaran.

"These detentions are consistent with a pattern of persecution and arbitrary arrest of members of the Baha'i minority in Iran, and give cause to fear for the health and safety of those in custody," said Hadi Ghaemi, Campaign spokesperson. "The government has yet to account for the detentions earlier this year of six Baha'i leaders, contributing to an alarming trend."

Ataian was detained in his home in Qa'emshahr by Intelligence Ministry officials on 17 November 2008. Led by an agent called Mr. Movahhed, the officials searched his home, destroyed sacred pictures and confiscated holy texts, his computer and business documents. He has not been allowed to see a lawyer and has had only brief contact with his family.

Motallebi was detained in her home in Sari on 21 November also by Intelligence Ministry officials. They presented no warrant but searched her home and confiscated documents and books relating to the Baha'i Faith. She is being held in the Intelligence Ministry's detention center in Sari and has been denied contact with her family. Human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani has agreed to take on her case, but has not been allowed to see her. Anvar Moslemi was detained two days later on 23 November in Sari.

Within the past year four other Baha'is have been taken into custody in Mazandaran. Tarazollah Allahverdi and his wife Sonya Tebyanian were detained on 17 October in Behshahr. Siamak Ebrahimi, detained and released two years ago, was again detained on 4 November in Tonekaban. He was sentenced to six months in prison and two years exile in the city of Zabol, over 1100 km away from his home. Ali Ahmadi, another Baha'i detained earlier this year in Mazandaran, is still being held in prison.

The Campaign urged on members of the international community to protest the continued harassment of Iran's Baha'i community and called on the Iranian authorities to cease the unjust targeting and detention of members of the Baha'i community throughout Iran.

Source: http://www.bahairights.org/2008/12/17/concern-raised-over-detention-of-bahais-in-mazandaran/

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Posted: 18 Dec 2008 08:36 AM CST

By Mehrangiz Kar

Sixty years have passed since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was approved. ‎The declaration is the beginning of a new broad global initiative. Extensive research and ‎constructive debates have been raged over it at the global level.‎

Even though most of the provisions in the Declaration are still in the process of being ‎accepted in agreements and have not yet been accepted in international law, the ‎provisions and principles enjoy great importance and wide impact. Newly created states ‎utilize this document when drafting their constitution and reflect the calls of the ‎Declaration in their domestic laws. Today its provisions are used as a standard against all ‎countries and whenever a state embarks on judging the human rights conditions of a ‎country it compares and looks at the laws of that country versus the Universal ‎Declaration. At the United Nations too the Declaration has created standards that must be ‎observed by all the principal organs and agencies of this international organization which ‎must impact their decisions despite possible obstacles.‎

Regarding state ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its ‎Covenants this is a question that needs to be asked: Is the Declaration viewed as law in ‎all countries? What is certain is that the Declaration has not been presented as a body of ‎law but as a common set of standards so that all states can follow it. But the acceptance ‎of the Declaration by many states with different cultural, economic and political systems ‎across the globe indicates that most states are desirous to strengthen and improve their ‎legal-juridical system. At times some societies present traditional, religious, social or ‎cultural resistance to this. But the fact that the provisions of the Declaration are reflected ‎in the constitution of many countries and have made inroads into the domestic laws of the ‎land indicates that the world is in dire need of such a common collection of human rights ‎laws. The fact that some governments refrain from implementing progressive domestic ‎laws and the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the sphere of ‎human rights is an issue that leads to widespread dissatisfaction in those countries. ‎

Another question that needs to be asked is this: Has the United Nations moved ahead and ‎beyond the provisions of the Declaration and has it codified this? The UN has created ‎two Covenants, the xxx and the xxx and thus codified some of the provisions of the ‎Declarations and members of the General Assembly of the UN unanimously approved ‎these documents on December 16, 1964. Governments who acceded to these protocols ‎are obliged to modify their domestic laws to conform them to meet the provisions of the ‎protocols. ‎

The Iranian government has signed both covenants and the Majlis of the time in 1975 ‎ratified both these documents. According to provision 9 of Iran's Civil Code which is ‎valid today says, "Treaty stipulations which have been, in accordance with the ‎Constitutional Law, concluded between the Iranian Government and other government, ‎shall have the force of law."‎

Even though accession to the Protocols according to article 9 of the Civil Code puts Iran ‎in a situation by which it must review and modify its domestic laws to meet the ‎provisions of the Protocols, the Iranian government has till today not only refrained from ‎acting on its international obligations in this regard, but furthermore in some situations it ‎has refrained from implementing the international human rights provisions on the pretext ‎of its own interpretation of Islam. In fact there are some provisions in the Constitution of ‎the Islamic Republic that are not in accord with the Universal Declaration of Human ‎Rights. These provisions have also been disregarded in many instances during legislature ‎proceedings resulting in the passage of discriminatory laws against women, non Muslims ‎and Children. Indefensible violent punishment has been turned into required compliance. ‎On the other hand the Constitution identifies Islam as the only source of legislature while ‎the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not listed as a source.‎

It appears that even though 60 years have passed since the Universal Declaration of ‎Human Rights was announced, Iranians have still a long way to go to benefit from its ‎provisions and principles.‎

[The above essay was posted by Mehrangiz Kar, an Iranian attorney living in the Unites States, on 14 December 2008 at Rooz Online: ‎http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2008/12/the_universal_declaration_of_h.html. Mehrangiz Kar is not associated with the Baha'i community and her views, though thought-provoking, are not necessarily reflective of the views of the Baha'i community.]

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