Ms Patricia Rainsford:

The Deputy's question on the trade delegation is difficult to answer. It is similar to the nuclear issue in that several factors must be considered. Sherin Ebadi has said on several occasions that we should be careful when we negotiate with Iran not to trade away human rights. That is true on many issues. In that sense, it would be useful to flag the issue because the best protection the Bahá'í community can receive is international attention. Mr. Rezvani is now dead, but the fact that another 12 people currently in prison are alive, albeit badly treated, is due in no small part to international attention. From our point of view, flagging the issue errs on the side of safety.

In regard to Israel, the Iranian film maker Reza Allamehzadeh who is not Bahá'í made a documentary called "Iranian Taboo" which set out the perspective of a non-Bahá'í Iranian on the allegations against the faith. He travelled to Israel to examine the subject and made a moving point on Bahá'í children in Iran who were accused of being Israeli spies. One rural old lady featured in the documentary was accused of being a spy, even though she did not even know what Israel was. The connection is a big deal, but, as Mr. McNamara noted, the world centre for the faith is in Israel owing to the exile of its founder.