Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 44: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding the treatment, and safety, of the Bahai community in Iran; and the measures the international community are taking in order to help alleviate the mistreatment of persons suspected to be followers of this faith. [31745/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The situation of members of the minority Baha'i faith in Iran has long been a matter of serious concern to the Government and to members of the Oireachtas. In recent years, there has been a progressive increase in harassment of individual Baha'is and there are worrying indications that these are part of a concerted effort by the Iranian authorities to destroy the Baha'i faith and community as a whole. The situation regarding the treatment of the Baha'i community has become of even greater concern in recent months, given the deterioration in human rights generally which has been evident since the disputed Presidential elections of 12 June.

Particular concern has arisen in relation to a group of seven Baha'i community leaders, five men and two women, who were detained, one in March 2008 and the others in May 2008, and held for well over a year without any formal charge. We understand that these seven people constitute an informal leadership group, attempting to maintain links among Baha'is throughout Iran. Their arrest gives rise to particular concern because of the fate of the previous Baha'i leadership, who in 1980 in the early days of the Islamic Republic were arrested and never seen again. The successor leadership were also arrested in 1981 and executed.

The seven Baha'i currently in custody have now been charged with a number of serious offences which attract the death penalty. These include running an illegal organisation, anti-regime propaganda, insulting religious values, and espionage on behalf of Israel. More recently, the espionage charge was dropped and a new charge of "spreading corruption on earth" was added. Worryingly, this new charge also attracts the death penalty.

Concerns are heightened by the fact that the lawyers for the accused have been unable to see them, have been denied access to the case files, and have themselves been subject to public criticism and harassment. Family visits for the detainees have also been extremely restricted. There seems very little prospect of even a semblance of a fair trial in these circumstances and the detainees have never been to court to hear the charges against them. However, I understand that an October date has now been set for their trial.

I have repeatedly raised my concerns regarding the treatment of the Baha'i with members of the Iranian Government, including with Foreign Minister Mottaki at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2008. In December 2008, I wrote to Foreign Minister Mottaki on human rights concerns in general, and raised the issue of the Baha'i and the case of these seven representatives in particular. In my letter, I stated that: "It is difficult in these circumstances to avoid the conclusion that the Government and authorities of Iran are actively trying to suppress a religious faith. " Foreign Minister Mottaki's reply earlier this year did not appear to go beyond previous statements by the Iranian authorities on human rights issues nor did it provide the necessary assurances in relation to the specific treatment of these seven detained Baha'i.

The European Union has repeatedly drawn attention to the oppression perpetrated against the Baha'i faith and its members by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In February this year, the EU issued a statement expressing its deep concern that, after being held for so long without due process, the Baha'i leaders may not receive a fair trial. The statement requested Iran to allow independent observation of the judicial proceedings and to reconsider the charges brought against these individuals. A further EU Declaration on the increasing violation of religious freedom in Iran, issued on 25 May. This reiterated concerns about the continued detention without trial of the seven Baha'i leaders and called on the Iranian authorities to uphold their international legal undertakings to safeguard religious freedom and stop their persecution of legitimate religious activities.

Officers of my Department have met with the Iranian Ambassador to Ireland on a number of occasions this year to restate our strong concerns in relation to human rights in Iran and the treatment of the Baha'i. Officials of my Department also meet regularly with senior representatives of the Baha'i community here. The Government, both directly through our Embassy in Tehran and in cooperation with our EU partners, will continue to monitor this particular case closely and to bring our views to the attention of the Iranian authorities. We will also be taking the opportunity to raise the treatment of the Baha'i at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in the coming weeks.