Baha'is Press Case Of Relatives Imprisoned In Iran

By Richard Yeakley
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) A delegation of Baha'is is making the rounds in Washington in an effort to raise awareness of the treatment and imprisonment of more than 50 Baha'is in Iran, including seven top leaders of the Iranian Baha'i community.

Iraj Kamalabadi, a Southern California engineer whose younger sister is one of the Baha'is in Iranian custody, said pressure from world governments is the only thing that will win the release of the prisoners.

"What we hope to accomplish is to win more and more support of people with capacity and to shed even more light into the plight of the Baha'is as well as other minorities," Kamalabadi said Wednesday (Feb. 9).

Kamalabadi and three other Baha'i representatives -- all of whom have family in prison -- spoke at a special session of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and also met with Amnesty International.

Kamalabadi's sister, Fariba, was one of seven members of the Yaran, an informal leadership of the Baha'i community in Iran, until she and other Yaran members were imprisoned in 2008.

The trial began two years after their imprisonment, and Kamalabadi and other supporters say the group is being held on exaggerated charges with little evidence.

Leonard A. Leo, the chairman of the independent watchdog panel, vowed continued diligence to assist the Baha'is in Iran.

"There are many things, hopefully, we can do to stop the oppression and defend the rights of not only your family members and your brethren, but many other Baha'is in Iran," Leo said.

Comments

[ruhaba]

11:17 PM on 02/11/2011

Help should come from some where, hope god start that.

[rationaljimmy]

11:12 AM on 02/11/2011

Who is the man in the photo? We will never know because HuffPo is too lazy to caption photos, or put a link to original sources.

[Wendy1844]

08:46 PM on 02/13/2011

True, but I imagine it's Iraj Kamalabadi since that's whom the article is focusing on. Not sure though.

[rationaljimmy]

09:43 AM on 02/14/2011

Right. I looked him up. It's not him. It could be a stock photo, or it could be a photo of a spectator at these hearings. We will never know. Except that I spent a few minutes searching the Getty archives, and found out who it is.

[Dawnbreaker1989]

05:13 PM on 02/10/2011

That wonderful young man is a dear friend of mine and I am blessed to be his friend. Sina Sabet, and his cousin Raha Sabet has been imprisoned in Shiraz, Iran for being a Baha'i and for working to improve the lives of Iranian children. At the time of her arrested and imprisonment she and 2 other Baha'is: Sasan Taghva and Hale Rouhi were helping a non-profit group improve the livelihood of underprivileged children in Shiraz. The 3 of them were sentence to 4 years but as of recently Sasan and Hale have been released. Raha is still in prison. I pray to God that the conditions of human rights for not just Baha'is but every person in Iran is improved and soon. The aim of the Baha'i Faith is to improve the world and to unite its peoples and establish World Peace. May God guide, comfort, and support all of us all so that we may improve the condition of Iran and the world soon! God bless everyone!

[Wendy1844]

08:49 PM on 02/13/2011

Are you talking about the young man in the picture? Someone has asked about who that is. I assumed it was Iraj Kamalabadi, but I'm not sure.

Such a sad thing to think these innocent people are held in jail because of their religion. When will we get over this fetish of persecuting people over their religion? Hard to imagine this kind of cruelty is still happening in 2011.

[StarDagger]

01:07 PM on 02/10/2011

http://www.bahaiprayers.org/fire.htm

Too long to cut and paste, and too beautiful to only post excerpts.
I offer this with respect to the unjustly imprisoned, who have been so since the days of Baha'u'llah.

[Wendy1844]

08:50 PM on 02/13/2011

F&F Thanks for posting this. We prayed at our devotional this morning for the friends in Iran. So far, they're still in prison though. :(

[mheister]

11:00 PM on 02/09/2011

In the US, all too often people might look at a resolution coming of the UN or the US Congress, or a report from a human rights group and think, it's just another piece of paper. But it isn't; such resolutions and reports are so much more. They remind the world that Iran still has a bit of work to do before they may take their place on the world stage as a modern nation that embraces human rights and human dignity. And they remind Iran that the world continues to witness their treatment of not just Baha'is, but other religious and other minorities as well.

Baha'is in Iran long for the freedom to be of service to their fellow countrymen, to practice their faith freely and make a positive contribution to Iranian society. This is why you find so many Baha'is drawn to fields such as medicine, education, and engineering; where we may heal the sick, facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and critical thinking, and build for the future.

Iran's government, lamentably, stifles the aspirations of a peace-loving, highly-motivated and non-partisan people.

Shining a bright light on the injustices perpetrated upon the Baha'is of Iran will ultimately help the Iranian people as a whole, IMHO, to reach their highest aspirations.

[Wendy1844]

08:51 PM on 02/13/2011

Faved by a fan.