Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Thank you for your letter of 27 February, regarding
the seven imprisoned Bahái'i's in Iran.
We share your concern about the recent reports that
seven leading members of the Iranian Bahái'i community,
detained since the first half of last year, have been charged
with "spying for Israel", "insulting religious
sanctities" and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic"—charges
which could carry the death penalty. We are concerned about the
conditions under which they are being detained and by reports
that they have been systematically refused access to their lawyer.
We understand that the seven individuals are due to face trial
in the coming weeks, although the date has yet to be announced.
We have called repeatedly for the Iranian government
to release the seven Bahái'is. Now that they have
been formally charged we are concerned that they may not receive
a fair trial, having been held for so long without due process.
On 6 March 2009 Bill Rammell met representatives of the National
Spiritual Association of the Bahái'is of the UK, and
assured them that we would continue to monitor the case closely,
and would push the Iranians to allow independent observers to
be present when they do go to trial. Bill Rammell also issued
a statement on 16 February 2009, which was supported by an EU
statement on 17 February, expressing our concern and calling for
the Iranian government to reconsider the charges brought against
these individuals, and at the very least to ensure that any trial
is fair. Previously, the EU Presidency, with strong UK support,
issued a public declaration on 26 September 2008 which reiterated
the EU's concern about the deterioration in freedom of religion
and belief in Iran and the growing pressure on religious minorities.
The declaration stated that the EU was "deeply disturbed
by the arrests since April of Iranian converts to Christianity
and members of the Bahái'i community", and called
for the "immediate and unconditional release and the cessation
of all forms of violence and discrimination against them".
The EU also raised the situation of Iranian Bahái'is
on 6 October 2008, in the context of a human rights démarche
to the Iranian authorities.
We also take action through the UN. In December
2008 a resolution on Iran's human rights situation co-sponsored
by all EU countries was adopted by the UN General Assembly for
the sixth consecutive year. The resolution expressed deep concern
at "serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic
of Iran" and specifically highlighted the plight of the Bahái'i
community. This resolution sends a strong unified message of international
concern to the Iranian authorities.
Officials in the FCO's Iran Co-ordination Group
have a good working relationship with the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahái'is of the UK, who provide us with useful
information on the situation of the Bahái'i community
in Iran. I can assure you that we remain committed to raising
our concerns about the treatment of the seven detained Bahái'is,
both bilaterally and through the EU, and will monitor their situation
closely.
The human rights situation in general in Iran
is extremely worrying. We will continue to urge the Iranian government
to take its international human rights obligations seriously,
and to uphold the fundamental rights of its citizens, including
the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in Article
18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—to
which Iran is a state party.
Rt Hon David Miliband
11 March 2009
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