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The B’nai Brith Canada Institute for International Affairs has a mandate to protest the abuse of human rights throughout the world and advocate on behalf of worldwide Jewish communities in distress. The Institute has a special focus on pro-Israel advocacy and education. |
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Rochelle Wilner |
Frank Dimant |
Amos Sochaczevski |
Ruth Klein |
Iranian Jews are a recognized religious minority under the protection of the state, free to perform their religious practices and control their own education. Only two other religions, Christians and Zoroastrians, share that privilege, while other faith groups, such as the Baha’i community, are considered heretical sects subject to routine persecution and denial of human rights.
In spite of this “privileged” position, the existence of the 22,000 strong Jewish community remains precarious. The Government’s vociferous anti-Israel policies have created a threatening atmosphere. Jewish leaders are reportedly reluctant to draw attention to incidences of mistreatment of their community due to fear of government reprisal.
An increase in antisemitic propaganda in the official and semi-official media has increased the pressure felt by the Jewish community. Periodic publication of the age-old antisemitic libel Protocols of the Elders of Zion is one such example. According to Human Rights Watch,49 the Iranian Embassy in London was reported to have published and distributed the Protocols in English in 1986. The Protocols were published in serial form in Iran in 1994 and again in January 1999. On the second occasion they were published in Sobh, a conservative monthly publication reportedly aligned with the security services.
The English language Tehran Times recently entered into the fray with an attack on the Aga Khani sect printed last fall that stated: “As this sect has originated from Judaism, it resorts to different tricks and ruses employed by the Jews in its [sic] fight against Islam”. This is hardly consistent with the Iranian Constitution, which enjoins that: “no one may be… taken to task simply for holding a certain belief”.50
The tenuous position of religious minorities in Iran has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between the country’s political factions. Apparently caught up somehow in this struggle, thirteen Jews - including a 16-year-old boy - were arrested last March in the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan. They were accused of espionage on behalf of Israel and the United States, an offence punishable by death. The group, made up primarily of rabbis and religious teachers, had come under the scrutiny of Iran’s hard line Ministry of Information and Intelligence. Commentators have attributed the arrests to the struggle between conservative hard-liners and the more moderate reformist group centering around President Mohammed Khatami.
The prisoners have remained in detention for almost a year without any public judicial hearings or access to counsel. They have only been allowed sporadic family visits and occasional deliveries of kosher food. Three of the thirteen were recently released from detention on bail because their charges were reportedly downgraded, but the threat of a trial on as yet unspecified charges continues to hang over them.
Governments throughout the world, as well as human rights organizations and the United Nations General Assembly, have all protested the summary arrests. Senior government officials have on numerous occasions publicly promised a fair and open trial, and this has reportedly been set for April 13, 2000. The families have been told to retain immediate legal counsel amidst suggestions that some of the group will still be targeted for conviction while the remainder will be set free.51
Over the past year, statements appeared in the Iranian media that were grossly prejudicial to the captives’ case. Last fall, for example, Judge Gholamhossein Rahbarpur, the head of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, commented that “the courts had evidence that proved their guilt”. Such statements, especially by a senior member of the judiciary, are in direct contravention of Article 37 of the Iranian Constitution which states: “Innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court.”52
The results of the recent parliamentary elections to Iran’s national assembly, its Sixth Majlis, have created a renewed measure of optimism over the prospect of reform in Iran in general, and the fate of the prisoners in particular. The moderates now hold more than 70% of the seats in the new parliament and are promising reforms that will impact on political parties, the media, and religious dissidents. However, while the overwhelming success of the moderate forces will no doubt benefit Iran in the long run, it is far from certain that the captives’ troubles are over. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the lifetime position of Supreme Leader (Vilayat-e-Faghih), still has tight control over the judiciary and the intelligence services - the very mechanisms that have been instrumental in the arrests and protracted investigation - as well as the army and the police.
Canada has taken the position that “there will be no strengthening of bilateral ties” with Iran until the question of the captives has been satisfactorily resolved. The Canadian Ambassador to Iran has been monitoring the situation closely and B’nai Brith Canada has been involved in an ongoing exchange of information with officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs on the latest developments in this case.
º B’nai Brith Canada asks the Government to raise this issue at all bilateral consultations with Iran, to ensure the release of all the captives.
º B’nai Brith Canada urges the Government to ensure that the plight of the captives is discussed at the CHR consultations and all international fora.
Table Of Contents
| Introduction & The UN
| The Peace Process
| International Terrorism
Jews In Iran
| Discrimination In Canada
| Footnotes
Institute For International Affairs