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There is no greater mitzvah than Redemption of Captives
Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Matanot Ani’im, Chapter 8, Article 10

IRAN UPDATE 13 - May 4, 2000

Toronto, May 4, 2000… The show trial of the 13 Iranian Jews resumed yesterday in Shiraz with alleged confessions by two more detainees. The authorities seem intent on proving that these men were motivated not just by financial considerations but by religious fervour. Religion has thus become the focus of a trial in which the beliefs of the defendants were meant to be immaterial. The attachment of these orthodox Jews to Israel is being been used against them as if their loyalty to Iran were somehow called into question through their openly religious convictions and affinity with the Promised Land.

The latest proceedings have targeted Shahrokh Paknahad, 30, a religious studies teacher who was termed the "ideologue" of the group and has allegedly admitted to four acts of espionage, motivated in part by “hatred for Iran’s defense of the Palestinian cause”. Ramin Nematizadeh, a 23 year-old shop clerk, was charged with selling information obtained while a conscript in the city of Isfahan, though leniency has been requested in this case due to his age. The notion that a young conscript could have had access to any classified information detrimental to Iran’s "national security", particularly while serving in such a central location, is highly suspect.

After over a year in detention in conditions that were never monitored by independent observers, undergoing a protracted barrage of interrogation while isolated from family, friends and legal counsel, the pattern of these "confessions" does not surprise international observers. There are reports that Danny Tefilin, 29, was held incommunicado during the entire term of his detention, while some other prisoners were only allowed one three minute visit from relatives per week. Together with Tefilin, who was described during his hearing earlier this week as the "ringleader", Paknahad and Nematizadeh now face an uncertain fate. The charge of espionage has six categories, with sentences ranging from a six-month prison term to execution. It is chilling to remember that 17 Jews have been executed for "espionage" since 1979, including a 78 year-old man in 1994 and two individuals as recently as 1997.

Defence lawyers contend that no documentation has been produced to prove that these men ever transmitted state secrets to the Mossad. The common element linking the defendants is their religious conviction and it is telling that all defendants are openly religious Jews who have proved far less malleable to the authorities than the primarily secular Jewish leadership in Tehran. While the Iranian authorities in some ways prefer that other "recognized" religions promote a religious way of life rather than showcasing secular, westernized values to their Muslim neighbours, the defendants were not sufficiently "low key" in their activities and advocated a fervour and openness in their religious practice that appealed to the Shiraz Jewish community, especially the younger generation, while alienating their conservative Muslim neighbours and attracting the surveillance of the authorities.

In a tense situation characterized by widespread closures of the country’s independent papers and arrests of publishers, editors and journalists, the reformist faction is preparing for tomorrow’s parliamentary election runoff in which it will have to defend its hard won victories in the February ballots. This atmosphere of repression and tension does not bode well for the defendants.

	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.
Rochelle Wilner President	Frank Dimant Chief Executive Officer	Amos Sochaczevski National Chair	Ruth Klein National Director