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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 23 - August 4, 2000

Toronto, August 4, 2000…The Iranian authorities announced earlier this week that the case of the Iran 10 has been referred to Branch 9 of the Provincial Appeals Court in Shiraz. According to Hossein Ali Amiri, head of the Justice Department for the Province of Fars, a decision was made to "expedite" the case and the Court of Appeals has therefore been asked to review the case immediately. The verdict is now expected by August 21, 2000.

This decision is largely seen as a welcome development since the authorities had been unwilling to commit themselves to any time frame for the process and international observers had estimated that it might be October at the earliest before the case was re-examined. It is not uncommon in Iran for appeals to drag on for months.

However, some analysts are concerned that this surprise decision could be an attempt to rush through the appeal so that foreign observers who had been trying to arrange visas to attend the proceedings will arrive too late. The Canadian Embassy in Tehran has so far been unsuccessful in repeated attempts to obtain a copy of the 72-page trial documentation, which its officials would have liked to study before the appeal commences. There is certainly little doubt that the appeals hearings will be closed, as was the entire trial, so it will be impossible to get any impartial opinion as to the judicial validity of the process.

According to the Justice Department announcement, the appeals court will be made up of three judges and the verdict will be issued in accordance with the majority ruling. However, several questions still remain. It is unclear whether the judges will allow the pre-trial period of detention to be considered as part of the sentences. As well, they could allow sentences to be served concurrently rather than consecutively. This would particularly impact on the case of Dani Tefilin who received a thirteen year sentence: nine years for "aiding a foreign government" in addition to four years for "membership in an illegal organization".

Even if the appeals court refuses to accept the defence arguments relating to lack of evidence and absence of due process, and decides instead to uphold the verdicts - which is unfortunately the most likely scenario - the judges will still have considerable leeway to ease the severity of the sentences if the political climate allows and the authorities so choose. Given Iran’s wish to improve relations with the west, the public relations value of such a move would be substantial.

	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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