The Institute for International Affairs Page

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

IRAN UPDATE 24 - August 15, 2000

Toronto, August 15, 2000…It now seems unlikely that August 21, 2000 will be the day on which the outcome of the appeal for the 10 Iranian Jews will be announced. Apart from a lone Tehran Times report on July 29, 2000 announcing the August deadline, the case of the Shiraz 10, once a staple of Iranian media reporting, seems to have dropped from public sight.

After this dearth of information, Iran News carried a report from Agence France Presse earlier this week, which stated that the appeals ruling would be handed down in early September. Hossein Ali Amiri, head of the judiciary in the southern city of Shiraz, was quoted as saying that the appeals tribunal was still looking into the "very thick" files of the case, though he mentioned a target date of September 5, 2000. Officials at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, who have still not been able to acquire these "very thick files", are of the opinion that the process will not even begin until the fall.

An August 8^th Reuters report was the source of information for a meeting that took place between Amiri and the families of the 10 Iranian Jewish detainees. Requests were made to the authorities to double the number of kosher meals the prisoners are allowed to two a week, a request which Amiri approved. Family members also asked him to return the prisoners’ properties, which were seized after their arrests 19 months ago, and to unfreeze their bank accounts so that their families can subsist. Ali Amiri reserved judgement on these requests to allow for consultation with the judges assigned to the case, but relatives nonetheless felt that the meeting had been positive.

Meanwhile an article in Ad-Diplomasi, a bi-monthly Lebanese bulletin published in Arabic in the UK, alleged that Israel had admitted the Iranian Jews were spies. This admission was purportedly made, according to the Jerusalem Post’s analysis of the article, during secret meetings between Israeli and Iranian officials in a Cairo hotel July 31-August 1, 2000. The Israeli Foreign Ministry immediately dismissed this report as "nonsense", but considering Ad-Diplomasi’s provenance, these allegations would hardly have been taken seriously in any case.

In Iran itself last week the authorities closed the last major reformist newspaper, the popular daily Bahar. This move was seen as part of the conservative faction’s efforts to block proposed reforms of Iran’s harsh press laws. These laws guarantee in principle “…the right to publish the opinions, constructive criticisms, suggestions and explanations of individuals and government officials for public information…” As the reformists battle for their constitutional rights in this respect, the beleaguered Jewish community can expect little public discussion of the appeal proceedings, much less criticism of the authorities’ verdicts. It is to the West that the captives must look for media coverage of their plight that might encourage governments, human rights activists and trading partners to continue to champion their cause by pressing the Iranian authorities if not for complete justice then at least for leniency.

	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