For Immediate Release
OTTAWA, (July 7, 2000) - The Jewish Community of Ottawa, Members of Parliament, Human Rights leaders and local clergy will join forces on Monday July 10, 2000 at 12:00 noon for a SOLIDARITY RALLY to demand the release of 10 Jews unjustly convicted and sentenced last week on the trumped up charge of spying for Israel.
B'nai Brith Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Jewish Community Council of Ottawa/Vaad Ha'Ir are sponsoring the rally which will be held outside the Iranian Embassy at 245 Metcalfe Street at 12:00 p.m. It's all part of an international day of solidarity on which Jewish Communities around the world will assemble in a show of support for the 10 convicted Jews in Iran and for the Iranian Jewish Community as a whole. Deeply rooted in Iran for more than 2,000 years, the Jewish community there is now more threatened and under siege than perhaps ever before.
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Right Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, has expressed Canada's “grave concern” for the guilty verdicts, the onerous sentences (some up to 13 years) and for what he described as a “very flawed” trial. This echoes the very similar sentiment expressed by U.S. President Bill Clinton who said he was “deeply disturbed by the verdicts” and pointed out that the accused were not accorded even the remotest due process of law.
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Institute for International Affairs
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