For Immediate Release
Toronto, September 21, 2000…B’nai Brith Canada acknowledges the Iranian appeal court decision to reduce the prison sentences originally imposed on 10 Iranian Jews as the first move towards what must be full exoneration. The court overturned convictions against the defendants for ‘membership in a clandestine spying ring’ and ‘recruitment of new agents’, but upheld the conviction for ‘collaborating with Israel’.
“The reduction of the sentences and the dismissal of the main charges against the defendants on the espionage counts is evidence that the appeals judges have recognized the glaring discrepancies and lack of evidence in the State’s case”, noted Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B’nai Brith Canada. “However, it is only the first step. The human rights community must continue to press for the release of these innocent men who are being targeted because of their religion and their family links with Israel. They cannot be allowed to rot in an Iranian prison due to purely political considerations.”
Rochelle Wilner, National Chair of the Institute for International Affairs, added: “An additional concern is that by upholding the conviction for collaboration with Israel, the authorities have put the entire Iranian Jewish community in an untenable position: how can it maintain contacts with family, friends and religious mentors in Israel without fear of future charges of ‘collaboration’?”
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