Human Rights Activists Call for End to Freiburg-Isfahan Sister City Relationship

A group of human rights activists in Germany has sent an open letter to Martin Horn, the mayor of Freiburg, and members of the city council, demanding an end to the sister city relationship between Freiburg and Isfahan in protest against the repression of Baha'i citizens in Isfahan. Behrouz Asadi, a political activist and one of the signatories of the letter, told Voice of America: "We have always tried to make the German community, especially politicians in this country, aware of the violence and systematic repression of the Islamic Republic against religious minorities." He added: "The letter mentions the detention of 11 Baha'i women last month who were transferred to prison to serve a five-year sentence without a formal summons and solely because of their religious beliefs. In addition to imprisonment, these women face travel bans, financial penalties, and deprivation of social services." The signatories emphasized that these repressions occur in a city that has a sister city relationship with Freiburg, and that Isfahan officials have not only remained silent about these actions but also cooperate with security and intelligence forces in the repression of Baha'is. In another part of the letter, they pointed out Isfahan's role in producing military weapons, including missiles, drones, and bombs used in regional wars and support for Russia, stressing that the sister city relationship serves as a propaganda tool for the Iranian regime. They warned that the continuation of this relationship would amount to an implicit endorsement of the Iranian regime's policies and a disregard for widespread human rights violations. Previously, coinciding with the issuance of death sentences for political prisoners Tomaj Salehi and Mahmoud Moharabi, this group of political activists had also called for an end to the "sister city" relationship between Freiburg in Germany and Isfahan in an open letter. The signing of the sister city agreement between the two cities dates back at least 25 years. At that time, Mohammad Solavati, a retired professor from Karlsruhe University residing in Freiburg, requested the then-mayor of Isfahan to announce this sister city relationship. After returning to Freiburg, he submitted an invitation from Mohammad Ali Javadi, the then-mayor of Isfahan, to Rolf Bume, the then-mayor of Freiburg. Rolf Bume visited Isfahan in 2000 along with several city council members and colleagues from Freiburg University and signed the sister city agreement between Freiburg and Isfahan.