Saeed Rezaei: The People of Iran Never Accepted Espionage Charges Against Baha'i Leaders

Saeed Rezaei, a leader of the Baha'i community who was recently released after serving 10 years in prison in Iran, states that the people of Iran have never accepted the espionage charges against him and other Baha'i leaders. In an interview with the International Human Rights Campaign published on Tuesday, March 1, he noted that throughout all these years in prison, no evidence has ever been presented regarding the accusations made by the government against him and his colleagues. Rezaei was finally able to return home on February 16 after being deprived of even a single day of leave during his 10 years of incarceration. He, along with six others who formed the leadership group of the Baha'i community in Iran, known as the 'Yaran' group, was arrested in 2008 during a raid by security forces on their homes. The Iranian government accused them of 'espionage, insulting sacred beliefs, propaganda against the regime, and spreading corruption on earth,' but Saeed Rezaei insists that all these accusations are 'baseless' and that a decision had already been made regarding their case. He told the Human Rights Campaign in Iran: 'Ten years passed in prison, and I was released, and until now, they have not provided even a line or a document. Both we and our lawyers strongly denied this accusation in court. Our lawyers had seen a letter from the counter-espionage section of the Ministry of Intelligence stating that so far, we have not found any evidence or documentation indicating these individuals' espionage. But you know that they do not need evidence; they had already decided to act against us. The accusations were baseless and predetermined.' Three other members of the Yaran group who have been released in recent months after serving their sentences are Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Behrouz Tavakkoli, while three others, Jamaleddin Khanjani, Vahid Tizfahm, and Afif Naeimi, remain in prison. However, Saeed Rezaei assures that none of them have renounced their beliefs. He stated that those affiliated with the Iranian government 'want to strip the Baha'i community of its identity due to their beliefs and render them without identity,' while Baha'is 'have no conflict with anyone' but only 'have differences,' and 'differences should not lead to conflict.' He added: 'They continue to shut down Baha'i citizens' businesses, deny them employment in government offices and institutions, and deny them education, all to take away the identity of the Baha'i community.' The Baha'i community has faced persecution from the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution, with followers of this faith subjected to executions, arrests, torture, imprisonment, and deprivation of social rights. The United Nations has deemed these actions as examples of 'systematic discrimination' and has protested against them.