§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Baha'is in Iran. [60174]
§ Mr. FatchettWe have taken the opportunity provided by meetings with Senior Iranian officials to express our serious disquiet about the treatment of the Baha'i community. Persecution of individuals on religious grounds is totally unacceptable. The May United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution reaffirmed international concern about their situation. In early October, through our contracts with the UK Baha'i community, we became aware that death sentences on two Iranian Baha'is, Mr. Dhabihi-Muqaddam and Mr. Najafabadi, had recently been confirmed. On 4 October, we and our partners in the EU troika (Austrian Presidency and Germany) pressed the Iranian authorities not to carry out these two death sentences. We were told that the sentences were still subject to appeal and that executions were not imminent.
We are also aware, through our contracts with the Baha'i community in the UK, of a further wave of arrests of Baha'is across Iran around the end of September. These seem to have been directed primarily at teachers engaged in distance learning within the Baha'i community. Most of those concerned appear to have been released shortly after arrest but had to surrender property ownership deeds as a form of bail.
We will continue to monitor the situation carefully with our EU partners. We will take further action as necessary. In particular, we will continue to press the Iranians for more transparency about judicial process in these and other human rights cases.