Imprisoned Americans, persecution of Bahá'ís & Christians among issues

Contact: Jeff Sagnip, 202-225-3765; chrissmith.house.gov

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2015 /Standard Newswire/ -- Human rights abuses in Iran, including the holding of American prisoners and widespread persecution of religious minorities, were the topics of a House hearing Thursday held by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the Africa and global human rights subcommittee, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the Middle East and North Africa subcommittee.

"At a time when the Administration seems keen to reach a nuclear accord that relies on trust in the Iranian regime and perhaps even a de facto collaboration in the fight against ISIS, it is wise to consider and scrutinize the dismal human rights record of this country with which we are currently conducting negotiations based on good faith," Smith said. "How they treat their own people is illustrative of how they see and will treat outsiders." Click here to read Chairman Smith's statement.

Smith noted "the current Department of State human rights report states that Iranian human rights violations include disappearances; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including judicially sanctioned amputation and flogging; rape, politically motivated violence and repression, harsh and life-threatening conditions in detention and prison facilities, with instances of deaths in custody; arbitrary arrest and lengthy pretrial detention, sometimes incommunicado."

The witnesses at the joint congressional hearing, entitled "The Shame of Iranian Human Rights," were:

• Shayan Arya, Central Committee Member, Constitutionalist Party of Iran (Liberal Democrat);
   
• Mohsen Sazegara, President of the Research Institute on Contemporary Iran, and;
   
• Anthony Vance, Director of the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs.

Arya testified that a detailed study of Iranian school curriculums concluded that the Islamic Republic uses schoolbooks to systematically indoctrinate children and to prepare them for war against America and other "nonbelievers," and systematically encourages a hostile attitude towards non-Muslims, with children instructed to not to take unbelievers, such as Jews and Christians, as friends.

"Despite his moderate posture and diplomatic language, Mr. Rouhani is part of the problem," Arya said. "As a member of Iran's National Security Council, not only is he aware of the contents of Iran's curriculum; he helped to approve them. Against this background, is it any surprise that almost all religious minority in Iran: Baha'is, Christians, Sufi's or Dervish Muslims, Sunnis and Ahle-Hagh suffer officially sanctioned discrimination?" Click here to read Arya's testimony.

Sazegara, President of Research Institute on Contemporary Iran, said imprisonment of human rights activists, journalists, bloggers, university students and teachers, workers, ethnic and religious minorities, and political opposition continues.

"During the last three and a half decades, the Iranian people have bitterly experienced suppression of their fundamental freedoms and rights, and witnessed brutal crackdowns of pro-freedom movements in Iran," Sazegara said. "I deeply regret to say that extensive and systematic violations of human rights, persecutions, unfair trials, unfounded imprisonments, tortures, rapes and extrajudicial executions still continue, despite the pledges Mr. Rouhani had made to change this trend during his election campaign in 2013." Click here to read his testimony.

Vance, representing the Bahá'ís of the United States, testified about the suffering of the 300,000 members of the Bahá'í community in Iran, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country.

"The government has made concerted efforts to impoverish and quietly suffocate the Bahá'í community," Vance said. "After the Revolution, Bahá'ís were dismissed from government jobs and denied pensions and private employers have been pressured not to hire Bahá'ís. Bahá'ís still suffer frequent raids on their homes and businesses, including a recent spate of shop closures, and their property is routinely seized with compensation. Bahá'ís were also dismissed from university positions after the Revolution, and Bahá'í students continue to be excluded from the nation's universities."

Vance said the U.S. government has shown clear leadership in promoting the rights of Bahá'ís and condemning injustice. Since the 1980s, U.S. presidents and both houses of the U.S. Congress have consistently passed resolutions denouncing the treatment of the Bahá'ís and calling for an end to these continuing abuses.

"It is our hope that, at the March session of the UN Human Rights Council, the United States and other responsible nations will emphasize the persecution of the Bahá'ís – and the oppression of countless other Iranians – and will hold the Iranian government to account for its gross violations of the human rights of its citizens," he said. Click here to read Vance's testimony.

Smith said he is also concerned about fate of Americans imprisoned in Iran—including Pastor Saeed Abedini, Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati, and Jason Rezian.

Click here to watch the hearing.

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