Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move this motion concerning the deep and ongoing concern that the Baha’i community in Ipswich and the Somerset region in the federal electorate of Blair have concerning the ongoing human rights violations in Iran, particularly the use of the death penalty and the use of stoning as a method of execution; the violations of the rights of women; repeated violations of due process of law; the use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrest to suppress peaceful opposition activity and the impact this has on the ability of Iranian people to exercise their freedom of expression, association and assembly, civil liberties which we in Australia take for granted; the reported arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of opposition protestors; discrimination that has been reported, and which is allegedly rife, against minorities, including the Baha’i, Sufi, Baluch, and Kurdish communities in the country; and the trial of what are known as the Baha’i seven.

This motion calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the rights of all individuals are fully protected, without discrimination, and that it fulfils its obligations to its own citizens as set out in the Iranian Constitution, and to abide by its international human rights obligations, including the rights to freedom of religion or belief as set out in article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and also the rights of people to believe what they want and to exercise those beliefs and practice them peacefully in accordance with human rights and dignity.

This motion deals with ensuring that all trials, including the case of the seven Baha’i leaders, are fair and transparent and conducted in accordance with Iran’s international obligations. This is a position that the Australian parliament has taken previously. On 15 February 2010 the United Nations Human Rights Council held a universal periodic review on Iran, with governments and human rights groups from around the world describing in detail the degree to which Iran has failed to live up to its international obligations with respect to civil and political rights but also with respect to those rights concerning people’s beliefs and religion. The Australian government, in its recommendations to the UN, made it very clear that Australia wanted to ensure that the trial of the seven Baha’i leaders is fair and transparent. On 25 May 2009 the Australian parliament called on Iran to release without delay the seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned in Tehran.

The Baha’i faith is a peaceful faith that was founded over 150 years ago. It says the purpose of life is to know and love God. It is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world with more than five million followers in over 100,000 localities across the world. The unity of all people is a powerful force in the Baha’i faith. It believes in an integrated and peaceful world community. It emphasises the respect and diversity of people and the idea that, by meditation and prayer, a person can get close to God and get close to knowing himself or herself. It believes in one human race which has custodianship of the planet that God has given to us. I am a Christian by religious persuasion, tradition and faith but I respect the faith and practices of the Baha’i community in my electorate and elsewhere.

President Obama recently visited our northern neighbour Indonesia. In a very moving speech at the University of Indonesia he spoke of his childhood memories of growing up in Indonesia, of feeling welcome there and of the religious and cultural tolerance and understanding that he experienced there. He spoke of his recent visit to a mosque which he remembered being built when he was child—a mosque which symbolised independence and was designed by a Christian architect for the Muslim community of Indonesia. A couple of years ago when I had the privilege of being on a parliamentary delegation to Jakarta I discovered that on Christmas Day the mosque allowed parishioners of the Catholic Church to park their cars in the car park of the mosque. President Obama made the point that Indonesia was a very productive and cooperative country with respect to religion and beliefs and the widespread practices of many people. ‘Unity in diversity’ is, of course, the Indonesian motto.

Sadly, that practice of our northern neighbour Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, is not adhered to in Iran. I speak of the plight of the followers of the Baha’i faith living in Iran, who are really suffering from persecution, and the seven Baha’i leaders: Fariba Kamalabadi, a married developmental psychologist and mother of three; Jamaloddin Khanjani, a married businessman with four children and six grandchildren; Afif Naemimi, a married businessman with two grown sons; Saeid Rezaie, a married agriculture engineer with three children, two of whom were arrested while working on a project to help the underprivileged; Mahvash Sabet, a married teacher and school principal with two grown children; Behrouz Tavakkoli, a married social worker and businessman with two children; and Vahid Tizfahm, a married optometrist with one child. On 8 August 2010 the Baha’i community in Australia received reports that these Baha’i leaders in Iran had received sentences of 20 years. On 15 September this year the lawyers of the seven Baha’i leaders were verbally informed that their sentences had been reduced to 10 years. This follows decades of intense harassment by the Iranian regime—careers destroyed, businesses confiscated and lives made more difficult on many levels.

These people had attempted to exercise productive lives and carry out their beliefs peacefully. They were arrested in 2008 and held in detention in the notorious Evin prison. They were subjected to intense interrogation. One was held in solitary confinement for five months and another for months. They were denied access to legal representation for over a year and then were given only one hour to consult. The charges are draconian, egregious and outrageous. There were allegations that they had engaged in espionage for the benefit of foreigners, spread anti-government propaganda, collaborated with Israel and spread corruption on earth. There were a whole host of ridiculous charges against these people. The Iranian regime has continually obstructed access to legal representation for the Baha’i Seven and moved them to locations away from support and families. Their lawyers have themselves experienced harassment to the point where one of them has been forced to remain outside of Iran for an extended period.

I congratulate the Gillard Labor government for expressing its concern for this grave injustice. I add my strongest condemnation of the Iranian regime for the detention and sentencing of the Baha’i Seven in this really draconian and repressive way. I congratulate the local Baha’i community in Ipswich, particularly Jessica Jackson, who has met me on several occasions to advocate for the Baha’i Seven, and Rahmat Mehdizadeh, who has also met me regarding this matter on numerous occasions. I congratulate them on their strong advocacy on behalf of the very small community of about 60 members in Ipswich.

We all live in a free country here in Australia. We speak about democratic institutions, civil liberties and human rights, but there are 50 Baha’i in prison in various locations in Iran. All are in jail for their religion. Some have been held for more than 13 months in so-called temporary detention. Around 250 Baha’i still have open cases at various stages of the Iranian judicial process. Additionally, there is discrimination against other minority groups, such as the Kurdish community and the Sufi community inside Iran. This continues and there are too numerous cases to outline. We have called upon the Republic of Iran to ensure that the rights of all individuals are fully protected without discrimination; fulfil its obligations to its citizens under the constitution—which makes reference to civil liberties and freedom of religion; abide by its international obligations, including the rights of freedom of religion or belief as set out in article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and ensure that all trials, including the trials of the Baha’i Seven, are fair and transparent.

President Obama recently said:

We can choose to be defined by our differences, and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust. Or we can choose to do the hard work of forging common ground, and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress.

I commend the motion to the House.

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