BAHA'I COMMUNITY

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. D.N. Winderlich:

That this council—

1. Notes with serious concern that—

(a) Seven Baha'i community members in Iran have been charged with spying, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and that these charges could attract the death penalty;

(b) The Baha'i detainees have not been given any access to legal representation and have not been subject to due legal process;

2. Calls on Iran to respect rights to freedom of religion and the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and association, in accordance with international human rights conventions; and

3. Calls on Iran to release the seven Baha'i detainees without delay.

(Continued from 18 November 2009. Page 3969.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (11:54): I move:

Paragraph 1(a)—Insert the word 'reportedly' before the words 'charged with spying'

Paragraph 1(b)—Leave out paragraph 1(b) and insert the following—

'Baha'i detainees are reported to have not been given any access to legal representation and concerns expressed about due legal process;'

I rise on behalf of the opposition to support the motion moved by the Hon. D.N. Winderlich that the council notes serious concerns about the Baha'i community and to move this amendment. As members would be aware, it is always the opposition's practice to contact our federal colleagues when it comes to matters to do with international affairs and foreign policy and, thankfully, we were able to get some response, notwithstanding that they have been a little distracted. I did ask for this advice before they were distracted earlier this week to make sure we were all singing from the same hymn sheet.

Members would be aware that the Baha'is were founded in 1844 and that the Baha'i faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its second largest population exists in Iran, with roughly 350,00 people. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the Baha'i community has suffered from the effects of a systematic campaign orchestrated by the Iranian government. The government's aim is to eliminate the Baha'i community as a viable entity in Iran, despite Iran being the birthplace of the faith.

The Baha'is are not permitted to meet, to hold religious ceremonies or to practise their religion communally. Holy places, shrines and cemeteries have been confiscated and demolished and, according to Amnesty International, hundreds of Baha'is have been executed for refusing to recant their faith and embrace Islam. Since the election of President Ahmadinejad in 2005, dozens more have been arrested.

Among those who have recently been arrested are seven leaders of the Baha'i organisation known as Friends of Iran. The organisation is believed to have served as an ad hoc coordinating body representing Baha'is in Iran, apparently to the full knowledge of the Iranian government. Recently, however, the government has labelled the organisation illegal and arrested its seven leaders, one in March 2008 and other six in May 2008. They are expected to go on trial shortly on charges of espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the system.

Amnesty International considers the charges to be politically motivated and those held to be prisoners of conscience detained solely because of their conscientiously held beliefs for their peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha'i community. It is reported that the seven were not granted access to their lawyers, and the defence lawyers were not provided with notice of trial, as required under Iranian law, and it is further reported that the imprisoned have been tortured.

I have also had the pleasure of attending a Baha'i function and exhibition at the Immigration Museum and certainly was delighted to learn a little more about the Baha'i faith and the members of the Baha'i community here in South Australia. Its important that parliaments such as ours endorse these motions so that the communities here know we are thinking about their countrymen who are in difficult circumstances at the moment and that we also send a message to other parliaments and other countries around the world that we are not just sitting idly and watching this happen by without some comment and indicating our displeasure at what is happening in Iran. With those few words, I ask the council to support my amendment.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (11:59): I indicate that government members will be supporting this motion. The charges, treatment and possible sentences that the seven Baha'i community members currently face in Iran are, I am sure, abhorrent to all of us here today. Today we speak of seven members—five men and two women—of the Baha'i faith being detained without access to legal representation and having no right to due legal process. As we call for Iran to release these detainees without delay, I would like to remind the council of Iran's abysmal record when it comes to justice and equity.

This is a country that routinely kills people for drug offences and lashes people for alcohol consumption; a country about which human rights campaigners say they cannot really know how many executions take place. It is a country where people are executed on grounds of murder and rape but where independent organisations use the disclaimer when reporting such executions that the crimes they were sentenced for were not independently verified.

Of course, homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran, although, according to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, homosexuality does not occur in Iran. I refer to yesterday's Blaze, which reports that three men were sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of male homosexual conduct, despite the fact that all were under 18 (they were children) when they supposedly allegedly committed this alleged crime. So much for President Ahmadinejad.

Last month the head of the Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Asghar Jafari, called for a greater reliance on amputations as a method of justice, supposedly as a humanitarian softening of his country's policies. A couple who were arrested for adultery in 2003 and were sentenced to death by stoning in 2005, had their sentence quashed in October when they were granted a retrial because they had not been allowed legal representation at their first trial. So, they have been spared but they endured five years in prison in the interim.

So, it is no surprise to learn that the Iranian Baha'is have faced religious persecution for 30 years or more, and that between 1978 and 1998 more than 200 have been executed by Iranian authorities. More recent incidents, including the current detention of seven Baha'i leaders, raises fears of a resurrection of extreme religious persecution of the Baha'i by the Iranian government. This should be a concern for us all and, at the very least, we should call on the government of Iran to allow for a fair and open trial that meets international standards of justice.

The Rudd Labor government has expressed its concern about the seven members of the Baha'i community's situation. The Rudd government has indicated its opposition to these charges, as they constitute official discrimination in Iran against members of the Baha'i faith. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Smith MP, has conveyed the Rudd government's serious concerns directly to the Iranian foreign minister.

The Australian government has also raised the topic at international meetings, including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, and Australia co-sponsored a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran at the 63^rd UN General Assembly in 2008, which expressed the international community's concern about the current situation of the Baha'i in Iran. I am pleased this chamber is supporting the efforts of the federal Labor government in this matter and, with that, I support the motion.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (12:02): Family First will support this motion as well. It seems to me that there is goodwill in the chamber and support from all quarters. I do not want to be critical of the motion because I am in support of it and I agree with it, but the one comment I would like to make in my brief contribution this afternoon is that I think, in one sense—and I think it is probably a deliberate choice by the honourable member—it does, to some extent, ignore the obvious, and that is, as the Hon. Mr Hunter has aptly pointed out, that the persecution against religious groups and other minority groups is not restricted to the Baha'i community.

Indeed, 35 countries, including Iran, are listed in the human rights annual report as having persecuted or exhibiting severe discrimination against Christians in those countries, so this is a very widespread phenomenon indeed. In fact, as we speak, there are an estimated 200,000 Christians detained in labour camps in North Korea. We take our freedom of religion largely for granted, although I would not say entirely for granted, in the Western world, but to hear that there are some 200,000 people detained in labour camps in North Korea is absolutely disgraceful.

There are another couple of examples that I would like to mention in my brief contribution. In 2008, violence in the Orissa province in India, targeting Christians, saw 100 Christians confirmed dead and 4,000 homes burned, and over 50,000 Christians have fled their homes. The Hindu nationalist government has passed anti-conversion legislation in nine of the 28 Indian provinces. So, clearly, this problem is not restricted to either Iran, although it is certainly prominent in Iran, or the Baha'i community. Christians are actively, and very definitely, persecuted around the world, as well as other minority groups, I hasten to add.

China, of course, is no friend of Christianity, on the whole, and has been very strident in its persecution of the church, although I must say that in recent times it does seem that there has been some improvement in the relationship, I guess, of Christianity and the powers that be in China, which is encouraging, to say the least. Indeed, some churches are even tolerated in China in present times.

In Iran in 2008, Iranian officials actually ratcheted up their efforts to limit the growth of Christianity, which is growing strongly in Iran, by introducing an apostasy law that prescribes the death penalty for Muslim men who convert to another religion, any other religion, and life imprisonment for Muslim women who do the same thing. So, this is very serious indeed and, I think, absolutely deplorable behaviour, and I am sure members would agree, by countries such as Iran towards minority groups.

Indeed, just this year we have seen 15 Christian pastors murdered by Islamic extremists in Somalia. I could go on but I will not. I have given just a few examples that were readily accessible for me. As I said, we certainly support the motion. Criticism might not be the word, but certainly my comment on this motion is that it is intentionally focused on a small group but, of course, the problem is much wider than the motion highlights.

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH (12:06): I thank members for their contributions and support. I am happy to accept the opposition's amendments. I do not believe they are really necessary, because I think this case is well documented in the media and by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. However, the amendments are not fatal and I am happy to accept them.

In response to the Hon. Dennis Hood's remarks, yes, it is intentionally focused on a small group. I was asked by a local Baha'i to take up this matter, and I have. There are many religious groups persecuted in Iran, including Jews. I am very familiar with the Sabian Mandaeans who are followers of John the Baptist, a sort of offshoot of Christianity, and through my work with refugee communities I came to know quite a few of them. They are extremely badly persecuted in Iran and, when they sought refuge in Australia, they suffered several years of persecution in detention centres here. Eventually they left those detention centres and have become Australian citizens and enjoy all the rights and freedoms that that entails.

I think Iran is a very good example of why church and state should be separated and how the only way in which you can have freedom of religion is to have freedom from religion—that is the only way that every faith can be guaranteed that it will be tolerated and accepted.

The Hon. David Ridgway mentioned sending a message to parliaments and countries around the world. I think that possibly even more important, in a way—given that our voice is not as significant in the parliaments in those countries—is the message of hope we send to the people detained in Iran. Political and religious dissidents throughout history—the Gandhis, the Mandelas, the Solzhenitsyns—have often been alone and afraid, and we know from various accounts that we read that the small signs of interest and support from the most remote corners of the world meant a great deal to them, and South Australia is pretty remote and insignificant when viewed from Iran. However, I have been told by a local Baha'i that this will mean a lot to those people and their families, so it is one small thing that we can do.

Finally, from the Hon. Ian Hunter's remarks, I take the point, which I think we should all hold, that we need to have tolerance generally for different views, faiths and sexualities, and to focus on the things that really matter in life and on the essence of our humanness and our shared interests. rather than peripheral issues like what we believe or our specific sexual practices. I thank you for all your support. This motion will mean a lot to the Baha'i community and to the Baha'i people detained in Iran.

Amendments carried; motion as amended carried.