Sunday, August 16, 2020 / Security forces in Alborz Province arrested Lisa Tebyanian, a Baha’i citizen living in Karaj.
According to Human Rights in Iran, Lisa Tebyanian, a Baha’i citizen residing in Karaj, was arrested on Saturday, August 15 (2020), by security forces of Karaj without an arrest warrant or providing any reason, and was transferred to an unknown location.
In an interview with the reporter of Human Rights in Iran, a source close to the Baha’i citizen said: “Simultaneously with Ms. Tebyanian’s arrest, security forces ransacked her residence and confiscated her mobile phone, laptop and some other personal belongings and took them away with themselves.”
Earlier to this, on March 15, 2017, Lisa Tebyanian was detained by security forces in Karaj, and after completing the interrogation process and being informed of her changes, she was released from Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj on March 26, 2017, pending trial.
Beginning the trial, the case of this Baha’i citizen was referred to branch 4 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court on charges of “propaganda against the state”, and after the court hearing Lisa Tebyanian was sentenced to 7 months in prison on the above charge. The sentence was reviewed on December 31, 2018, after being referred to branch 12 of the Alborz Court of Appeals, presided over by Ali Badri, and the Baha’i citizen was acquitted of the charge.
According to unofficial sources, there are more than 300,000 Baha’is in Iran, but the Iranian Constitution recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not recognize the Baha’i faith. Hence the rights of Baha’is in Iran have always been systematically violated in recent years.
Baha’i citizens are systematically deprived of their human rights, while according to Articles 2 and 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “Eeveryone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”
Detention of persons before they are charged and the inability of defendants to access a lawyer are among the violations of international instruments of human rights, Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16, 1966.
Individuals also enjoy the right to a fair trial, which is an inalienable right, as enshrined in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
In most cases, the extrajudicial and arbitrary detention of citizens and civil activists with vague and trumped-up accusations is in the line of suppression of Freedom of Expression and opinion, which in International Instrument of Human Rights, in Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16th 1966, there is emphasis on not suppressing of the individuals because of Freedom of Expression and opinion. Regarding the principle of freedom of expression, every individual has the right to express his/her opinions and viewpoints in any way possible, without considering border restrictions.
Article 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that the accused shall be informed of the charges and provided access to a lawyer as soon as possible. Other defensive rights are mentioned in law, but extrajudicial actions taken by the security services violate the laws that they themselves drafted and claim to be enforced.
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