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a few days later. The three Bahá’ís were eventually found guilty of “taking part in the illegal
occupation and use of government property”. They were fined and ordered to “cease their
occupation of the said property” (i.e. the cemetery) and to “return it to its prior condition”, which
would mean to exhume the deceased Bahá’í recently interred there.
110. Another incident includes the display of a petition on 19 September 2008, at the entrance
of a large outdoor enclosed area in Tehran, in which the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, leads
the noon-day prayer. This petition, provided for worshippers to sign, asked for the dissolution of
“Bahá’íst institutions”. Reportedly, officials from the Ministry of Information were present in
large numbers around the entrance to ensure that all worshippers signed the petition on their way
in.
Observations
111. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government of
the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the above mentioned allegations. She would like to refer
to her framework for communications, more specifically to the international human rights
norms and to the mandate practice concerning discrimination on the basis of religion or
belief/inter-religious discrimination/tolerance (see above, para. 1, category II.1) and concerning
the right to manifest one’s religion or belief and the teaching and dissemination of materials,
including missionary activity (see above, para. 1, category I.3.f).
112. Furthermore, she would like to recall that the General Assembly resolution 63/181 urges
States to step up their efforts to eliminate intolerance and discrimination based on religion or
belief, notably by taking all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international
standards of human rights, to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence,
intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as
incitement to hostility or violence, with particular regard to members of religious minorities in
all parts of the world. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur is very concerned by the continued
violations of freedom of religion or belief suffered by members of the Bahá’í community. She
urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the Bahá’í members who are
currently detained receive a fair trial and she would like to recommend the presence of
independent observers during the trials.
Jordan
Communication sent on 13 May 2008
113. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had
received regarding Mr. Muhammad Abbad Abd al-Qader Abbad, a Jordanian citizen.
Reportedly, Mr. Abbad converted to Christianity fifteen years ago and is married to a Christian
woman. On 23 March 2008, Mr. Abbad, his wife and their 9-year-old son were assaulted by
relatives of another convert to Christianity who had sought sanctuary in Mr. Abbad’s home.
After the incident, Mr. Abbad’s father reported his son to the police and sought to obtain custody
of his two grandchildren. When Mr. Abbad attempted to file a complaint with the police on
24 March 2008, he was taken to the North Amman Shari’a court and charged with apostasy.
Because Mr. Abbad claimed before the court that he was an atheist and not a Muslim when he
converted to Christianity, Judge Faysal Khreisat sentenced him to one week of imprisonment for