New York, NY, July 1, 2000 ...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today
expressed outrage at the harsh sentences handed down against ten Jewish
defendants falsely accused in an Iranian Revolutionary Court with spying for
Israel and the United States.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
We are shocked at the harsh sentences given to ten of the innocent Jews
who have been falsely accused of spying for Israel. This process has been
illegitimate throughout, and these sentences reflect the unlawful and unjust
nature of the arrest, investigation and trial of these Jews.
For the past seventeen months, 13 innocent Jews have been imprisoned,
separated from their families and tried in the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz
on ludicrous charges of spying for Israel.
This trial has been a farce. The process has contravened international
judicial norms. There was no evidence that the 13 spied for Israel. The
so-called "confessions" on which the verdict is based were full of
contradictions and inconsistencies. Court officials regularly used the media
to manipulate public opinion outside the courtroom, particularly in the highly
suspect broadcast of two defendants "confessing" to espionage. The
trial was closed to all observers, including the defendants' families, Jewish
community leadership, foreign diplomats and representatives of human rights
groups.
We call on the leadership of Iran to act immediately to allow these Jews to
rejoin their families.
The international community has been watching this trial very carefully,
considering its outcome as a signal of Iran's willingness to join the
community of nations. As the post-trial process proceeds, we urge that the
international community continue its vigilance in calling for justice for the
defendants and the safety and well being of the 27,000 Jews living in Iran.
