To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the British Isles, France, and the United States
Dear friends,
The case of the Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco has passed
through three stages:
The arrest, detention and trial which began in April, 1962
and ended on 15 December 1962 when they appeared in court and received their
respective sentences.
The second stage began when the verdict was known and widely
publicized, attracting the attention of many influential people both within and
without Morocco resulting in widespread sympathy on behalf of the prisoners and
many petitions to the Moroccan government.
The third stage has been characterized by relative quiet and
lack of publicity while all are waiting for the appeal to be heard. We are now
in this stage, the most difficult of all.
The Universal House of Justice wishes to share with you a
summary of the present situation as it appears from reports received from many
sources, and to outline the policies which it believes should govern our
immediate actions.
The prisoners, except for one who will be referred to later,
are still in prison awaiting their unknown fate with great firmness and
patience. For more than a year and a half they have withstood all manner of
harassment and difficulty. We are informed that the three sentenced to death
have been kept in solitary confinement for twenty-three hours of every day.
Because of recent political developments it has become more and more difficult
for Bahá'í friends to meet these dear souls in prison, but when it has been
possible the Bahá'ís and non-believers alike are astonished that the prisoners
are able to demonstrate such exemplary steadfastness and patience.
It is still not known when the appeal will be heard. At
first it was promised that it would be among the first cases taken up after the
courts reconvened in October. Again, some felt that it would be delayed until
the opening of parliament in November. Now it is thought that the appeal will
be heard very soon because it has been presented to the Court in such a way
that they cannot delay it longer than one month. A favourable result is also
anticipated.
The prisoner in Tangier, Mr. Mannan, has been provisionally
released. His release followed a finding by the magistrate of that city that he
could not find any convincing evidence in the file proving the charges
regarding political subversion and incitement against Islam were justified. In
the view of the magistrate the prisoner is guilty of no other crime than that
of being a Bahá'í. Nevertheless, the prosecution appealed from this finding,
and it was only after later efforts on the part of the legal committee in
Morocco that Mr. Mannan was released.
Recently there has been a proposal for a change in the law
which would provide a penalty of up to three years in prison for persons who
are convicted of enticing Muslims to change their faith. While this law cannot
be applied retroactively to the Bahá'í prisoners, it is felt that this change
in the law together with the result in the Tangier case will have a favourable
effect on the other cases since it indicated the injustice of the convictions
and the harshness of the penalties meted out.
We have had many excellent suggestions from all of you as to
courses of action which might be taken to secure the release of our fellow
Bahá'ís. All have been carefully considered and weighed together in arriving at
our present course of action...
If the appeal should be further delayed, we must reconsider
our present policy and do whatever is reasonably required to bring about an
early hearing of the appeal. In the meantime the entire Bahá'í world is
offering prayers on behalf of the prisoners at the Feast of Qawl.
This letter is for your own information and is not to be
circulated.
With grateful appreciation and with warm Bahá'í love and
greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986’)
