NEW YORK — As an Iranian judiciary postponed for another week ruling on the appeals of 10 Iranian Jews convicted of spying for Israel, a revelation has emerged:
There may be more Jewish prisoners.
Around seven years ago or so, 11 Iranian Jewish teenagers were arrested, allegedly for trying to leave Iran illegally.
They were reportedly found in border areas, perhaps indicating they were on their way out, according to Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
After a time, nothing was heard about them again, and the families presumed they had been executed.
However, Hoenlein, who is in steady contact with sources within Iran, said a recently released prisoner from a Tehran jail revealed that he had spotted several of the missing boys, who would now be in their mid- to late 20s.
The disappearances were not raised with the Iranian authorities earlier, said Hoenlein, because Jewish activists were focused on freeing 10 Iranian Jews who have been imprisoned for more than 18 months on charges of spying for Israel.
Meanwhile, the most recent appeals delay is ostensibly because the three judges reviewing the appeals are divided on whether the charges the Jews were convicted of actually constituted a crime.
But few observers doubt that domestic Iranian politics are at play.
If anything, they say, the tactic undermines the efforts by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.
On the eve of his address to the United Nations this week, Khatami is attempting to spruce up his image as a reformer, and to bolster his claim that he — not the Islamic fundamentalists — is truly in control of his country.
The delay also did nothing to defuse a flurry of street protest and behind-the-scenes diplomacy that greeted Khatami as he and 150 other heads of state arrived in New York for the U.N. Millennium Summit.
Jewish groups sponsored two media events just blocks away from the United Nations, while an Iranian exile organization held a noisy anti-Khatami demonstration within earshot of visiting dignitaries from around the world.
“We cannot tolerate a situation where it is a crime simply for being Jewish,” said New York Gov. George Pataki, who headlined Tuesday’s first street event, sponsored jointly by the Conference of Presidents and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
A second event, held later, was organized by AMCHA — The Coalition for Jewish Concerns.
“Mr. Khatami, to you, your parliament and your judiciary, human rights and dignity must be the right of every citizen,” Pataki said.
“You claim to be a reformer. Show it and release these 10.”
The 10 Jews were convicted July 1. Their sentences range from four to 13 years, but Hoenlein says his sources indicate that several more may be released, with jail terms reduced for the rest.
He wouldn’t bank on it, however.
As delaying the appeals decision demonstrates, said Hoenlein, “the only thing predictable about Iran is that nothing is predictable.”
Thus, the need to prod Khatami, both publicly and privately.
Hoenlein, who met with Iran’s parliament speaker last week during an Iranian American Council event in New York, still holds out hope that he will be able to plead his case directly to Khatami this week.
Hoenlein also confirmed that he spoke with Mehdi Kharroubi about the missing teenagers, and the speaker told him he “was unaware of the case…[and] would follow up on it.”
There was talk of such a meeting Monday at the United Nations, when Khatami spoke with a reportedly “pre-selected” gathering of Iranian emigres, including a few Jews.
From the Jewish side, Hoenlein conceded there was internal debate on whether a meeting with Khatami would somehow be manipulated by the Iranian media for domestic consumption.
Hoenlein said a meeting would only take place if Jewish leaders were guaranteed their say. In the end, that point was moot because American Jewish leaders weren’t invited at all.
“We should meet with Khatami to send the right message that the appeals should succeed, and security guaranteed for the entire Jewish community,” Hoenlein said at Tuesday’s media event.
But soon after Pataki had left the event, more than a dozen speakers followed him to the podium. They firmly but politely intoned about human rights, the rule of law, sanctions against Iran and the country’s continued isolation from the world. Yet their voices rarely rose above the din of roaring buses and trucks nearby.
The glaring exception was Max Saatchi, an Iranian emigre who stood beside the podium and held high a placard of the 10 imprisoned Jews — sitting in the Iranian courtroom, heads bowed, in prison-issued gray flannel uniforms.
Saatchi, whose father is Jewish and mother Muslim, says 17 of his relatives have been executed for anti-regime activities.
After each speaker, Saatchi thrust his hand in the air and repeatedly shouted, “Terrorist Khatami out of U.N.!” or “No appeasement.
“Before his arrival, Khatami had met with members of Iran’s Jewish community, which numbers 27,000 and is steadily shrinking; included the Jewish member of parliament in Iran’s official U.N. delegation; and made plans to host a “Dialogue on Civilizations” panel later this week.
Saatchi was unimpressed.
“Khatami is a terrorist, like the rest of them,” said Saatchi, a middle-aged man of medium height, dark features and a black moustache. “He’s a wolf, but they present him as a lamb.”
Opinions may vary but Tuesday might have marked a watershed moment. Several at the protest, organized by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, spoke out about the trial, describing as a transparent attempt to frighten the masses and impose conformity on all Iranians.
They also noted Iran’s financial support and training for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Charges of espionage are a “typical punishment for those the regime wants to discredit,” said Mitra Bagheri, a member of the council’s foreign relations committee, who recently relocated from Paris to New York to help organize Iranians here.
“I don’t think people in Iran believe anything the government says, because it tells big lies, and the truth is always the other way around.”
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