Lawyers and activists call on judiciary to overturn ‘illegal’ adoption ruling against converts 13 October 2020 News One hundred and twenty lawyers and activists have written an open letter to the head of the judiciary in Iran, asking him to overturn a court’s decision to remove a two-year-old girl from her adoptive parents because they are Christian converts. Sam Khosravi and his wife Maryam Falahi’s appeal against the ruling, issued in July, was rejected last month, despite the judge in his initial ruling acknowledging that their daughter, Lydia, felt an “intense emotional attachment” to them. The judge also said there was “zero chance” another adoptive family would be found for Lydia, given her chronic health problems. Now, in a letter published by Iran-based Borna and Ensaf news agencies, the signatories have called on the head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, to annul the verdict, which they say goes against both national and international law. As a signatory to the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, they say Iran is duty bound first of all to consider the child’s wellbeing, and that Iran’s own constitution makes no reference to a person’s religion when denoting who is eligible to adopt a child. “The constitution, mother of all laws, in its 19th article explicitly speaks of the equality of all Iranian citizens and nationals, regardless of their race, language, religion, etc., such that belonging to a particular religion can never be a source of superiority or discrimination,” they write. “In particular, regarding the care and protection of abused or unaccompanied children, the constitution pays attention only to human and moral aspects, meaning that any Iranian citizen, regardless of his or her religion, can apply for custody of a child.” “Nowhere in these laws or regulations is there any mention of the religion of the applicant, but, rather, in the first place, being an Iranian citizen and of good moral character is the criterion for eligibility,” they add. They note that Sam and Maryam are “well respected” and “honourable” citizens, who have been found to be of good moral character in their city and also by the state welfare organisation that initially granted them custody of Lydia. In later seeking to remove Lydia from their care, the state welfare organisation acted “illegally”, the signatories write, failing also to take into account Lydia’s serious heart condition and the “love and affection between the child and her parents”. “The duty of the judiciary is to support and realise the individual rights of Iranian citizens and to establish judicial justice,” the signatories conclude, calling on Mr Raisi to “issue an appropriate order to stop the execution of this sentence, and to make a proper ruling to annul any such future sentences, which are against the law and Sharia”. In so doing, they say Mr Raisi will “show the importance of judicial justice in Iran and the realisation of individual rights and the protection of children in society by the judiciary”. You can read the full text of the letter and list of signatories below: Mr Raisi, Honourable Chairman of the Judiciary, Greetings and prayers, Respectfully, citing the third, 19th, 34th, 37th, 38th, 154th, and 156th articles of the constitution. The constitution, mother of all laws, in its 19th article explicitly speaks of the equality of all Iranian citizens and nationals, regardless of their race, language, religion, etc., such that belonging to a particular religion can never be a source of superiority or discrimination. In particular, regarding the care and protection of abused or unaccompanied children, the constitution pays attention only to human and moral aspects, meaning that any Iranian citizen, regardless of his or her religion, can apply for custody of a child from the state welfare organisation. At the same time, the law for the protection of abused and orphaned children exists to support children who either no longer have parents, or whose parents do not have the competence or ability to care for and raise their children. The legislature has set out in this law, and subsequent laws, and explicitly stated that Iranian nationals who are eligible, in terms of having the financial means and moral rectitude, can apply to the state welfare organisation for guardianship of a child. Nowhere in these laws or regulations is there any mention of the religion of the applicant, but, rather, in the first place, being an Iranian citizen of good moral character is the criterion for eligibility. It should also be noted that, according to the 12th and 13th articles of the constitution, those who belong to Iran’s recognised religions [including Christians], as authorised in the constitution, will have no restrictions in this field to prevent them from applying for guardianship of a child – those such as Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi, who are honourable Christian citizens of the country. Not only are this couple well respected in [their city of] Bushehr, but they have also, with great moral care, dignity, and humanity, requested custody of a child from the welfare organisation, to which this institution also agreed through its legal procedures. And during the subsequent two years, their adopted child has become their shining light. But, unfortunately, the welfare organisation later filed an illegal request to the court to revoke the couple’s custody of the child. The court for family affairs and later the court for appeals, without considering the rules of jurisprudence, as well as religious and human commonalities, or the health of this child – including a medical certificate outlining her severe heart disease – and regardless of the love and affection created between the child and her parents, has ordered the cancellation of their custody. This ruling has also been issued without considering the need to serve the best interests of the child and his or her health, as obligated by article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, [to which Iran is a signatory] and the rules and principles of law, as well as failing to comply with jurisprudential religious verdicts and principles of child rights. Therefore, considering that the duty of the judiciary is to support and realise the individual rights of Iranian citizens and to establish judicial justice, we ask His Excellency, as the head of this branch, in line with the principles mentioned in the constitution, jurisprudential rules, and the religious verdicts of some senior clerics, to issue an appropriate order to stop the execution of this sentence, and to make a proper ruling to annul any such future sentences, which are against the law and Sharia. Of course, His Excellency’s worthy order will show the importance of judicial justice in Iran and the realisation of individual rights and the protection of children in society by the judiciary. Bahareh Rahnama – ActressSaba Alaleh – Child rights activistHossein Ahmadiniaz – Lawyer, NetherlandsBahar Sahraian – Lawyer, IranMajid Nikouei – Lawyer, TehranGhazaleh Delfan – Civil rights activistRoghayeh Bakhtiari – Lawyer, BushehrAsma Rostamipour – Lawyer, BushehrEsmat Shahpar – Lawyer, BushehrYekta Zarei – Lawyer, BushehrBatoul Kadari – Lawyer, BushehrAyla Alaleh – Civil rights activistIman Nasrollahi – Civil rights activistLida Talebi – Civil rights activistPantea Alaleh – Civil rights activistHamed Ghaznavizadeh – Civil rights activistSaber Solati – Civil rights activistReza Rasouli – Civil rights activistAfsaneh Alaleh – Civil rights activistMahnaz Sababeh – Civil rights activistOmran Farokh Moradi – Lawyer, SanandajMina Amini – Civil rights activistArezoo Abolfazli – Civil rights activistSadegh Alaleh – Civil rights activistGhazal Bohrani – Civil rights activistNavideh Asghari – Civil rights activistMansour Moazami – Civil rights activistElham Zeraat Pisheh – Lawyer, ShirazAzar Sepahyani – Human rights activistAyda Raisi – Child rights activistNahid Moradi – Civil rights activistGoli Ejaghloo – Child rights activistMasoud Ahmadian – Lawyer, TehranZinat Izadi – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceAzam Tajdini – Lawyer, BushehrBabak Zarei – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceSomayeh Asadi – Lawyer, BushehrSaeed Torabi – LawyerNazanin Salari – Lawyer, ShirazAlireza Zare – LawyerSomayeh Eskandari – Lawyer, ArsenjanMehdi Yazdani – LawyerFatemeh Yazdani – LawyerFatemeh Nariman – Lawyer, AhvazGhazal Paymard – Lawyer, ShirazAdel Zarei – Lawyer, Shiraz Amin Farzan – Lawyer, ReyMahnaz Sasanpour – Lawyer, ShirazGhodsieh Ghodsbin – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceMahboobeh Foroogh – Lawyer, ShirazAbdolvahed Najafi – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceMajid Nazerzadeh – Lawyer, BushehrEhsan Hosseini – Lawyer, NourabadSorour Rezaei – LawyerYaser Izadpanah – Lawyer, ShirazYashar Kazemi – Lawyer, TehranSolamaz Nouri – Lawyer, ShirazMohammad Hadi Jafarpoor – Lawyer, ShirazFatemeh Eskandari – Lawyer, Bandar AbbasMahdokht Damghanpoor – LawyerLeili Hosseini Shakib – LawyerFarhid Ahmadi – Lawyer, ShirazSiavash Hadaegh – Lawyer, ShirazBehnaz Adiban – Lawyer, ShirazLeila Shafaie – Lawyer, TehranFarshid Rofoogaran – Lawyer, TehranBehzad Hakimizadeh – Lawyer, SaqqezSiamak Naser – Lawyer, SanandajAmin Moradi – Lawyer, ShirazParisa Dehghani – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceRaheleh Khosravi – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceSoudabeh Farahi – Lawyer, ShirazFarshid Yadollahi – LawyerMarjan Eslami – Lawyer, TehranMasoud Feridoonnejad – Lawyer, ShirazMahboobeh Nasiri – LawyerLeila Bahrami – Civil rights activistLeila Heidari – Lawyer, TehranMaryam Shirzadian – LawyerHaleh Shakeri – LawyerMostafa Khosravi Nejad – Lawyer, DamghanHeidar Rezaei – LawyerPeyman Firouzi – LawyerBehzad Avar – Lawyer, SanandajGhahreman Karimi – Lawyer, KermanshahHossein Komeili Esfahani – LawyerAsa Ebrahimi – Lawyer, ShirazMojtaba Raisi – LawyerMina Dashtbali – Social workerBehnaz Mehrjerdi – Lawyer, TehranAliasghar Ghaferi – LawyerMostafa Hassani – LawyerVahid Salemi – LawyerKourosh Tahery Dadar – Lawyer, ShirazAmir Razmjooie – LawyerMaryam Farahi – Lawyer, ShirazAli Dehghanian – Lawyer, ShirazGholamreza Mahmoudi – Lawyer, Fars ProvinceRoohangiz Salari – Civil rights activistSamaneh Hosseini – Lawyer, ShirazEstareh Ansari – LawyerYasaman Taghipoor – LawyerBabak Zare Lavasani – Lawyer, TehranFatemeh Rezaei – Lawyer, AradanFatemeh Mirzaei – LawyerMandana Ahmadpoor – Lawyer, ShirazHossein Kavian – LawyerMaliheh Jabari – Lawyer, ShirazAndisheh Jafari – Psychologist and child rights activistMohsen Alamdari – Lawyer, ShirazAliasghar Ghafari – Lawyer, ShirazSaeedeh Hosseinzadeh – Lawyer, Bandar AbbasFirouz Rasti – Civil rights activistAli Chahi – LawyerHamid Estakhr – Lawyer, VaraminFatemeh Alaei – LawyerAfshin Parsaei – LawyerMaryam Farahi – LawyerSaeedeh Hosseinzadeh – LawyerHaleh Mousavian, Tehran – Lawyer Share and spread the word!FacebookTwitterTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppEmailPrintMoreRedditTumblrPinterestPocket