[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[July 1, 2000]
[Pages 1376-1377]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on the Verdicts in an Iranian Espionage Trial
July 1, 2000

    I am deeply disturbed by the verdicts handed down in the trial of 
the 13 Jewish Iranians accused of espionage. International human rights 
organizations, the Special Rapporteur on Iran for the United Nations 
Human Rights Commission, the United States, and many other nations have 
denounced the seriously flawed judicial process by which these sentences 
were determined. The proceedings have been rightly criticized around the 
world for their failure to accord due process of law to the defendants.
    We have raised our concerns time and again, when the Iranian 
Government has treated intellectuals, journalists, Muslim clerics, and 
members of the Baha'i community with the same fundamental unfairness. We 
are deeply disappointed that the Iranian Government has again failed to 
act as a society based on the rule of law, to which the Iranian people 
aspire.
    We call upon the Government of Iran to remedy the failings of these 
procedures immediately and overturn these unjust sentences. We will 
continue to engage with other interested governments and organizations 
as part of our broader concern for the treatment of minority groups and 
human rights in Iran.

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