Latest Iranian ‘confessions’ Spur Concerns About Advocacy

Latest Iranian `confessions’ spur concerns about advocacy Iran’s Revolutionary Court has recorded two more “confessions” from the 13 Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel, bringing to five the number who have so far admitted their guilt.

The court’s perfect record in confessions — which the five have claimed were voluntary, apparently in hopes of receiving mercy — has provoked further outcry from leading advocates for the “Iran 13.”

The advocates continue to insist on their innocence, describing the proceedings as a political show trial.

At the same time, advocates worry that the string of admissions may be creating strains in the global coalition that has rallied to the defense of the accused.

“The concern we have is that too many well-meaning people are starting to doubt themselves,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“As each one confesses, people on all sides are asking, `How can they all be confessing?’ But they don’t understand the circumstances under which these confessions are being made.”

At a closed hearing Monday Ramin Farzam, 36, and Nasser Levi-Haim, 46, a part- time Hebrew teacher, allegedly confessed.

Levi-Haim’s confession, in particular, startled advocates, who had been led to believe by their sources within the Iranian judiciary that religious leaders in the community would not be lumped into the group of so-called conspirators.

After the hearing, Levi-Haim reportedly told reporters: “I swear on the Torah, in whose service I have been for 40 years, that I was under no duress in court to confess. I got religiously involved, and I was tricked by Israeli agents.”

There appears ample reason to be skeptical about his confession.

In the Revolutionary Court, the judge is also the prosecutor, the jury — and the chief interrogator behind bars, said Sam Kermanian, secretary-general of the American Iranian Jewish Federation in Los Angeles.

“The authorities don’t even need to use physical or psychological torture,” said Kermanian.

“The judge could visit and say, `Listen my son, you cannot hope to get anywhere by not cooperating with me.’ Anybody in their right mind would think, `OK, this guy can execute me if he wants. My only chance is if I give him what he wants and hope for leniency.’

“Some of them have been in prison for almost 16 months, where their only contact with the outside was five minutes a week of supervised time with their families, through thick glass and monitored telephone. The other 10,075 minutes of the week, they were under the influence of the authorities.”

The Iran 13 would also be well aware of the fate that has befallen other Iranian Jews accused of spying.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, 17 Iranian Jews have been executed, most of them having been convicted of espionage.

Spying is also a common charge leveled against Iranian dissidents. The punishment has ranged from short prison sentences to execution, but some of those convicted have also had their eyes gouged out or limbs severed.

Confessions are commonplace and often repeated on television, just as four of the five Iranian Jews have done, said Pooya Dayanim, spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Council of Iranian American Jewish Organizations.

“The Iranian public has come to recognize that these confessions are made under pressure,” Dayanim said.

With that in mind, there seems to be no doubt among Iranian Jewish emigres that the Iran 13 are completely innocent.

That some outside observers are now wondering if the 13 are in fact guilty of the charges is prompting activists like Dayanim to release more details about how this case evolved into the international showdown it is today.

Dayanim revealed, for example, that soon after the 13 Jews were arrested in January and March of 1999, the Islamic hard-liners who control Iran’s judiciary opened a line of communication with the Los Angeles community.

The purpose, he said, was to articulate their motives behind the arrests — and what they hoped to gain from this maneuver.

In a power struggle with their reformist rivals, the hard-liners would use the Iran 13 to undermine the reformist camp’s relations with the West.

The Iranians also suggested that the prisoners could become bargaining chips in Iran’s ongoing effort to recoup some $650 million that it claims Israel owes from business deals prior to the 1979 revolution.

Finally, the hard-liners said, according to Dayanim, detaining the Jews would teach the Iranian Jewish Diaspora — which had spoken out about the arrests – – a lesson about meddling in Iran’s internal affairs.

“In all the contacts we’ve ever had with Iranian officials, they have never claimed these 13 people were spies,” said Dayanim. “They were very forthright and up front about the fact that this is part of a game, and to show that Iran will not be bullied and that they have ultimate control over their citizens.”

Kermanian now expects all 13 to confess to some role in the alleged spy ring. Sentencing is likely to come at the end of the month.

“There will be more confessions, and the authorities will fabricate any sort of documents or evidence they need to fabricate to make their point,” he said. “If they don’t, that’s what would be surprising.”