Der New York Times Kolumnist Nicholas Kristof hat im Zuge der momentan stattfindenden UN-Vollversammlung in New York am 20. September den iranischen Staatspräsidenten Mahmoud Ahmadinedschad interviewt. Auf Kristofs Blog lässt sich das gesamte Interview nachlesen, so auch Frage und Antwort zu den Bahá’í in der Islamischen Republik Iran. Wir geben beides an dieser Stelle unkommentiert und im Original wieder:
N.K.: Mr. President, it’s true that many of the criticisms of your government come from the United States, but it’s not entirely from the West. Just a few days ago, Desmond Tutu from South Africa and President Ramos-Horta of East Timor, both Nobel Peace Prize winners, called on you to allow the education of the Bahai and to stop what they regarded as the persecution of the Bahai. Can you address that? And also the perception that Iran has serious human rights problems of its own?
M.A.: If you want to politicize the issue of human rights it will never be resolved. It is not a political achievement; it is a human achievement. Do you even know the group that you name? Do you know their makeup? Are they a religious group? A truly faithful group? Or a political group? Or an intelligence security group? Let’s make sure they are all named? Let’s make sure they all come forward. Let’s see their true makeup. In the United States is everyone free to do as they wish? There are no laws to respect? If anyone breaks the law will they not be put in front of the judiciary? In Iran there are laws. There are judges. There is an independent judiciary who is not under my control. The judge hails from the government. But the government cannot say or maintain or expect to exert influence on the judge and the judiciary. They adhere to the letter of the law. Because we adhere to the law we do not intervene in the judiciary’s affairs. Perhaps we can reach the conclusion that at some point in time a certain judge has reached the wrong conclusion or passed the wrong verdict. Does this never happen in the United States of America? Does this never happen anywhere else? Yes, we’re all human beings and human beings make mistakes. But can anyone say that in the United States judges do not vote politically? Out of political inclination? Yes, here the government can exert pressure on judges. But in Iran, there is no such possibility because the judiciary is completely independent from the rest of the government. And as far as the two Americans are concerned, we requested that of the judiciary. We requested that they be set free. We requested their forgiveness or a reduction in their penalty but they’re free not to accept my request. I cannot command them to do so.