A large number of demonstrators gathered in front of the Art Gallery in Vancouver on February 15 in solidarity with prisoners of conscience in Iran, especially the spiritual teacher Mohammad Ali Taheri, founder of inter-universal mysticism, and other members of inter-universal mysticism that have been arrested in the past few weeks.
Don Wright, Regional Activism Coordinator at Amnesty International, was present at the protest and delivered a speech condemning the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience in Iran and demanding the release of Taheri immediately and unconditionally.
Following Wright’s speech, a statement was read in Persian and English indicating that Taheri’s approach promotes love, peace and unity and has been a source of awareness and realization to many people around the world. Furthermore, Taheri and other instructors of inter-universal mysticism are imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression and their continued imprisonment and persecution is a clear violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the end, the protesters requested the release of all prisoners of conscience, especially Taheri and his students.
While carrying placards with pictures of Taheri and other prisoners of conscience in Iran, the demonstrators marched toward the Central Library where they chanted “free master Taheri” while Wright videotaped the event.
Wright’s speech:
