FOXNews.com: Are you Siri-ous? Rights groups blast Apple after Farsi speakers denied iPads

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Are you Siri-ous? Rights groups blast Apple after Farsi speakers denied iPads Jun 26th 2012, 20:48 An Iranian-rights group sent an open-letter to Apple on Tuesday, blasting the company for denying Farsi-speaking Americans across the country the right to buy iPads simply because of the language they speak. The Farsi farce began last week in Alpharetta, Ga., where 19-year-old U.S. citizen Sahar Sabet claims she was turned down when she tried to purchase the tablet computer. Zack Jafarzadeh had a similar experience at a nearby store, he claims.  Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told FoxNews.com there were other incidents in California and Virginia -- and Apple's efforts to enforce sanctions against Iran were tantamount to discrimination. These are legal residents, on American soil," he said. "As Americans we are outraged, and every American would be outraged." Store employees in Alpharetta told WSB-TV Atlanta they were simply upholding U.S. sanctions, which prevent export of goods to Iran. One even cited Apple's export policy, which specifically prevents sale of technology to the Middle Eastern country. Awad believes otherwise. 'As Americans we are outraged, and every American would be outraged.' - Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations "She did not say that she was going to send the stuff anywhere," Awad told FoxNews.com. "She was just overheard speaking Farsi. They said, so we can't sell it to you." An Apple spokesman questioned the allegations, given the diverse nature of the company's customer service representatives.  "Our retail stores are proud to serve customers from around the world, of every ethnicity. Our store teams are multilingual and diversity is an important part of our culture," he told FoxNews.com. "We don't discriminate against anyone." CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy group, says Apple's policy is misapplied -- and potentially leads to discrimination. The group joined forces with several other rights group including the Asian Law Council and the ACLU to write an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook. "We understand that Apple's official company policy ... is almost verbatim taken from the Iranian Transaction Regulations ('ITR'), specifically 31 C.F.R. § 560.204, and is in line with U.S. economic sanctions targeting Iran. However, at issue here is the correct application of that policy by Apple's employees," the letter reads. "Apple's official company policy regarding U.S. sanctions law may have the potential to lead to discrimination against U.S. persons for the simple reason that they are descendants of a sanctioned country," the group wrote. Awad told FoxNews.com his group met with company executives last week to present their case, and heard Apple's arguments in favor of the policy. "We believe apple executives should take a serious look at this and revised it, and offer better training for their representatives," Awad said. We all agree that what happened was wrong," he said.

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