Source:Baha’i World News Service

Last update: 25 October 2009

Note: This report is provided as a service to news media and others desiring current information about the Baha’is in Iran. All details have been verified by the Baha’i International Community.

Words in italics have been altered or added since the previous update.

Summary

• Trial for seven Baha’i “leaders” delayed again: The trial of seven Baha’is imprisoned in Tehran for more than 17 months had been scheduled for 18 October, but when attorneys and families arrived at court offices that day they were told the trial would not take place. No new date was given.
• Number of Baha’is currently in prison: About 30 in various cities, counting the seven in Tehran who formerly comprised the group known as the Friends in Iran.
• International reaction: On 14 October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a report criticizing human rights abuses in Iran and specifically citing the situation of the Baha’is and other minority groups. On 22 October, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the Iranian government for “state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority.” Since the seven Baha’i “leaders” were imprisoned, dozens of governments, NGOs, and prominent individuals have urged their release or the guarantee of a fair trial.
• Recent acts of persecution: Arrests, interrogations, and other acts of persecution against Baha’is continue to be reported on a regular basis. Examples include a man arrested in Yazd on 12 October whose whereabouts are still unknown; a woman in Sari who was arrested and released temporarily only after posting the equivalent of $70,000 in bail; and cases in at least two cities where Baha’is have been prevented from burying their dead.
• The situation overall: The government campaign to eradicate the Baha’i community of Iran continues, with arrests, confiscation of assets, closing of businesses, long and frightening interrogations, raids on homes, denial of education and employment, harassment of schoolchildren, and other forms of persecution. The desecration of cemeteries and harassment over Baha’i burials are clear indications that the persecution is based solely on religion and not the result of any threat posed by Baha’is, as officials sometimes claim.

Trial for Baha’i “leaders” again delayed:

Seven Baha’is imprisoned since the spring of 2008 were scheduled to go on trial on 18 October, but when their attorneys and families arrived at court offices in Tehran that day, they were told the trial would not take place. No new trial date was given.

Previously the trial had been scheduled for 18 August, but on that occasion, authorities announced a postponement and specified the October date.

Attorneys associated with the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran – co-founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi – are representing the Baha’is. One of the attorneys of record, Abdolfattah Soltani, himself was detained for a period in the aftermath of the June national elections, and Mrs. Ebadi remained outside the country during the months of turmoil.

The names of the seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

Until their imprisonment, they were part of a group called the Friends in Iran that helped tend to the needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran. The Friends group has now been disbanded, as have smaller committees that assisted Baha’is on the local level.

Earlier this year, authorities announced in the mass media that accusations against the seven prisoners would include “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.”

The Baha’i International Community categorically denies the accusations against the seven individuals and states the following:

• The accusation of spying is contrived and has long been used as a pretext to persecute Baha’is and as an attempt to impede the progress of the Bahá’í community. Since the 1930s, Baha’is have successively been accused of being tools of Russian imperialism, of British colonialism, of American expansionism, and, most recently, of Zionism. The Baha’i Faith has never been a part of any of these movements. There is no truth to this allegation, nor is there any evidence to support it.
• That the international headquarters of the Baha’i Faith is located within the borders of modern-day Israel is purely the result of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, being banished from his native Tehran and sent – by Persian and Ottoman authorities in the 19th century – to perpetual exile in the city of Acre, near Haifa. Baha’u’llah arrived in Acre in 1868, 80 years before the establishment of the state of Israel. The Iranian government is well aware of this history.
• Accusations that Baha’is “insult religious sanctities” and promote “propaganda against the Islamic regime” are completely without foundation – Baha’is respect all religions, including Islam, and are loyal to government.

About 30 Baha’is in prison

Counting the seven people in Tehran who formerly constituted the Friends in Iran, about 30 Iranian Baha’is are in prison because of their religion.

The number of Baha’is in detention varies frequently because new people are arrested but others released after posting cash, property deeds, or business licenses as collateral.

This year alone, Baha’is have been arrested, detained, or interrogated in Tehran, Ghaemshahr, Mashhad, Sari, Yazd, Shiraz, Semnan, Hamadan, Babol, Karaj, Tonekabon, Miandoah, Mahforouzak, Kashan, Nazarabad, and Yasouj.

The collateral required for temporary release from custody is often exorbitant. A woman in Semnan who was arrested during the summer and released two weeks later was required to post bail in the amount of 100 million tumans – approximately $100,000. In a recent case in Sari, a woman was released after posting the equivalent of $70,000.

The court cases of about 150 Baha’is are still active. These include individuals in prison, those who have been released pending trial, those who have appealed their verdicts, those awaiting notification to begin serving prison sentences, and a few who are serving periods of internal exile. Thousands more have been questioned, threatened, or deprived of pensions, livelihood, or education.

International reaction

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a report on 14 October criticizing Iran’s human rights record. He voiced concern about the use of excessive force after the presidential election in June, the harassment of women’s rights activists, the ongoing execution of juveniles, and the continued persecution of minorities, including Baha’is.

The U.S. House of Representatives on 22 October passed a resolution condemning the government of Iran for “state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.” It is the 11th resolution by the U.S. Congress since 1982 to address the religious oppression of the Baha’is of Iran.

On 12 October in the Hungarian Parliament, a ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Hungary “unequivocally condemns … the severe violations of human rights in Iran” and supports the “immediate release of the incarcerated Baha’i leaders.”

Earlier, during the summer, when it appeared a trial was approaching for the seven Baha’is who had formed the Friends in Iran group, a number of governments and NGOs called for justice for the defendants: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with members of the U.K. Baha’i community and underlined his government’s concern; Amnesty International reiterated its call to the Iranian authorities to release the seven immediately and unconditionally; the Norwegian foreign minister called in the Iranian charges d’affaires to express concern about the human-rights situation in Iran, including that of religious minorities; and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged release of “seven Iranian Baha’i prisoners of conscience.” In Brazil, not only did two legislators speak to the issue on the floor of the national Senate, but the provincial government of the state of Amazonas approved a motion of censure regarding human-rights violations perpetrated against the Baha’is in Iran.

(See separate page for links to some of the statements made since the arrest in 2008 of the seven Baha’i “leaders.”)

Ad hoc committees disbanded

On 5 March 2009, the Baha’i International Community sent an open letter to Iran’s prosecutor general, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, stating that the Baha’is of Iran were willing to change their administrative procedures if the government was now declaring even the small ad hoc committees illegal.

The Baha’is said they were willing to do this “for no other reason than to demonstrate yet again the goodwill that the Baha’is have consistently shown to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the past 30 years.”

(Beginning in the 1980s when the Iranian government banned formal Baha’i institutions, the small group known as the Friends in Iran tried to take care of the minimum spiritual and social needs of the Baha’i community, as did smaller groups at the local level known as the Khademin. The government knew of these committees and communicated regularly with them, but in February of this year authorities suddenly indicated that even these ad hoc groups were no longer acceptable.)

The Baha’i community of Iran, numbering about 300,000 people, is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country.

Persecution continues

Attacks against the Baha’i community in cities and towns across in Iran continue. These include arrests, long interrogations, raids on homes, confiscation of assets, closing of businesses, denial of education and employment, harassment of schoolchildren, and many other forms of persecution.

Destruction of cemeteries and preventing members of the Baha’i community from burying their dead is a particularly cruel form of harassment – one that reveals that persecution of Baha’is is based on religion and not on any danger that Baha’is represent, as authorities sometimes claim. In a recent case in Najafabad, a Baha’i family was prevented from burying a loved one when a hospital refused to release his remains, and it was later learned that the deceased was buried in another city without the family’s knowledge. In an earlier case in Semnan, authorities refused to allow a burial unless the family of the deceased followed Islamic rites; the family declined. Harassment of Baha’is at funerals in now being reported, too.

Universities and other institutions of higher education remain virtually closed to Baha’i students. There are continuing reports of youth being denied enrollment in high schools and even primary schools.

Home raids continue in various cities and usually follow the pattern of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence searching a home; confiscating computers, mobile phones, books, and other materials; and taking residents into custody. Authorities also apply pressure to Muslim citizens to discriminate against and mistreat Baha’is.

Economic persecution is acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha’is. Numerous cases have been reported of long-time shop owners being forced to surrender business licenses under threat of arrest.

The pervasiveness of the persecution

In summary, harassment of Baha’is is pervasive and includes many incidents of all of the following:

• Arrests and detention, with imprisonment lasting for days, months, or years. In cases where the Baha’i is released, substantial bail is often required.
• Direct intimidation and questioning by authorities, sometimes with the use of high-intensity lights and physical mistreatment.
• Searches of homes and business, usually with Baha’i books and other items confiscated.
• School expulsions and harassment of schoolchildren.
• Prohibition on Baha’is attending universities.
• Court proceedings where Baha’is are accused of promoting propaganda against the government “for the benefit of the Bahaist sect.”
• Monitoring of the bank accounts, movement, and activities of Baha’is, including official questioning of Baha’is requiring them to give information about their lives, actions, neighbors, etc.
• Denial or confiscation of business licenses.
• Denial of work opportunities in general.
• Denial of rightful inheritances to Baha’is.
• Physical assaults, and efforts to drive Baha’is out of towns and villages.
• Desecration and destruction of Baha’i cemeteries, and harassment over burial rights.
• Dissemination, including in official news media, of misinformation about Baha’is, and incitement of hatred against Baha’is.
• Evictions from places of business, including Baha’i doctors from their offices and clinics.
• Intimidation of Muslims who associate with Baha’is.
• Attempts by authorities to get Baha’is to spy on other Baha’is.
• Threatening phone calls and letters to Baha’is.
• Denial of pension benefits.
• Denial of access to publishing or copying facilities for Baha’i literature.
• Confiscation of property.