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Persecution of the Baha'i Community

Harsh sentences are a judgment against an entire religious community

The harsh prison sentences handed down to seven Iranian Baha'i leaders who are absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing is a judgment against an entire religious community, the Baha'i International Community said today. more…

U.S.A. joins Netherlands, U.K. and European Union in chorus of condemnation at prison sentences

The United States of America has said it "strongly condemns" the sentencing of seven Iranian Baha'i leaders to 20 years imprisonment.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the act as a "violation of Iran's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

In a statement dated 12 August, Secretary Clinton said that the United States is "deeply concerned with the Iranian government's continued persecution of Baha'is and other religious minority communities in Iran."

Reports say Iran's Baha'i leaders "sentenced"

The Baha'i International Community has received reports indicating that seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have each received jail sentences of 20 years.

The two women and five men have been held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 – six of them on 14 May and one of them two months earlier.

"If this news proves to be accurate, it represents a deeply shocking outcome to the case of these innocent and harmless people," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"We understand that they have been informed of this sentence and that their lawyers are in the process of launching an appeal," said Ms. Dugal.

Detention extended for seven Iranian Baha'i leaders

The imprisonment of seven Baha'i leaders in Iran has been extended for a further two months, the Baha'i International Community has learned.

The trial of the seven concluded on 14 June. No verdict has yet been given.

"These innocent Baha'is have now been held for more than two years under a series of successive orders for their 'temporary' detention, which by law must not exceed two months," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

Iran: Baha'is educating their youth is a "conspiracy" against the state

Some nine weeks after they were arrested, 11 Iranian Baha'is – associated with an initiative offering higher education to young community members barred from university – are now reportedly facing charges.

The Baha'i International Community has learned that, by establishing the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education, the 11 are accused of "conspiracy against national security" and "conspiracy against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"What could possibly motivate the Islamic Republic to make such a charge?" asks Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

The Baha'is of Ivel: Undaunted spirit

Following the demolition of Baha'i homes in the Iranian village of Ivel – reported last week – there is another story that must also be told: that of sympathetic villagers who have commiserated with their Baha'i neighbors over the injustices they have been forced to endure.

It is also the story of an undaunted spirit and a commitment to social good that continues to enable the Baha'is to transcend their prolonged persecution and be active participants in the social and economic development of their village.

Service and persecution

Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha'is out of Iranian village

Homes belonging to some 50 Baha'i families in a remote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region.

The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha'i community – blocked normal access to the village, while allowing trucks and at least four front-end loaders to begin leveling the houses.

Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires.

Trial of seven Iranian Baha'i leaders appears to have ended

The trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran seems to have come to a conclusion after three days of successive court hearings.

The seven appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on the morning of Saturday, 12 June and returned to Evin Prison shortly after noon.

The Court was reconvened the next day, as well as this morning.

"We can confirm that a court session was held today in Tehran," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, "and it seems from what we have heard that the trial itself has now concluded. But we have no further information at this time."

Ongoing trial of Iran's Baha'i leaders highlighted on global day of action

On a global day of action highlighting human rights abuses in Iran, the European Union and the Prime Minister of Canada issued strong statements calling for Iran to respect international law.

In a declaration made on behalf of the European Union, its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, said, "We call on Iran to respect fair trial rights as enshrined in article 14 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities and women are other areas of concern."

Global call for release of Iranian Baha'i leaders as trial session looms

On the eve of the fourth court hearing for Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, voices are being raised around the world for them to be freed.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi has addressed Iran's Supreme Leader calling for the release of the seven, "or at the very least for them to be released on bail and await a fair and open trial in accordance with the international standards of jurisprudence."

"In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented, as their lawyers have confirmed," Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao wrote in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dated 5 June 2010.

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