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 Reports from Iran say that the case of the Baha’i group arrested in the spring of 2008 will soon be sent to the revolutionary courts. The individuals who form the committee that was imprisoned are, seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
Geneva—30 May 2008—Reports that seven imprisoned Baha’is have been accused of espionage and other crimes and that their case will be referred to the Revolutionary Court next week are deeply concerning, potentially marking a new and dangerous stage in Iran’s persecution of Baha’is, said the Baha’i International Community today.
“The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.”
Word of a possible trial against imprisoned Baha’is came... Read more . . . |
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The seven Baha’is who have been arrested are, seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet. All are from Tehran. Six were arrested on 14 May 2008 in early-morning raids at their homes, and the seventh was detained in March. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
New York—26 May 2008—Six Baha’i leaders who were arrested nearly two weeks ago are being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or relatives, and the Baha’i International Community is increasingly concerned about their fate.
“Although initial reports indicated they were taken to Evin prison, in fact we don’t know where they are, and we are extremely concerned,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.
“What is clear is that none of their fundamental rights are being upheld. They have had no access to family members or counsel. We don’t even... Read more . . . |
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The seven Baha’is who have been arrested are, seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet. All are from Tehran. Six were arrested on 14 May 2008 in early-morning raids at their homes, and the seventh was detained in March. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
New York—20 May 2008—Allegations by Iran that six Baha'is were arrested last week “for security reasons and not for their faith” are utterly baseless and without documentation, said the Baha'i International Community today.
“All of the allegations issued in a statement on Tuesday by the Iranian government are utterly baseless,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, referring to statements made in a press conference given yesterday in Tehran by Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham, at which he acknowledged the arrest and ... Read more . . . |
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All seven Baha'is who form a group that sees to the needs of the Bahá'í community of Iran have been arrested, six of them in early-morning raids on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. They are, seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
New York—14 May 2008—Six Baha'i leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison yesterday in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha'i leaders were summarily rounded up and killed.
The six men and women, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Baha'is in Iran, were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.
The seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after... Read more . . . |
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Haleh Rouhi, Sasan Taqva and Raha Sabet were taken into custody in November 2007. They are serving a four-year sentence on charges connected entirely with their belief and practice in the Baha'i Faith. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
Geneva—1 March 2008—Accusations by the Iranian government that 54 Baha'is were engaged in anti-regime "propaganda" when they were arrested almost two years ago are patently false, the Baha'i International Community said today.
In November, three of that group were re-arrested and imprisoned for four years. The others have reportedly been given suspended one-year sentences.
"Far from working against the government, the Baha'is who were arrested in May 2006 were engaged in a humanitarian project aimed at helping underprivileged young people in the city of Shiraz," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's... Read more . . . |
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Section Five of the proposed Iranian penal code states that the penalty for apostasy - in this case a Muslim declaring he has left Islam - is death. Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
New York—10 February 2008—The Iranian Parliament is considering legislation that would institutionalize a series of gross human rights violations, affecting not only Baha'is but many others, even outside of Iran, the Baha'i International Community said today.
Of greatest concern is a section that would mandate the death penalty for anyone who converts from Islam to another religion, a provision that would affect not only Baha'is but also Christians, Jews, and others.
"This proposed law goes against all human rights norms and standards, including international treaties that Iran itself has agreed to," said Bani Dugal... Read more . . . |
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Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
Geneva—31 January 2008—More than a million students take Iran's national university entrance examination each year. So Halaku Rahmaniyan was extremely pleased when he learned he had placed 76th from the top.
"I was happy, because I knew that it was a good result and that I could enter any subject in any university with that ranking," the 18-year-old student from Tehran wrote in a blog recently.
He did not understand why, then, he still had not been accepted anywhere by December. So Mr. Rahmaniyan called the national Education Measurement and Evaluation Organization (EMEO), which administers the exam, and spoke with... Read more . . . |
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Haleh Rouhi Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
Geneva—26 January 2008—In the wake of a US State Department call for Iran to release Baha'i prisoners, Amnesty International has issued an "urgent action" appeal on their behalf.
The three prisoners were taken into custody in Shiraz, Iran, last November and are serving a four-year sentence on charges connected entirely with their belief and practice in the Baha'i Faith.
"We urge the regime to release all individuals held without due process and a fair trial, including the three young Baha'i teachers being held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Shiraz," said Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the State... Read more . . . |
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Subject: Persecution of the Baha'i Community
New York—20 November 2007—A committee of the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution today expressing "deep concern" about "ongoing systematic violations of human rights" in Iran.
Put forward by Canada and co-sponsored by 41 other countries, the resolution took note of repression and persecution aimed by the Iranian government at groups ranging from women and women's rights defenders to the news media and labor groups, as well as various ethnic and religious minorities, including Iranian Baha'is.
The resolution passed the General Assembly's Third Committee by a vote of 72 to 50 with 55 abstentions on... Read more . . . |
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Subject: Human Rights
United Nations—8 November 2007—
The United Nations General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution expressing "deep concern" about "ongoing systematic violations of human rights" in Iran.
Adopted by a final vote of 73 to 53, with 55 abstentions, the resolution took note of repression and persecution aimed by the Iranian government at groups ranging from women and women's rights defenders to the news media and labor groups, as well as various ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha'is.
"We are happy that the General Assembly, the most globally... |
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