Violent attacks against members of the Baha'i community in Iran

Statements

Violent attacks against members of the Baha'i community in Iran

UN Human Rights Council – 22nd session, March 2013

Geneva—12 March 2013

Last year, the Baha'i International Community issued a report documenting State-sponsored incitement to religious hatred against members of the Faith in Iran. Incitement is despicable in and of itself, but even more when it engenders acts of violence that are condoned – if not encouraged – by the government.

For seven years, we have witnessed an upsurge in violent attacks on Iran’s Baha'is. Some families faced the terror of fire-bombing in the middle of the night, or were devastated to see their shops destroyed by arsonists. Others had their homes, workplaces or vehicles vandalized: windows broken and walls defaced with hateful graffiti. Dozens of Baha'i cemeteries were desecrated, damaged, or completely demolished. Hundreds of Baha'i school children were insulted, humiliated and harassed by teachers and administrators, and hundreds of Baha'i businesses were shut down by officials. 

Moreover, we have documented over 100 cases where government interrogators have subjected Baha'is to beatings, solitary confinement, and other violations under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on torture, or where plainclothes agents have physically assaulted people who were known to be members of the Baha'i community.;

And yet another gross violation: impunity systematically covers Iranian officials and plainclothes agents who attack Bahá'ís. We are not aware of a single instance where even one of the perpetrators was prosecuted – much less convicted or imprisoned. Baha'is cannot hope to obtain protection and justice from the authorities who incite hatred against them and a judicial system that treats them as enemies of the State.

We have prepared a new report to present statistics and illustrative cases of officially sanctioned violent attacks against Baha'is. Entitled Violence with Impunity, the new publication is being launched at this session of the Council.