Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

LONDON (Reuters) – The Iranian authorities have detained six members of the Baha’i faith, an offshoot of Islam considered heretical by Iran’s Shi’ite Muslim establishment, members of the religious group said.

OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada expressed concern over the apparent arrest of six Iranian Bahai followers and called for their release, while deploring an “ongoing decline” in the country’s human rights situation. You can read the full article here

The Victoria Times Colonist published an article regarding the arrests. The article was picked up by Canada.com

Iran Visual News Corps has posted a follow-up story about the arrests: Washington, May 15 (IranVNC)—The U.S. government and non-governmental organizations have denounced the recent arrest of six leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, and have called for the release of all Baha’is in detention.

The American Jewish Committee has expressed its concern over the arrest and detention of Baha’i leaders in Iran.

CNN posted an article titled: “Iran’s arrest of Baha’is condemned”

The National Review Online posted an article titled: “Religion Freedom Crackdown in Iran”

The Leadership Council for Human Rights has made a statement condemning the arrests of Bahá’í leaders in Iran, and has called for their immediate release.

The Los Angeles Times blog Babylon and Beyond has a posting about the arrest of Baha’i leaders in Iran.

The U.S. Department of State has issued the following statement about the recent arrests: “We strongly condemn the May 14 arrest of six leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community– Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm–by Iranian authorities and the continued imprisonment of [...]

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy issued a statement about the arrests of Baha’i leaders in Iran.

Iran Visual News Corps posted an article concerning the arrest of the six Baha’i leaders.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today called for strong international condemnation of the arrest of Baha’i leaders in Iran.

Members of the national coordinating group of the Iranian Baha’i community   On May 14, Iranian intelligence officials arrested six Baha’i leaders and took them to the notorious Evin prison. The imprisonments are ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha’i leaders were summarily rounded up and subsequently executed.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today called on the Iranian judicial authorities to account for the detention of the six leading members of the Baha’i Faith, who have been taken to Evin prison.

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has condemned the arrest of Baha’i leaders in Iran.

On May 2, 2008, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced its recommendations to the State Department for Countries of Particular Concern for 2008. Iran was among these countries and its treatment of Bahá’ís was listed among reasons for the recommendation of Iran: