Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

On Dec. 8, TIME magazine ranked the ongoing detention of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran ninth among the top 10 religion stories of 2009.

From the article:

The government of Iran has held seven leaders of the Baha’i faith — a monotheistic religion founded in 19th century Persia — in prison for more than a year without formal charges, access to their attorneys or a trial. The Baha’i tradition is outlawed in Iran, and some government officials have claimed that the prisoners are guilty of spying for Israel or insulting Islam. Several times, the government has scheduled capital-punishment hearings for the seven, only to cancel at the last minute.

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On December 1, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a resolution condemning the state-sponsored persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran, the country’s largest religious minority. Human rights violations against the Iranian Bahá’í community have increased since 2005, including the incarceration of Baha’i leaders in Evin prison eighteen months ago.

S.Res.71 is a concurrent resolution to H.Res.175—the eleventh congressional resolution since 1982 to address the religious oppression of the Baha’is in Iran—which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on October 22, 2009.

In a press release issued on Dec. 3, Senator Ron Wyden, who sponsored the Senate resolution, made the following statement about its passage:

While the Baha’i faith teaches equality, unity and peace, the baseless persecution of Baha’is at the hands of the Iranian regime is the antithesis of those sacred beliefs,” Wyden said. “The actions taken by Iran against this religious minority fly in the face of basic human rights as well as Iran’s own international commitments. With this resolution, the United States Senate unequivocally denounces Iran’s discrimination against the Baha’i and urges the release of their religious prisoners.

And in a similar press release, Senator Sam Brownback made this statement:

For too long, the Iranian regime has targeted and persecuted religious minorities in Iran, including, and especially, members of the Baha’i faith. For a regime that commits violence and repression at home and exports terrorism abroad, the stakes are too high for us to remain silent.

• Read media coverage from Washington TV
  
• Read other online coverage from the National Iranian American Council
  

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