Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

An Iranian Baha’i woman living in Australia has received threats for advocating for the release of her sister Rozita Vasseghi, who has been held in solitary confinement in Iran since she was arrested in March 2010. Rosa Vasseghi  has lived in Australia since she received asylum in 1999. She and her family have been outspoken [...]

On Wednesday, September 22, The Wall Street Journal published an opinion article by Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recommending more than a dozen questions for journalists to ask Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his U.S. visit this month. The question of Baha’i rights was among them: Why does the Islamic Republic [...]

Baha’i World News Service– The 20-year prison sentences received by Iran’s seven Baha’i leaders have reportedly been reduced. The Baha’i International Community has learned that the lawyers representing the seven were informed orally yesterday that the 20-year jail terms have now been reduced to 10 years. The seven – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, [...]

Last week a Pennsylvania FOX News affiliate (FOX 43) aired a story about local refugees that included a description of the ongoing persecution of Baha’is in Iran. The story, by Nava Ghalili, also highlighted the trial of seven Baha’i leaders who were each sentenced to 20 years in prison last month. View the FOX 43 [...]

On Thursday, September 9, Radio Free Europe’s “Watchdog” blog published a follow-up article on the destruction of 50 Baha’i homes in Ivel, Iran, in June. Baha’i Ferdosieh Nikoumanesh, who now lives near Washington, D.C., spent many childhood summers at her grandparents home in Ivel before they left the village in 1983. She shared her memories [...]