Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

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 [...]

On Tuesday, August 31, CNN’s Belief Blog published an article about Minoo Vosough, an Iranian Baha’i who was arrested in 1984, at the age of 27, and held in Evin and Gohardasht prisons for 3 months before her release. Seven Iranian Baha’i leaders were transferred from Evin to Gohardasht earlier this month following more than [...]

On Saturday, August 28, The Washington Post published an op-ed article by journalist Roxana Saberi advocating for the release of seven Iranian Baha’i prisoners, two of whom she shared a cell with during her 100-day incarceration in Evin prison last year. In the article, Saberi describes how the two Baha’i women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash [...]

On Wednesday, August 25, Cherie Blair, a barrister at Matrix Chambers in London and the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, published an op-ed in The Guardian concerning the recent sentencing of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders each to 20 years in prison. From The Guardian op-ed: The truth behind this sentence is that [...]

Baha’i World News Service– The harsh prison sentences handed down to seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who are absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing is a judgment against an entire religious community, the Baha’i International Community said today. Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose Defenders of Human Rights Center represented the Baha’i defendants, said she was “stunned” by [...]

On Friday, August 13,  Foreign Policy magazine’s “The Cable” blog highlighted last week’s sentencing of seven Iranian Baha’is leaders in an article about Secretary of State Clinton’s recent statements on human rights in Iran. From the Foreign Policy article: Persecution of the estimated 300,000 Baha’is in Iran has existed since the religion’s inception in the [...]

On Thursday, August 12, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following statement concerning the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who have each been sentenced to 20 years in prison for their religious beliefs. According to new reports, the seven prisoners have been transferred from Evin prison in Tehran to Gohardasht Prison – also [...]

Today, August 11, the Los Angeles Times published on its Mideast blog, “Babylon & Beyond,” an article about the 20-year sentence reportedly imposed on seven Baha’is who have already been imprisoned for more than two years in Tehran. From the article: The Bahai leaders have been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison since 2008. The [...]

Baha’i World News Service– The Baha’i International Community has received reports indicating that seven Iranian Baha’i leaders have each received jail sentences of 20 years. The two women and five men have been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 – six of them on May 14 and one of [...]

Baha’i World News Service– The imprisonment of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran has been extended for a further two months, the Baha’i International Community has learned. The trial of the seven concluded on 14 June. No verdict has yet been given. “These innocent Baha’is have now been held for more than two years under a [...]

On Friday, July 2, BBC News covered the recent demolition of 50 Baha’i homes in Ivel, a small village in northern Iran. The report also included a summary of the history of Baha’i persecution in Iran, as well as the inconclusive trial of seven Baha’i leaders who have been imprisoned in Tehran for more than [...]

On Thursday, July 1, the Houston Chronicle’s religion blog “Believe Out Loud” ran a story about a local Baha’i, Enayat Amini, who immigrated from Iran in 2004 after the authorities shut down his business because of his Baha’i beliefs. From the article: Nearly 70 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious practices [...]

On June 28, the Persian-language radio station, Radio Farda, broadcast an interview with Mr. Derakhshan, one of the Baha’is whose property was destroyed in the village of Ivel, Iran. Excerpts from the interview (via Baha’i World News Service) are transcribed below: Mr. Derakhshan: We had heard some rumours about the destruction of the village and [...]

Baha’i World News Service– Homes belonging to some 50 Baha’i families in a remote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region. The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha’i community – blocked normal access to [...]

Baha’i World News Service— The  seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran are scheduled to make their fourth court appearance on 12 June, according to the latest update provided by the Baha’i International Community. The date coincides with the first anniversary of last year’s contested presidential election in Iran, as well [...]

While in Washington, D.C.,  last week, American journalist Roxana Saberi described meeting two Iranian Baha’is during her 100-day incarceration in Evin prison, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From the article… At the Northern Virginia Baha’i Center and at a discussion at the National Press Club last week, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi recounted her 100 [...]

On Monday, May 17, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published the following article about the two-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran. Accompanying the story is a video chronicling a photo campaign initiated by the human rights group United4Iran, advocating for the release and fair trail of the seven Baha’i leaders. From [...]

On Friday, May 14, The Washington Times published the following article on the two-year anniversary of the arrest seven Baha’i leaders in Iran. From the article… Two years ago to date, the top leaders of the Baha’i movement in Iran were enjoying the last peaceful morning they would see in a long time. While in [...]

Today the Iranian-American journalist who spent 100-days imprisoned in Iran, again mentioned the persecution of the Baha’is of Iran in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on May 13. From the article… If the international community fails to condemn such atrocities, Iran’s regime will continue to trample on the basic rights of individuals, many [...]