Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

On March 12, 2010, the U.S. State Department released the following statement expressing increasing concern about “Iran’s ongoing persecution of Baha’is and other religious minority communities.”

In recent weeks, authorities detained at least 25 Baha’is. Reports indicate there have been more than 45 new detentions of Baha’is in the last four months alone, and currently as many as 60 Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran solely on the basis of their religious beliefs. Authorities also detained more than a dozen Christians, some of whom are being held in custody without substantiated charges. Further, we remain concerned that seven Baha’i leaders on trial for espionage have been denied access to their attorneys and neither does their trial meet its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in February 2010, Iran pledged to abide by international law. Therefore, we are deeply disappointed that the Iranian government rejected a UPR recommendation to end discrimination against its Baha’i religious minority. We join the international community in urging Iran to uphold its obligations to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its people.

• Read coverage from CNN, Reuters, and Radio Free Europe.

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On March 9, 2010, Voice of America published an editorial drawing further attention to the plight of Iran’s Baha’i community. In it, Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner is quoted condemning Iran’s post-election crackdown and calling on the country to observe religious freedom, among its other human rights treaty obligations.

“The United States strongly condemns the recent violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian citizens,” said Assistant Secretary of State Posner. He called on the government of Iran, among other measures, to uphold its constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of worship, end its severe restrictions on the rights to free expression, association and assembly, and respect all of its international human rights treaty obligations.

• Read the full article

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On February 23, 2010, Human Rights Watch issued the following statement calling on Iran to end its persecution of the country’s Baha’i minority.

The Iranian government should immediately stop harassing and arbitrarily detaining members of the Baha’i community, Human Rights Watch said today.

The detention of 13 Baha’is on February 10 and 11 follows the arrest of 13 others in early January. The government alleges that those arrested in January helped to organize recent anti-government demonstrations but has not made public any charges against those detained in February. These arrests come during a broad government crackdown on opposition activists.

“The Iranian government seems to be using the post-election unrest as a cover for targeting the Baha’i community,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These arrests are only the latest chapter in the government’s systematic persecution of the Baha’i.”

• Read the full statement from Human Rights Watch

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On February 17, Amnesty International issued a statement criticizing Iran for rejecting “important recommendations by the United Nations to improve human rights in the country,” including a recommendation that would end descrimination against the nation’s Baha’i minority.

From the statement…

While accepting a recommendation to cooperate with UN’s human rights experts, Iran rejected several others to allow the Council’s Special Rapporteur on torture to visit the country.

The delegation accepted the recommendation to respect freedom of religion but rejected a recommendation to end discrimination against the Bahai’s.

“By rejecting specific recommendations made by dozens of countries the Iranian authorities showed contempt for international obligations just as they have done in their treatment of their own people,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

• Read the full statement from Amnesty International

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On February 15, 2010, the United States and other member-nations of the U.N. Human Rights Council expressed concern over Iran’s human rights record, particularly since the crackdown that followed the country’s disputed presidential election last June. The session was part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a relatively new procedure that seeks to review the human rights records of all 192 United Nations member states once every four years. This year is the first time Iran has come up for review.

In the U.S. statement, Assistant Secretary of State Michael H. Posner made the following remarks about the status of religious freedom and the Baha’i minority in Iran:

More than 200 Baha’i leaders have been executed since 1979. We are concerned about the welfare and legal rights of seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than a year and now on trial on unsubstantiated charges. Members of these religious communities, as well as Iran’s Sufi Muslims, are increasingly subject to surveillance, harassment, prolonged arbitrary detention, and unsubstantiated legal proceedings.

According to a statement from the Baha’i International Community, many other countries and human rights groups also spoke out in defense of the Baha’is of Iran.

Brazil called for Iran to extend rights to all religious groups in the country, saying Baha’is should enjoy the same rights as everyone. Mexico said all minorities – particularly the Baha’i community – must be able to practice their religion.

“Romania and Slovenia devoted almost the entire allotment of their time to discussing the increasing repression of Iran’s Baha’i community,” reported Diane Ala’i, representative for the Baha’i International Community.

Human rights groups, in documents filed with the Council, made similar points.

“Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, individuals belonging to minorities in Iran are subject to an array of discriminatory laws and practices,” wrote Amnesty International in its statement. “Minorities suffering persecution include ethnic and linguistic minorities such as Kurds, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Turkmen and Baluchis, and religious minorities such as Baha’is and the Ahl-e Haq.”

“The government systematically denies rights associated with freedom of religion to members of the Baha’i faith, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. In most cases, including the persecution of the Baha’i community, the government uses ’security’ as a pretext for detaining individuals and denying them basic due process rights,” said a statement from Human Rights Watch.

News media coverage: Radio Free Europe

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The trial of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders, which began January 12,  has drawn widespread attention from the international community. According to a Baha’i World News Service article published today, public statements of concern on behalf of the seven have been issued by the governments of Brazil, Canada, India, the United States, and by the European Union. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Laureate and the lead attorney defending the seven Baha’is, also commented about yesterday’s trial proceedings in an interview with Washington TV, a web-based news service based in the United States.

Below are excerpts of her statements as reported by the Baha’i World News Service:

“If justice is to be carried out and an impartial judge should investigate the charges leveled against my clients, no other verdict can be reached save that of acquittal,” said Mrs. Ebadi, in comments posted on WashingtonTV.

Mrs. Ebadi, who is one of the lawyers for the seven, said she had carefully read the dossier of charges against them and “found in it no cause or evidence to sustain the criminal charges upheld by the prosecutor.”

…

In the WashingtonTV interview, Mrs. Ebadi, who is currently outside Iran, also offered a glimpse of what happened yesterday inside Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, where the “first session” of the trial was held.

She said only two lawyers of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which she established, were able to be present in the court. And that in spite of a request for an open hearing, the court was closed.

The charges against the seven were reiterated yesterday in news accounts in government-sponsored news media. They were given as: espionage, “propaganda activities against the Islamic order,” the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, the sending of secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and “corruption on earth.”

Diane Ala’i of the Baha’i International Community said the seven have consistently and categorically denied such accusations. “We can be certain that they also did so in front of the judge yesterday,” she said.

Read the story from Washington TV

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On January 12, 2010,  the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a statement denouncing the trial of seven Baha’i leaders as a “sham” and stating that the trial should be “condemned in the strongest possible terms by the international community.”

We are extremely concerned about the fate of the seven Baha’is, who could face the death penalty for several of the charges leveled against them today in court,” said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair.   “It appears that the Iranian government has already predetermined the outcome, and is once again using its courts as an instrument of religious persecution in blatant violation of international human rights law.

Read the full statement from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Related media coverage: Washington TV

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On January 12, 2010, the High Representative on behalf of the European Union issued the following declaration about the trial of seven Baha’i leaders, which commenced today in Iran:

The European Union expresses its serious concern about the start today of the trial against seven Baha’i leaders in Iran, as the charges against them appear to be motivated by their belonging to a minority faith.

The EU recalls that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a fundamental and undeniable right which shall be guaranteed in every circumstance, in accordance with article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed and ratified.

The EU calls for a just, fair and open trial respecting all international standards and obligations under the ICCPR. The EU reiterates its request to the Islamic Republic of Iran to allow independent observation of the judicial proceedings.

The EU also expresses its deep concern about the recent detention of another 13 members of the Baha’i community for alleged involvement in anti-government protests. The EU calls on Iran to end the persecution of the Baha’i community and to release the detained individuals.

The Candidate Countries Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

View the EU statement online

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On January 11, 2010, Voice of America highlighted the latest persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community in an editorial expressing concern about human rights abuses in that country.

Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva, has voiced grave concern over the plight of 7 Iranian Baha’is who have been in Evin prison for over 20 months on false charges and who are reported to face trial on January 12. Iranian authorities have accused them of espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.

In addition, Ms. Ala’i says the Iranian government is responsible for an anti-Baha’i media campaign which has culminated in accusations that Baha’is are provoking civil unrest in Iran. Thirteen Baha’is were rounded up in Tehran and taken to a detention center on January 3, she said, where authorities tried to get them to sign a document saying they would not engage in future demonstrations.

Read the full editorial from Voice of America

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On January 11, 2010,  the U.S. Department of State issued a statement condeming the trial of seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran and indicating that Iran is responsible for the safety of all 48 Baha’is who are currently detained in prisons throughout Iran. Of the seven leaders, the statement asserts:

These persons are entitled to due process. The right to a fair and public hearing is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Iran’s constitution provides the right to legal representation in criminal cases, as does the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party. In addition, the right to freedom of belief and conscience is enshrined in both the UDHR and ICCPR.

We are deeply concerned about Iran’s ongoing persecution of Baha’is and treatment of other members of religious minorities who continue to be targeted solely on the basis of their beliefs.

We join the international community in urging the Iranian authorities to release all religious minorities who are currently in detention for peacefully exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Read the full statement from the U.S. Department of State

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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 Bahá’í 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 Bahá’ís 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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Today, the U.N. General Assembly issued a strong condemnation of human rights violations in Iran, including violations against Baha’is.

The resolution, which was approved in the Third Committee of the U.N. General assembly by a vote of 74-48, expressed “deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and cited “increasing discrimination” against minorities, including members of the Baha’i Faith.

“This year’s resolution – which is among the most forcefully worded in more than 25 years of resolutions on Iran – sends a potent message to the government there, stating vigorously that the international community will not turn a blind eye to human rights violations,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

• Read more from the Baha’i World News Service

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The Pacific News Center today reported that the Guam Senate has passed resolution 148, urging the U.S. government to “push for Iran to release members of the friends of Iran and to cease persecuting the Baha’i community of Iran.”

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U.S. Representative Mark Kirk mentioned the Baha’is of Iran during remarks at the U.S. Institute of Peace on November 4. After reading the names of 10 Iranian Baha’is currently imprisoned for their beliefs, Rep. Kirk said,

I say their names out loud today because no matter how hard the Iranian regime tries to silence these voices, the dictators cannot succeed as long as freedom-loving people around the world plead their case.

• Read the full text of Rep. Kirk’s statement

Rep. Mark Kirk speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Nov. 4, 2009
Photo credit: Baha’is of the U.S.

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On October 30, Voice of America published the following editorial about religious freedom in Iran:

The continuing imprisonment of 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community falsely accused of capital crimes, as well as the incarceration of 2 Iranian Christian women who also lack adequate medical care, are 2 of the many cases that contribute to Iran’s being regarded by the U.S. as one of the world’s worst violators of religious liberty.

• Read the full article from Voice of America

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On October 26, the U.S. Department of State released its 2009 International Religious Freedom Report on Iran, which includes several mentions of the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i minority. For example,

Adherents of religious groups not recognized by the Constitution, such as the Baha’is, do not have freedom to practice their beliefs. The Government prohibits Baha’is from teaching and practicing their faith. Baha’is are barred from all leadership positions in the Government and military.

The Government considers Baha’is to be apostates and defines the Baha’i Faith as a political “sect.” The Ministry of Justice states that Baha’is are permitted to enroll in schools only if they do not identify themselves as such, and that Baha’is preferably should be enrolled in schools with a strong and imposing religious ideology. There were reports that Baha’i children in public schools faced attempts to convert them to Islam.

• Read the full International Religious Freedom Report on Iran

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On October 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 407-2, a resolution condemning the government of Iran for “state-sponsored persecution of its Bahá’í minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.” H.Res.175 is the eleventh congressional resolution since 1982 to address the religious oppression of the Bahá’ís in Iran.

“Given current human rights violations against the Iranian citizens, we welcome Congress speaking out again against the persecution of Iran’s largest religious minority,” said Ms. Kit Bigelow, director of external affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the U.S.

The resolution also called on President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to condemn the ongoing persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran, and to demand the release of religious prisoners, including seven Bahá’í leaders who have been detained for more than a year without a trial—Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

“Today, the House of Representatives sends a signal to the Iranian regime, and it contains an important message,” Rep. Mark Kirk said on October 21, in a statement on the House floor. “The U.S. Congress will expose this regime that murders innocent women and children in the streets and denies citizens’ basic human rights. To the dictators in Iran we say, release your political prisoners, especially release your Bahá’í prisoners, and end your ignorant and uncultured persecution of the peaceful Bahá’ís.”

A concurrent Senate resolution, S.Res.71, is still pending.

• Read English media coverage from Washington TV
• Read Farsi media coverage from BBC, Washington TV and Radio Farda.
• Read other online coverage from the National Iranian American Council and the National Review Online

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On October 22, the Committee of Human Rights Reporters published an interview with Iranian human rights attorney, Abdolfattah Soltani, who along with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, is one of the lead attorneys defending the seven Baha’is currently awaiting trial in Tehran.

• Read the original interview (in Farsi) from the Committee of Human Rights Reporters
• Read the translated interview (in English) from Iran Press Watch

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Floor speeches pertaining to H.Res.175, condemning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, were held today in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representatives John Boozman, R-Ark., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Diane Watson, D-Calif., delivered statements urging the adoption of the resolution, which can be viewed on CSPAN. (Please refer to time markers provided below to queue your video.)

Time Markers for H.Res.175 Floor Speeches

• Introduction: 171:00
• Floor Speech by Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.): 171:26
• Floor Speech by Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.): 176:30
• Floor Speech by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.): 179:00

Following the speeches, Rep. Kirk called for a roll-call vote, which is expected to take place on October 22, 2009. (Video of his speech is embedded below.)

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The Institute on Religion and Public Policy today called on U.S. Representatives to support H. Res. 175, “Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.”

• Read the full statement from the Institute on Religion and Public Policy

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