Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

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 [...]

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 [...]

A message from the Baha’i International Community in the words of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith: “We entreat God to deliver the light of equity and the sun of justice from the thick clouds of waywardness, and cause them to shine forth upon men. No light can compare with the light of justice. [...]

World Focus, PBS’s nightly international news program, aired a live online radio program on Tuesday, March 17, that explored the Baha’i Faith and modern Iran. The program covered the background and history of the persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran with a particular focus on the arrest and forthcoming trial of the seven national [...]

TEHRAN (AFP) – An aide of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi who was arrested in January for links with the banned Bahai faith has been freed on bail by the Iranian Authorities, Ebadi told AFP on Friday.

World Focus, PBS’s nightly international news program, will air a live online radio program on Tuesday, March 17, that will explore the Baha’i Faith and the situation of Baha’is in Iran.  The program will be hosted by World Focus anchor Martin Savidge and will feature a panel of guests.

As noted on the February 11, 2009 Congressional Record, Representative Frank R. Wolf expressed concern over the upcoming trial of the seven Baha’i leaders.

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — A group of Iranian intellectuals released a public apology this week for what they say is a long history of the country’s mistreatment of members of the Baha’i faith.

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 Agence France-Presse reported today that Iran’s judiciary has announced sentences for 54 members of the Baha’i Faith who were arrested in May 2006 in Shiraz while taking part in a project to educate underprivileged children. According to AFP, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters that, “three Bahais have been sentenced to four years [...]

The U.S. Senate passed Concurrent Resolution 101 deploring “the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha’i community and holds the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha’i Faith.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Concurrent Resolution 415 declaring that “the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha’i community and holds the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha’i Faith” You can access the full text of the resolution here. [...]