Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Read on the Baha’i World News Service NEW YORK — As seven Baha’i leaders in Iran complete their third year in jail, the Baha’i International Community has confirmed that the two women amongst them have been transferred to another prison. The seven were all members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to [...]

Roxana Saberi, the American journalist of Iranian and Japanese descent who was imprisoned in Iran’s Evin prison in 2009, has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal calling for the release of two Baha’i women with whom she shared a cell. Saberi recalled the kindness shown to her and other prisonmates by Mahvash Sabet, [...]

Blogger Reza Aslan weighs in on how each individual can play a part in supporting the spread of human rights at this crucial time in a critical part of the world: As the Iranian regime continues to tighten the noose of oppression around the throats of all its citizens, one group of Iranians is being [...]

Baha’i World News Service – The trial of seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran seems to have come to a conclusion after three days of successive court hearings. The seven appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on the morning of Saturday, 12 June and returned 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 [...]

This Friday, May 14, marks the two-year anniversary of the arrest of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders on a series of false charges stemming from their membership with the minority Baha’i Faith. They are still in prison today. The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash [...]

Baha’i World News Service–The seven imprisoned Iranian Baha’i leaders were called to court today, April 12, in Tehran for a third session in their trial. The hearing was again closed, and no details are available. “We know that a session did take place, but we do not have any specific information from reliable sources,” said [...]

A musical compilation created by Roxana Saberi to accompany the release of her new book, “Between Two Worlds,” includes a Baha’i hymn, according to an article published in The Concordian, the campus newspaper at her alma mater. Saberi graduated from Concordia College in 1997, where she returned after her release from Iran to record a [...]

Baha’i World News Service – A third session of the court proceedings against seven imprisoned Iranian Baha’i leaders is scheduled for tomorrow, April 10,  in Tehran. It is unknown whether the hearing – scheduled in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court – will be open to families of the defendants and other observers. The first [...]

On Friday, April 9, American journalist Roxana Saberi mentioned the pending trial of two Iranian Baha’i women she met while imprisoned in Tehran, during an interview on CBS News’ Washington Unplugged. Her interview begins about 7 minutes into the following video; she mentions the Baha’is toward the end of her appearance. Watch CBS News Videos [...]

During an interview on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on Thursday, April 8, journalist Roxana Saberi mentioned that two of her cellmates in Tehran’s Evin prison were Baha’is. She explained that these women, Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi and Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, had been in captivity for nearly two years because of their Baha’i beliefs. Listen to the [...]

On Saturday, April 3, NPR’s Scott Simon interviewed journalist Roxana Saberi about her experience in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. Saberi, who is on tour promoting her new book, “Between Two Worlds,” described meeting two of the seven Baha’i leaders in Evin prison–Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi and Mrs. Mahvash Sabet–and the strength and inspiration they gave her [...]

Seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders appeared in court yesterday in Iran for the second closed session of their trial. Family members were not permitted into the courtroom and the hearing, which lasted just over one hour, does not seem to have gone beyond procedural issues. No date was given for any future sessions. The seven defendants—Mrs. [...]

Iranian authorities have notified the lawyers of seven imprisoned Bahá’í leaders that the next session of their trial will be held on February 7, 2010, the Bahá’í International Community announced today. After 20 months in prison, with limited access to their attorneys, the defendants— Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid [...]

The following is an update from the Baha’i World News Service regarding the trial of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran, which commenced on January 12, 2010. The trial of seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders began today in Iran. Initial reports indicate that the trial is marked by numerous violations of legal due process. “We understand that [...]

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 [...]

On Saturday, January 9, 2010, CNN International published the following story concerning the latest wave of persecution of the Baha’is in Iran and its potential impact on the expected trial of seven Baha’i leaders tomorrow, January 12. A trial for seven Iranian Baha’is that has come to symbolize the persecution of followers of the faith [...]

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 [...]

In an article published Sept. 10, 2009, Julia Duin of The Washington Times mentioned seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders in an article about two Christian women who are also being detained for their religious beliefs in Tehran’s Evin prison. From the article: These women aren’t the only religious minority to suffer the wrath of Iran’s mullahs. [...]