Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Once, during Ramadan in the mid-1990s, Erfan Sabeti was on his way to an all-day genetics class at the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education in Tehran.

Video: On May 12, 2011, Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois hosted a reception to raise awareness about the seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned in Iran. Actress Eva LaRue is among the notable figures offering their support. Also featured are U.S. Representative from New York, Michael Grimm; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kathleen Fitzpatrick; Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S. Kenneth E. Bowers; and brother of one of the imprisoned leaders, Iraj Kamalabadi.

The UN General Assembly Third Committee today voted in favor of a resolution that condemned Iran for its “serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.” The resolution – which is expected to be confirmed by the full Assembly in December – also requests that the UN Secretary General issue a report on human rights in Iran again next year.

In some 40 years as a university professor, I have been privileged to teach students who went on to serve their people as senators, ambassadors, prominent scholars and even U.S. president. None of this would have been possible had I lived in my family’s homeland of Iran. As a member of the Bahai faith, I would have been barred from teaching freely—and I might even have been imprisoned, as seven Bahai educators now are.

There is much to be done for humanity to be alerted to what is going on inside Iran and to be awakened to the appalling memory of what can occur when we fail to act against state-sponsored campaigns of hatred.

Attacks such as these, against the rights of citizens to organize and be educated in freedom, can no longer be tolerated. We call upon the Iranian government not only to cease its persecution of Bahá’ís, but to provide, and promote, education for all.

Hollywood star Rainn Wilson and actress/activist Shiva Rose hosted an audience of 1,300 at the Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA, in mid-September for an evening dedicated to human rights in Iran. The program combined arts, panel discussions and a keynote address by Iranian-born journalist and film-maker Maziar Bahari who recently published a book about his incarceration in Iran in 2009. [...]

The release of an open letter from two Nobel Peace Prize winners regarding the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education coincided with the first round of trials for imprisoned staff members of the beleaugured Institute. Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta called for an end to education discrimination in Iran in a [...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has named Iran among eight “Countries of Particular Concern” in relation to its repression of religious minorities. At the launch of the State Department’s Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom, Secretary Clinton highlighted those countries whose governments engage in – or tolerate – “particularly [...]

“While Iran’s leaders hypocritally claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing.” — U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Victoria Nuland Read entire editorial here. Excerpt Earlier this month, Iranian authorities reportedly refused to allow a Baha’i family to bury a [...]

Eleven Baha’is charged with “conspiracy against national security” for operating an institute for higher education

Iranian authorities faced a deadline two months after the May 21st raids carried out on more than thirty Baha’i homes* connected to the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Under Iranian law, the authorities had to either formally charge defendants or set the prisoners free.

The Baha’i International Community just learned that charges have been laid and 11 of the 19 individuals originally detained in the raids will continue to be held in detention*. The remaining 8 individuals were released over time since the raids.

Update: check out the Facebook event for the call-in campaign! Invite your friends! There’s a map for that! Want to know which senators have already co-sponsored S.Res.80? Has your representative signed on yet to H.Res.134? Which officials received delegation visits on behalf of the Baha’is in Iran? Find answers at: http://iran.bahai.us/congressional-outreach-maps/ Congressional outreach campaign on [...]

Arrests on the rise According to the latest reports, 103 Baha’is are currently behind bars because of their religious beliefs. This number has risen dramatically from the beginning of the year. Another nearly 100 Baha’is have received prison sentences and await appeal or summons to begin serving their terms.  An additional 160 Baha’is are free on bail but could [...]

Iran’s beleaguered Baha’i community has again received the unqualified support of 16-term Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Following the arrests of more than a dozen faculty and administrators of a peaceful education program for Baha’i students shunned by Iranian universities, Rep. Wolf made these remarks on the House [...]

* This article has been updated to reflect new information on the number of arrests in connection with the BIHE raids. GENEVA — A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha’is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education program for young members who are [...]

In response to a message from the national governing council of the Baha’is of the U.S. urging individuals to call their U.S. senators and representatives on behalf of the seven Baha’i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran, one young woman turned to Facebook to help support the effort. Before a week had passed, more than 10,000 [...]

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 [...]

Columnist Samuel G. Freedman‘s “On Religion” article in The New York Times on May 7 coincided with Mother’s Day weekend. So he decided to write about a woman’s courage in facing the severe hardships she endured for her daughter and her faith. HOUSTON — On a blustery night the week before Mother’s Day, a woman [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, May 5, 2011 Contact: Ginous Alford  | O: 202-833-8990 |  M: 202-643-1612 |  USBahaiMedia@usbnc.org **MEDIA ADVISORY** BELIEF BEHIND BARS: Lawmakers, performers to drum up support at Capitol Hill reception for Iran’s seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders Remarks from special guests: U.S. Senator Mark Kirk U.S. Representative Michael Grimm Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for [...]

On April 28, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2011 Annual Report . The report describes - beginning on page 78 – the “severe” persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran from April 2010 to March 2011.  Iran is one of 14 countries USCIRF recommends that the Secretary of State name “countries of particular concern” or [...]