Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

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 [...]

Read statement on State Department website Persecution of Religious Minorities in Iran Victoria Nuland Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC July 6, 2011 We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith or face the death penalty for apostasy – a charge based on his [...]

By overwhelming majority vote on March 24, the UN Human Rights Council called for a special investigator to monitor Iran’s compliance with international human rights standards to which the country has cynically paid lip service for decades. Growing world solidarity on the issue of  holding Iran accountable for its increasing violations of basic human rights. [...]

Amidst a series of public statements by human rights groups supporting the seven imprisoned members of the former Iranian Baha’i leadership group, Amnesty International USA has rallied its members to send greetings cards to the prisoners for the forthcoming Persian new year.   According to the Baha’i World News Service, the global support continues as Mahvash Sabet – [...]

On September 16, CNN International published the following commentary by Dr. Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York, calling on American Muslims to “raise their voice against the abuse of non-Muslim minorities in Iran and the rest of the Muslim world.” In a world now defined [...]

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere expressed concern for the Baha’i community in Iran, in particular the upcoming trial against seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran, during a meeting with Mohsen Bavafa, Iran’s charge d’affaires in Oslo. The meeting took place on July 7, 2009. Both Washington TV and The Norway Post covered the meeting.

On May 25, 2009 the presidency of the European Union issued a statement expressing its deep concern about the increasing violation of religious freedom in Iran. The statement reiterates the EU’s concern about seven Iranian Baha’is who were arrested in early 2008.

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.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) specifically mentioned the situation of the Baha’is in Iran and in Egypt in its recently published World Report 2008. The report deals with human rights concerns in countries throughout the world.

New York July 31, 2007 (BWNS) Iranian Baha’is seeking to enter Iran’s technical and vocational institutes have been effectively barred from admission for the coming academic year, since the application to sit for the entrance examinations leaves them with no option but to deny their faith, which Baha’is refuse to be coerced into doing.