Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

* 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 [...]

Baha’i World News Service– In a vote today, the United Nations once again strongly condemned Iran for failing to live up to international human rights standards. By a vote of 78 to 45, with 59 abstentions, the UN General Assembly confirmed a resolution that expressed “deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.” [...]

Baha’i World News Service– The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has once again expressed strong concern over Iran’s ongoing human rights violations, including its persecution of Iranian Baha’is. In a report issued Thursday, Mr. Ban highlighted his continuing concerns over Iran’s use of torture and the death penalty, its poor treatment of [...]

On Wednesday, September 22, The Wall Street Journal published an opinion article by Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recommending more than a dozen questions for journalists to ask Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his U.S. visit this month. The question of Baha’i rights was among them: Why does the Islamic Republic [...]

Baha’i World News Service– Homes belonging to some 50 Baha’i families in a remote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region. The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha’i community – blocked normal access to [...]

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 [...]

Baha’i World News Service–Details are emerging from yesterday’s court appearance [on April 12] in Tehran of seven imprisoned Iranian Baha’i leaders. The Baha’i International Community has learned that when the prisoners arrived at the court, their families were not allowed to enter, signaling a closed hearing. Inside the courtroom, however, the prisoners saw numerous officials [...]

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 [...]

The third court session for seven Baha’i leaders imprisoned in Iran is scheduled for April 10, a day earlier than originally announced. Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, said attorneys in Iran have now received written notice of the court date, confirming it as Saturday, April 10. [...]

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 discrimination 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 [...]

On January 27, the Baha’i World News Service published the following article concerning the “lack of information about the status of 10 Baha’is who were arrested earlier this month in Iran.” From the article: In addition to worry about their safety, there are fears that charges against these 10 will be used to create false [...]

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, the Baha’i World News Service published the following article in response to Iran’s allegations, published in recent news reports, that “arms and ammunition were found in the homes of Baha’is who were arrested in Tehran last Sunday.” The Baha’i International Community today categorically rejected new allegations by the Iranian government [...]

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 [...]

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” [...]

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday expressed strong criticism of Iran’s human rights record, voicing concern about the use of excessive force after Iran’s presidential election, the harassment of women’s rights activists, the ongoing execution of juveniles, and the continued persecution of minorities, including Baha’is. In a 19-page report written specifically to address a request [...]

GENEVA — April 19, 2009 (BWNS) – The Baha’i International Community joined two human rights organizations in calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address discrimination in his own country when he speaks this week at the conference known as Durban II.

GENEVA (AFP) — Human rights groups on Sunday challenged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to eliminate severe discrimination in Iran, ahead of his arrival at a UN conference against racism and intolerance in Geneva. A number of references were made to the persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran.

The United States told the United Nations on March 12, 2009, that “some Muslim countries were using the concept of religious defamation to justify curbs on freedom of speech and civil dissent.” During Thursday’s debate, Canada and the Czech Republic, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed the need to protect religious minorities, including [...]