Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Listen to the recorded session: http://www.cfr.org/iran/iranian-crackdown-regime-against-baha/p26439

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.

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 [...]

Participants in the Capitol Hill reception to honor the seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community, entering their fourth year of imprisonment, included: U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm, State Department’s Kathleen Fitzpatrick, CSI:Miami star Eva LaRue, Grammy winner KC Porter and more – Replay the livestream! WASHINGTON—A reception honoring Iran’s seven imprisoned [...]

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 [...]

Today, August 11, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom joined the international outcry on behalf of seven Iranian Baha’is recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for their beliefs. From the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom statement: The five Baha’i men and two women had been charged with several baseless and unsubstantiated crimes [...]

On January 12, 2010,  the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a statement denouncing the trial of seven Baha’i leaders as a “sham” and stating that the trial should be “condemned in the strongest possible terms by the international community.” We are extremely concerned about the fate of the seven Baha’is, who could face [...]

The upcoming trial of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders was mentioned in an editorial published by Voice of America on Sept. 21, 2009, and excerpted below. Another group facing unjust charges are the 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran. The 5 men and 2 women were arrested in the [...]

On July 15, 2009, Voice of America published the following editorial calling for the release of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bi-partisan government body known as USCIRF, is calling for the release of 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community who have been imprisoned for over a year. [...]

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have called for the release of seven Baha’i leaders who may face trial tomorrow, July 11, 2009, in Tehran. Ms. Saberi stated, in a letter to the Commission, The seven Baha’is, along with at least 20 other Baha’is imprisoned across Iran, are [...]

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in response to a letter written by journalist Roxana Saberi, today issued a statement demanding the release of seven Baha’i leaders who are said to face trial July 11, 2009. Saberi was imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison, where the Baha’is are currently being held, for nearly four months [...]

The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom issued a statement expressing serious concern for the future of seven imprisoned leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement on September 17 expressing concern over the institutionalization of a penal code in Iran that would introduce the death penalty in cases of apostasy.  Substantial mention is made about the Iranian Baha’i community in the following statement: USCIRF Concerned Over Apostasy Death Penalty Threat to Christians, [...]