Baha'is in Iran - persecutions

June Demolishment of 50 Bahá'í Homes in Ivel Continues to Receive Press

2010-09-12T02:32:00.001-07:00

Baha'is In Iran Await Justice For Demolished Homes, Graves

Posted: 11 Sep 2010

Ferdosieh Nikoumanesh

(9 Sep 2010 – Radio Free Europe) Ferdosieh Nikoumanesh remembers a time when she and her family could live in peace as practicing Baha'is in the Iranian city of Ivel, where more than 50 Baha'i homes were demolished in June. Her childhood home, her grandparents' home, and her grandfather's store were among the many properties burned to the ground. Nikoumanesh and her husband now live in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Nikoumanesh spent many of her childhood summers in Ivel, northeast of Tehran in Mazandaran Province, visiting her grandparents, who lived in the village until 1983.

She left Ivel when she was a little girl but still holds many memories of living alongside practicing

Ivel, Mazandaran, Iran

Muslims. Baha'is have resided in Ivel for more than 160 years and once made up more than half of the population — building schools, a hospital, and stores.

While her family's homes and shop were destroyed this summer, her memories remain alive.

"The best part of the summer was with my grandparents. The feelings I have toward the land [in Ivel] are because of how my grandparents took us there and showed us how to experience its generosity," she said.

She recalled raising livestock, picking flowers in the rich landscape, and having candlelit dinners over storytelling.

The current Iranian government made no apparent efforts to prevent the destruction of the Baha'i homes last June, nor has an investigation been launched into who orchestrated the demolition, despite efforts by the Baha'i community to seek justice.

On August 12, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued her strongest statement yet in support of the Baha'i community and in opposition to Iran's repression of religious minorities. "The United States is deeply concerned with the Iranian government's continued persecution of Baha'is and other religious minority communities in Iran," Clinton said in a statement. "The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha'i community in Iran."

While the United States may have stepped up its criticism, the people of Ivel have yet to find justice for the loss of their homes.

The home, since destroyed, of the grandparents of Ferdosieh Nikoumanesh. "The best part of the summer was with my grandparents," says Ferdosieh Nikoumanesh.

"Two Baha'i men from Ivel — Faramarz Rohani and Mahmood Piri — sent letters and complained to the courts in Saari, Kia Sar, and Telma Dare. None of them gave the right response," said Nikoumanesh. "They even said since this order was from the higher courts, nothing could be done."

While the international community has spread awareness of the issue and many Muslims in the country oppose the destruction of Baha'i property, the government has done little to respond.

"Recently, there have been many attacks on Baha'i homes, cemeteries dug up, and sites of worship destroyed," said Shastri Purushotma, the human rights representative for the U.S. Baha'i community. "But how can 50 houses be demolished without some prior arrangement to do that level of demolition? We don't have documents showing the government was behind it, but all of these things need planning, heavy equipment, and government support."

Nikoumanesh hopes to one day return to Ivel but knows the dangers she would face if she visited anytime soon. She and many members of the Iranian Baha'i diaspora continue to push for accountability in acts of vandalism toward Baha'is.

"My grandparents have passed, but we children still have faith in being able to return to Ivel and re-experience good moments of our childhood we had there," she says.

She then recited a poem written by Ali Ahmadi on the destruction of homes in Ivel:

"Oh, home, you
are still alive
even if it's not
within your walls
within our hearts you are."

– Ladan Nekoomaram & Sarvazad Katouzian

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/Bahais_In_Iran_Await_Justice_for_Demolished_Homes_Graves/2153322.html

From Iran Press Watch. Link to this article is here.

Scotland Religious Leader Adds Voice to Protests Against Sentences of 7 Bahá'ís

2010-08-28T10:25:00.001-07:00

A further signal victory for justice - Archbishop of Scotland, head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, demonstrates solidarity with the plight of the leaders of a different faith.

Scottish Catholic leader condemns treatment of Iran's Baha'i leaders

Posted: 26 Aug 2010

LONDON, 26 Aug – Baha'is in Scotland and throughout the UK have welcomed a statement issued by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland.

Cardinal O'Brien strongly condemns the unjust imprisonment of seven leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran. His statement reads:

Having been united in prayer with seven Baha'i Leaders, who were arrested more than two years ago in Iran, I deeply regret the news that these leaders have now been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

I am happy to join in the recent statement issued by William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary, on this matter and regard what has happened as being a most appalling transgression of justice and at heart a gross violation of the human right of freedom of belief.

Unfortunately, I myself cannot be at the forthcoming vigil of protest on Saturday 28 August 2010 by the St Mungo Museum in Cathedral Square, Glasgow, but I unite myself in prayer for those of the Baha'i faith who are suffering at this present time in Iran and also to the many other peoples of goodwill who are suffering for their faiths in other parts of the world.

+ Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien
Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh

"We are grateful that Cardinal O'Brien has once again spoken out in defence of the Baha'is in Iran," said Allan Forsyth of the Baha'i Council for Scotland. "We are heartened that leaders of Scotland's faith communities are so willing to demonstrate inter-faith solidarity and support in times of stress."

From Bahá'í News UK

Awareness of Plight of Persecuted Baha'is in Iran Seen in Statement from US Representative

2010-08-20T14:19:00.001-07:00

A well-informed message from a House Representative of Nevada in defense of the Baha'is in Iran in general and the imprisoned 7 Baha'i former leaders in particular.

Nevada Representative in Support of Iran's 7 Baha'i Leaders (Letter Excerpt)

Reno4Iran activists received a letter from Nevada Representative Dean Heller regarding the persecution of Baha'is in Iran. An excerpt of the letter (which was typed and snail-mailed originally) is below. Thanks to all those in positions of power that continue to voice their concerns for the people of Iran and pressure the IRI to adhere to its international human rights obligations.

"As [I've] mentioned before, the Iranian government is an oppressive regime that withholds basic liberties from it's citizens. The persecution you mentioned involving members of the Baha'i faith is horrible and must end. As you may know, in 2006 Iran's Armed Forces Command Headquarters ordered the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard, and the Police Force to identify members of the Baha'i Faith in Iran and monitor their activities. In that same year, the largest roundup of Baha'is took place since the 1980's. The Iranian Interior Ministry ordered provincial officials to "cautiously and carefully monitor and manage" all Baha'i social activities. The Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology ordered 81 Iranian Universities to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i.

"In 2007, the situation worsened. More than two thirds of the Baha'is enrolled in universities were expelled once identified as Baha'is. Police entered Baha'i homes and businesses to collect details on family members. Twenty-five industries were ordered to deny licenses to Baha'is. Employers were pressured to fire Baha'i employees and banks were instructed to refuse loans to Baha'i-owned businesses. In November 2007, three Baha'i youths were detained for educating underprivileged children. The following month, the Iranian Parliament published a draft Islamic penal code, requiring the death penalty for all "apostates"- a term applied to Baha'is and any convert away from Islam.

"Again, this government-sponsored religious and political persecution must end. Every Iranian should be able to live without fear of religious, political, and economic persecution in Iran. The Iranian government should ensure policies are enacted that would protect the freedoms of all of its citizens…I look forward to working to ensure both political and religious liberties are promoted within Iran."

Source: United4Iran

Shirin Ebadi Laments "Irregularities" in Yaran Trial Culminating in Sentences

2010-08-10T12:46:00.001-07:00

The prominent rights group International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran speaks out regarding the recent sentencing of the Yaran.

Iran: Appeals Court Should Overturn Unjust Sentencing of Baha'i Leaders

Shirin Ebadi: Trial "Riddled with Irregularities"

(10 August 2010) Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha'i community, each of whom has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on security, espionage and other crimes, should be freed by an appeals court, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

"We consider the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of these individuals to be politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law," said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

"They have been sentenced for being Baha'is, nothing else, and their incarceration thus expresses a policy of oppression of the Baha'i Faith and its members," he said.

The seven Baha'i leaders, who were arrested in the spring of 2008, include Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They had been jailed for 20 months prior to being charged and denied contact with their attorneys. The sentences will reportedly be appealed.

In January 2010, in the context of the Ashura protests of December 2009 and those that had followed the June 2009 presidential election, charges against the detained Baha'i leaders were expanded. State-controlled news media claimed Baha'is had masterminded the protests, although no evidence has been produced to prove the allegations.

Shirin Ebadi, who defended the seven Baha'i leaders, told the Campaign that her clients' prosecution was "riddled with irregularities."

"As their lawyer, I should have had access to my clients from the time of their detention and I should have known of the charges against them. But I was not allowed to see them," Ebadi said. She also pointed out that given the advanced age of the Baha'i leaders, their 20-year prison sentence is effectively life imprisonment, as it unlikely they will survive beyond their prison term.

Members of the Baha'i Faith in Iran number approximately 300,000, making them the largest non-Muslim religious minority group. In recent years the persecution of Baha'is has intensified to include cemetery desecration, arbitrary detention, home raids, property confiscation, work expulsion and denial of basic civil rights. Iranian Baha'i youth continue to be denied the right to higher education, and any university found to have Baha'i students is ordered to expel them. Baha'i professionals are denied government jobs and face discrimination from private businesses because of their faith. Even those who come to their defense are targeted. Shirin Ebadi has come under fire for taking up the case of seven Baha'is listed above.

According to the Baha'i International Community, there are currently 47 Baha'is in detention throughout Iran. Baha'is released on bail have been ordered to pay exorbitant amounts. For example, Aziz Samandari and Jinous Sobhani, a former secretary at the Defenders of Human Rights Center, were released on 11 March 2009 on bail of 700 million Rials (approximately $73,000). Didar Raoufi, Payam Aghsani and Nima Haghar were released on the same day and ordered to pay the same amount. Shahrokh Taef was released six days later on 17 March 2009 having paid the same amount in bail.

Diane Ala'i, of the Baha'i International Community, told the Campaign that as the Baha'i Faith is classified as an "illegal group," many of the jailed Baha'is "are accused of acting against the country's national security or participation in illegal groups, or teaching the Baha'i Faith."

"All Baha'is are in danger of arrest," she said.

Listen to the Weekly Iran Rights Podcast at:

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/category/podcast/

For the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign's website at www.iranhumanrights.org

Iran Sentences Innocent Yaran to 20 Years' Jail, Say Reports

2010-08-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

A situation that can only hone the skill of patience among the millions of spectators to another farce of a verdict.

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Thou beholdest my perplexity, and the depth of mine anguish, and the agony of my soul, and the afflictions which beset me. By Thy glory! My heart crieth to Thee by reason of the things that have befallen my loved ones in Thy path...

And now I implore Thee, by the eternity of Thy Self, to enable me to be patient in these tribulations which have caused the Concourse on high to wail and the denizens of the everlasting Paradise to weep, and through which all faces have been covered with the tawny dust provoked by the anguish that hath seized such of Thy servants as have turned towards Thy Name, the Most Exalted, the Most High. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the Inaccessible, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers, p. 165-6)

The virtues and attributes pertaining unto God are all evident and manifest, and have been mentioned and described in all the heavenly Books. Among them are... forbearance, resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed, contentment with the things His Will hath provided, patience, nay, thankfulness in the midst of tribulation, and complete reliance, in all circumstances, upon Him. These rank, according to the estimate of God, among the highest and most laudable of all acts. All other acts are, and will ever remain, secondary and subordinate unto them….

(Gleanings, p. 290)

Reports say Iran's Baha'i leaders "sentenced"

The seven Baha'i prisoners, photographed several months before their arrest, are, in front, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.

8 August 2010

NEW YORK — The Baha'i International Community has received reports indicating that seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have each received jail sentences of 20 years.

The two women and five men have been held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 – six of them on 14 May and one of them two months earlier.

"If this news proves to be accurate, it represents a deeply shocking outcome to the case of these innocent and harmless people," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"We understand that they have been informed of this sentence and that their lawyers are in the process of launching an appeal," said Ms. Dugal.

The prisoners – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – were all members of a national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority.

The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances which began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge for 20 months, during which time they were allowed barely one hour's access to their legal counsel. The trial ended on 14 June.

The defendants were accused of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations. All the charges are completely and categorically denied.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/786

Photos Copyright Bahá'í International Community. View here.

The Guardian: Article Alerting to Destruction of 50 Homes, Persecution of Baha'is in Iran

2010-07-29T04:29:00.001-07:00

Attack on Iran's Baha'i is a Human Rights Outrage

Posted: 17 Jul 2010

The destruction of 50 Baha'i homes demonstrates the Iranian government's disregard for its international obligations

Written by Barney Leith for the Guardian

The homes of 50 Baha'i farming families were razed in Ivel, Iran on 26 June. Photo: Baha'i World News Service

["]The governor general is like a physician … if he feels that there is a malignant tumour in the body of the society, he tries to remove it." Such was the official explanation given to Natoly Derakhshan, a Baha'i from the village of Ivel in Mazandaranprovince, Iran, after the homes of 50 Baha'i farming families were razed in Ivel on 26 June.

If farmers strike you as an unlikely tumour in a country that earns 20% of its GDP from agriculture, then perhaps you do not know the story of the minority Baha'i faith in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Razing the Baha'i homes in Ivel is the latest step in an ongoing campaign. Baha'i farmers left Ivel several years ago because of local harassment and persecution. They return once a year to harvest their crops. This exercise of their basic rights to live in peace and work their land has nevertheless required permits from the provincial government. And now their property and livelihoods have been destroyed altogether.

Speaking to Radio Farda, the Persian-language station of Radio Free Europe, Derakhshan was asked whether the locals who demolished the Baha'i homes had government support. "We do not know and cannot say that it was ordered by someone," he said. But Derakhshan asked questions of his own. "What do you think?" he asked. "How could 50 homes be demolished without prior arrangements?" Derakhshan was told that letters of complaint the Baha'is had written to the authorities were "in opposition to the regime".

In Mazandaran, as in much of Iran, the persecution of the Baha'is is nothing new. "Baha'is have lived in this area for more than 100 years," said Diane Alai, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "But in 1983, a few years after the Iranian revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighbouring villages were put on buses and expelled." In the same period, over 200 Baha'is have been executed or killed, hundreds have been jailed, and tens of thousands have been denied their livelihood or an education.

Today 35 Baha'is are imprisoned, among whom are the seven former leaders of the Iranian Baha'i community, arrested in 2008 on allegations of espionage, propaganda and "corruption on earth". These charges warrant death under Iranian law. Their counsel, the Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, has said that "there is nothing, no reason" to convict the seven Baha'is. They have been held in Evin prison, "under conditions which clearly violate international standards" according to Bani Dugal, the principal representation of the Baha'i International Community to the UN. "They have neither beds nor bedding," she added, are permitted only two hours of fresh air a week, and are crammed into cells that restrict movement. Family contact is usually restricted to a 10-minute phone call once a week.

The treatment of the Baha'is in Iran is an outrage, a constant violation of human rights and an example of the Iranian government's disregard for its international obligations. At its root lies a religious fanaticism that seeks to grind away the 300,000 Baha'is of Iran. Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, veteran of Rwanda and Canadian senator, recently warned his senate that the "state-sanctioned persecution" of the Baha'is in Iran resembles "a nation leading its way into a potential genocide". The Baha'is are the largest religious minority of Iran but their faith is denied by the constitution. Despite being branded as apostates and spies, no Baha'i has ever been found plausibly guilty of the crimes with which they are accused. In the words of the founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, Baha'is are enjoined to work for "the good of the world and the happiness of the nations". In Mazandaran, both those hopes have been razed to the ground.

Source: Only Democracy for Iran, http://www.onlydemocracy4iran.com/2010/07/09/attack-on-irans-bahai-is-a-human-rights-outrage/

From Iran Press Watch

Nine Closed Court Files Reopened in Renewed Efforts to Persecute Baha'is

2010-07-29T03:45:00.001-07:00

From Iran Press Watch.

Arrest of two Baha'i citizens in order to carry out their court order

Posted: 21 Jul 2010

Mashhad (literally, "the place of martyrdom") is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world.

15 July 2010 [24 Tir 1389]

HRANA News – Two Baha'i citizens, residing in Mashad, have been arrested in order to carry out their court order for prison [sentences].

HRANA reports that Nassrin Ghadiri and Sima Rajabian, who had been previously (2005) sentenced by the Khorasan Province Razavi Review Court to a 2-year limited prison [sentence], on 15 July 2010 introduced themselves to the Circle of Court Order Implementation, were [summarily] arrested and [then] transferred to the Vakil Abad prison in Mashhad.

The files of these two Baha'i citizens, related to their arrest in [2005], had been declared closed. But in keeping with [the increased persecution] on Baha'is [over the past year] the files of these two, along with seven other Baha'is, have [lately been reopened]. These 9 Baha'i citizens had been sentenced to 2 to 5 years of punitive imprisonment by the Mashad Revolutionary Court.

[Out of] these 9 Baha'is, [two], Nahid Ghadiri and Davar Nabilzadeh, have so far been transferred to Vakil Abad Prison in Mashad [to serve] their 5-year prison sentences."

Translation by Iran Press Watch (slightly edited - Editor)

Sources: http://www.hra-news.org/1389-01-27-05-24-07/2744-1.html

http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6227

BBC - Homes (50) of Baha'is Bulldozed in Northern Iran

2010-07-21T08:16:00.001-07:00

BBC news is on the job with news of the relentless forces of fanaticism attacking the Baha'is of Iran, now in the village of Ivel. Read the full story here. Official accounts from the Baha'i International Community available

here

here and here.

Images taken from a video, shot on a mobile telephone in the village of Ivel, show fiercely burning fires and several Baha'i-owned properties reduced to rubble.

Iran's Bahai community fear rise in persecution
Posted: 04 Jul 2010
By Kasra Naji

BBC News

First there are the images of wooden beams on fire. Then buildings come into view, some without windows and doors, others reduced to rubble.

The shaky mobile phone footage posted on YouTube by Iranian human rights activists shows scenes of destruction filmed secretly from inside a car.
The activists say the footage shows the results of an attack on the properties of Bahai residents in Ivel, a village in northern Iran.
They also say that non-Bahai residents supported the demolitions.
Bahai groups outside Iran have also received eyewitness reports from Ivel.
The witnesses said that several days before the bulldozers moved in, some people in the village signed a petition demanding the expulsion of their Bahai neighbours.
Many Bahais had left already: a number of families had fled previous attacks on Bahai property in Ivel. In 2007, for example, six houses were torched.
However, this time the Bahais left in the village complained to the police in the nearest town, Kiasar.
The police denied that there was a petition against them and refused to provide any protection.
The reports from Ivel residents say that by June 22, almost 50 houses belonging to Bahais had been flattened.

Iran Press Watch

The village of Ivel, Mazandaran

Imprisoned Human Rights Activist Demands Respect, is Granted Release

2010-06-07T05:54:00.001-07:00

The prison experiences of Navid Khanjani, champion of equal educational rights for Iranian citizens. Read the full article here.

The Interrogation of Navid Khanjani

Posted: 05 Jun 2010

The Interrogation of Navid Khanjani

Navid Khanjani, after his release from prison.

(CHRR, 3 June 2010) – Navid Khanjani is a founding member of PCED (Population of Combat against Educational Discrimination, an Iranian advocacy group defending educational rights) as well as a member of CHRR (Committee of Human Rights Reporters, an Iranian human rights group). He has been banned from continuing his university education because of his Baha'i faith. Khanjani was arrested in Isfahan on March 2, 2010, before being moved to Tehran a day later, where he was placed in Ward 2A of the IRGC run Evin Prison. On May 3, 2010, Khanjani was released from Evin Prison after posting bail. The following is the English translation of an interview with Navid Khanjani conducted by PCED, where he explains in detail the illegal and inhumane interrogation methods that were used by intelligence authorities and the IRGC to force him into making televised confessions.

Editor's note: CHRR stands for: Committee of Human Rights Reporters, an Iranian human rights group PCED stands for: Population of Combat against Educational Discrimination, an Iranian advocacy group defending educational rights HRA-Iran stands for Human Rights Activists in Iran, an Iranian human rights group.

First of all, Mr. Khanjani, were you ever indicted during your detention, and, if so, could you elaborate on the charges that were leveled against you?

Yes, I was indicted 3 days after my arrest. I was arrested on March 2, and on March 5, I was taken before Mr. Kiamanesh at the 3rd unit of the Evin magistrate court. I was indicted for anti-regime propaganda activities, anti-national security actions through active membership in human rights groups (HRA-Iran), and having ties to the MKO through the intermediary of HRA-Iran. ...

Mr. Khanjani, during your detention in Ward 2A, were you ever placed in solitary confinement, and, if so, can you tell us for how long and under what conditions?

Yes, I arrived at Evin's Ward 2A on March 3, where I remained in solitary confinement until March 26. During that time, my cell was changed on 2 occasions. The first solitary cell was very small and did not have a toilet.

I was moved to another cell that had washroom facilities after I went on a hunger strike to protest my unlawful detention and the deplorable conditions of the cell. Between March 26 and May 3, I was held in a cell which I shared with 2 other prisoners, Ighan Shahidi and Sama Nourani, both of whom are Baha'is who have been deprived of a university education. I have to emphasize that my hunger strike was not only in protest to the conditions in the solitary cell, but I also wanted all my rights as an accused to be respected; it was in protest to the first day of my interrogation, during which I was blindfolded and beaten; it was in protest to my beating by the Ward 2A IRGC guard, as well as the deplorable conditions of my solitary cell. I wanted to be allowed to call my family and tell them that I was being held in Evin. On the second day of my hunger strike, my condition deteriorated, and I was taken to the infirmary. I ended my hunger strike, following the advice of the doctor and the officer on duty. Eventually, all my demands were met, and I was allowed regular phone calls. I was also moved to another cell, and my interrogator was replaced with someone who treated me in an acceptable way and conducted the sessions without blindfolding me.

Overall, I achieved my goals, and my rights as an accused were largely respected from there on.

You talked about beatings. Can you elaborate on these beatings during the detention? Do you believe that you were tortured?

Regarding the beatings, I have to say that, on the first day of my interrogation, I was beaten, insulted and cursed by the interrogators while I was blindfolded. I received blows to my shins and sides. The same day, I was severely beaten by one the guards, who pounded my head against the wall and tried to strangulate me. Later on, after my interrogator was replaced, the beatings stopped and I was treated acceptably by the new interrogator and the guards. With the exception of the guard who beat me the day of my arrival, the rest of them acted reasonably legally. Then, in mid-April, they started talking about a TV documentary and asked us to speak in front of a camera. My 2 cellmates and I refused to comply. I was assaulted in the prison yard later for not appearing before a camera and was told that I would be spending the next 6 months in solitary confinement. As to your question about whether I believe that I was tortured during my detention, I have to say that torture is not strictly physical; often, psychological torture is far worse. I have described my treatment and the events, and it is up to your readers to draw their own conclusions.

You mentioned that you were being forced to appear in a TV documentary. Can you clarify?

My interrogator... kept insisting that everyone must appear and talk in front a camera, that this was part of the normal procedures and that the films of our remarks would not be broadcast on television. I, for my part, kept refusing... It was in mid-April that they came to our cell and gave us (myself and my 2 cellmates, Ighan and Sama) a haircut and shaved our beards....

I was taken to [an] interrogation room... It was a clean, furnished room and there was a camera in front of a red chair. The backdrop was comprised of curtains and other fabrics.

They gave me a T-shirt to put on, taking away my prison uniform, and said, "Now you have to answer our questions." I did not say a word in response to their questions. When they saw that their efforts were yet again to no avail, they took me out of the room. I was then escorted to the prison yard, where someone called out my name, saying, "Khanjani, go and stand next to Nourani and face the wall." I had my blindfold on, and therefore could not see anything while I was standing next to Sama Nourani. Then, all of a sudden, I felt that I was being choked.

Someone was trying to strangulate me. When I started to asphyxiate, he then pounded my head against the wall... After they lifted me up, they started cursing and slapping me... During that time, the only thing I did was to laugh, as he kept beating and insulting me. Finally, in contrary to what they had promised, I was not taken to solitary confinement, but to my cell with Ighan and Sama. The entire TV interview charade was never mentioned again, and my interrogator was very upset when he learned about my beating. He asked me about it and promised to follow up and reprimand the person who was responsible for it. He said that he did not know about it and regretted that it had happened.

Source: Committee of Human Rights Reporters, CHRR, English, Persian

From Iran Press Watch.

On the alert: US Government calls on Iran to meet International Obligations

2010-05-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

From Iran Press Watch.

US condemns Iran for imprisoning Baha’is
May 16th, 2010

US condemns Iran for imprisoning Baha’i[s]

(AFP) WASHINGTON — The United States denounced Iran on Friday over its detention of seven leaders of the Bahai religious minority who have been held for two years
The United States “is deeply concerned about the ongoing persecution” of both Bahais and other religious minorities in Iran, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement.
On the second anniversary of the detention of seven Bahai leaders, he said, “the United States strongly condemns their continued incarceration as a violation of due process.”
Washington “calls on Iran to meet its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” he added.
Read full story from source: AFP, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iuC07fuBy5JEVwnuFUsaF5F0P-Cw
in Arabic, here: ELAPH, http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2010/5/561295.html

Young Baha'is - harshly imprisoned - allowed meeting with families

2010-04-21T03:27:00.001-07:00

From Iran Press Watch.

Second Prison Visit for Dorsa Sobhani & Navid Khanjani
Posted: 18 Apr 2010

Navid Khanjani

RAHANA - On Thursday April 15, the families of Navid Khanjani and Dorsa Sobhani were allowed to visit their children in prison. According to the Edu-right.us, the families of education-deprived students Dorsa Sobhani and Navid Khanjani were able to receive permits for in-person visits after following up their request at the prosecutor's office and visiting the prosecutor. Navid Khanjani was described to be in [good?] physical and emotional condition during this visit; however, Dorsa Sobhani was not in good physical condition. Navid Khanjani is a co-founder of Population of Combat against Education Discrimination and a key member of Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR). He was arrested on March 2, 2010 in Isfahan, then transferred to the IRGC-controlled ward inside Evin prison in Tehran. He has been reportedly under lengthy and intense interrogations to accept heavy charges.
A few days after his arrest, pro-government media released news titled "Members of Organized Cyber War Networks Arrested", in which they had mentioned Navid Khanjani's name along with other members of the CHRR as key convicts of that case. This incidents has raised concerns about "creating a security case" against him and other arrested Baha'i students who have been banned from education.
Dorsa Sobhani was arrested on March 7, 2010 at her house in the city of Sari in Mazandaran province. In an earlier, short phone call, Sobhani had notified her family that her "interrogations were over"; however, after 40 days there is still no information available regarding the reason of her arrest, and neither her nor Navid Khanaji's lawyer has had any access to their clients' files.

Source: RAHANA, 15 April 2010 http://www.rhairan.info/en/?p=2606,

Another prominent human rights reporter arrested in Iran

2010-03-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

Among the number of stories appearing each day about the persecution of Bahá'ís and rights activists alike in Iran, here is yet another vivid example of the lengths to which the Islamic Republic will go to silence every significant voice of protest against the atrocities being perpetrating against its people.

From Iran Press Watch.

CHRR Member Navid Khanjani Arrested

Posted: 03 Mar 2010

Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) – Student and civil activist Navid Khanjani was arrested at his home in Isfahan on March 2, 2010.

Navid Khanjani
Navid Khanjani close to Nikbakht Court as he bids farewell to his family and being taken to Evin Prison (Wed 3 Mar. 2010)

According to reports, around 11:30 pm, six security forces searched his home and confiscated his personal belongings, including his computer. Security forces had brought Navid’s sentence from the Revolutionary Court along with them.

The forces informed Navid that he will be taken to Nikbakht court in Isfahan and transferred to Evin prison tomorrow.

Navid Khanjani is a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters and founder of Population of Combat against Educational Discrimination. He is regarded as a significant figure in educational rights awareness.

Additionally, due to his belief in the Baha’i faith, Navid Khanjani was banned from continuing his education.

Currently there are a total of seven CHRR members who are detained. The names of detained CHRR members are: Shiva Nazar Ahari, Koohyar Goodarzi, Navid Khanjani, Saeed Jalalifar, Saeed Kalanaki, Saeed Haeri, and Mehrdad Rahimi

Source: CHRR: English, Persian;

Pictures from: http://www.schrr.net/print.php?articleid=8701

Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5772

Life as a Baha’i in Semnan: the case of Mr Hedayati

2010-03-03T04:22:00.001-08:00

From RAHANA and Iran Press Watch.

Semnan, Iran: The small city is a fertile breeding ground for anti-Baha'i activities

Posted: 01 Mar 2010

Semnan, Iran

[Editor: Semnan seems to be a testing ground of systematic anti-Baha'i activities in form of persecution, arrests, refusal to education, and refusal of all community life including burial. Iran Press Watch has carried many stories covering these actions against the Baha'is in Semnan.]

The Life of Mr Hedayati, a Baha'i Resident of Semnan

RAHANA – Semnan, known for its carpets and textile industry, is a small city at the southern foot of the Alborz Mountains in Northern Iran. The small city is also a fertile breeding ground for anti-Baha'i activities, and the anonymity prevalent in larger cities is non-existent. Members of the city's Baha'i community are regularly harassed, their houses and businesses set on fire, and their cemetery desecrated by unidentified gangs – gangs that walk away unpunished and unprosecuted by the authorities. For their part, city and government authorities have not stopped bullying the Baha'i community, with tactics ranging from flat-out arrests and day long interrogations to refusal to issue burial permits for the deceased members of the community.
No one knows the scope of the difficulties of life as a Baha'i in Semnan better than Yahya Hedayati, who has spent over 4 years of the past decade in prison in Semnan and Tehran. His family members have not been immune to the persecution, either; the authorities after him held his father, and Hedayati's wedding had to be delayed until after his release. These are a just a few chapters of his life.
As recently as two weeks ago, his house, along with the store of another Baha'i resident, Akbar Pour Hosseini, was set on fire in the middle of the night by arsonists. The fires caused damage to the properties, and the two men plan to pursue the matter with the authorities.
Between April 9 and May 24, 2009, Mr. Hedayati's house was attacked in the middle of the night on 8 separate occasions by unknown assailants riding on motorcycles. The incidents terrorized Mr. Hedayati's family members and often involved rocks being thrown at his windows. His car's windshield was shattered on April 22, and the note left by the culprits cited his Baha'i faith as the reason for the attack. Mr. Hedayati has written to many officials, including the Prosecutor General, Dori Najaf Abadi, to complain about his treatment.
As for Mr. Pour-Hosseini, he has had his fair share of unpleasant past incidents. Prior to the recent arson and during the Ashura and Tasoa ceremonies – two of the most important mourning days for Shiites – his store windows were broken and his store sign was vandalized. Last summer, arsonists set fire to his shop and watched as the fire immolated and nearly destroyed Mr. Pour-Hosseini's workplace.
In other news, city officials refuse to issue a burial permit for Ms. Nabili, a Baha'i resident who died two weeks ago.

Source: http://www.rhairan.org/en/?p=1245

Wikipedia article on the city of Semnan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semnan_(city)

New tv series on Iran state network grossly misrepresents history, tenets of Bahá’í Faith

2010-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

GENEVA – BWNS (Persian)

Bahá’ís deplore portrayal of their Faith in new tv series on government-owned Iranian national network

12 February 2010

Bahá’ís deeply deplore the malicious portrayals of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, the Twin Prophet Founders of the Bahá’í Faith, in a new national Iranian television network series. The characterizations degrade, ridicule, and insult these Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith, Who are revered by Bahá’ís worldwide. The broadcast of this series is all the more lamentable in the face of the government’s loud denunciation of religious defamation in international forums.

The series, titled “Salhaye Mashrooteh” (“The Years of the Constitutional Revolution”), began on 1 February to coincide with the beginning of the ten-day celebration in Iran of the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, is being aired daily and will conclude on 15 February.

It purports to present a factual historical account of Iran’s “Constitutional Revolution” in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, a period which coincides with the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in that country. The programs purvey timeworn and wholly unfounded allegations that the Bahá’í Faith was created by British imperialists as an anti-Islamic movement.

This current national network television series is only the most recent occurrence in an unremitting and systematic campaign of propaganda against the Bahá’í Faith by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The campaign has utilized all forms of state-controlled mass media to incite hatred and, suspicion against the Bahá’ís throughout the country by flagrantly misrepresenting, denigrating, and distorting the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith.

Iranians eager to learn the truth have no easy access to accurate information about the Bahá’í Faith, as Bahá’ís in Iran are utterly denied the opportunity to correct the slander that is being promulgated by the authorities. Moreover, the mass media is so strictly controlled that even the mere publication of a photograph of the Bahá’í Temple in India in conjunction with an article promoting tourism to that country resulted in the immediate, albeit temporary, closure of the newspaper concerned.

Bahá’ís call upon their well-wishers to join them in seeking to counteract the falsehoods being spread by the government through wide circulation of accurate information about the Faith’s teachings. For those eager to assist in this process, the book titled “Tolouie Digar” and posted at: http://www.aeenebahai.org/node/835 and in audio version at http://www.aeenebahai.org/node/616, is offered as a reliable resource.

Source is at http://news.persian-bahai99.info/story/196. English version distributed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom in e-mail letter dated 17 February 2010.

FRANCE: Company of Academics, Professionals Appeal to Iran Supreme Leader on Behalf of Bahá'ís

2010-02-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

From Iran Press Watch.

Appeal to Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

February 21st, 2010

Appeal to Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Le Monde, February 5, 2010

Seven Baha’is are at risk of the death penalty in Iran today. In detention for 20 months, these five men and two women, ranging in age from 36 to 72 years, have been accused by the Iranian judiciary system of committing “corruption on earth” and of being “spies for Israel”. The group of seven, who are known in their community as the “Yaran” or “Friends”, were acting as mediators toward different agencies of the Iranian state at the time of their arrest, trying to mitigate the oppression weighing heavily on the Baha’is of Iran, who have been the subjects of constant harassment by the Islamic Republic for 30 years.
Baha’is, who constitute the largest religious minority in Iran, are considered to be non-citizens and “unprotected infidels”. Easy targets, this peaceful community numbering 300,000 is being accused of causing all the problems which are the result of political and social tensions within the country.
Today, official newspapers are accusing them of being the organisers of the troubles which are convulsing the country, an accusation which is as unlikely as all those that have proliferated for more than a century.
As the trial of the seven “Yaran” approaches, arrests, the desecration of cemeteries, pillaging, and fires destroying the property of Baha’is have multiplied. Complaints registered by Baha’is are ignored. As of today, 48 Baha’is are in prison, and 75 more, awaiting their trials, have been released after having paid exorbitant amounts for bail, or having surrendered titles to property or commercial licenses.
For thirty years, access to university has been denied to them, nor do they have the right to benefit from a pension. They cannot be hired in the public sector, and their employers in the private sector have to request a driver’s license on their behalf. Those who attack them are never questioned legally. The harassment extends to insulting school children participating in flag-raising activities.
You, Your Excellence, have yourself in the past deemed that they must be reduced to “a state of subsistence”.
Baha’is for fifty years have been putting into practice, in Iran and elsewhere, the principles of the equality of men and women and the right to education, and have been expounding, among other tenets, harmony between science and religion. By virtue of this, they are winning growing support among the Iranian population.
We ask that the systematic maltreatment, orchestrated by the reactionary wing of the clergy and the government, cease, that liberty of conscience be recognized in Iran and that these men and women be freed.

Signed:

Rosine Haguenauer, researcher, biology
Aitana Perea-Gomez, researcher, biology
Fethi Benslama, university student psychoanalysis
Malvyne Derkinderen, researcher, biology
Jacqueline Léon, researcher, linguistics
Anne Plessis, university student, biology
Genevieve Bordet, university student, linguistics
Sophie Louvet-Vallée, university student, linguistics
Cecile Sakai, university student, Eastern language and civilization
Anne Cecconello, ecology, urban studies
Jean-Pierre Hourdin, business executive
Michel Volovitch, university student, biology
Sophie Vriz, university student, biology
Jean-René Duhamel, researcher, neurosciences
Anna Montagnini, researcher, neurosciences
Eric Castet, researcher, neurosciences
Juliette Sablier, doctoral candidate, neurosciences
Daniel Diatkine, university student, history and economy
Anouchka Ibacka, linguistics student
Sophia Jomni, teacher, medical-social science
Hélène Kontzler, university student, economy
André Lapidus, , university student, economy
Claire Pignol, , university student, economy
Florencia Sember, doctoral candidate, economy
Catherine Tourre Malen, university student, anthropology
Bruno Hoen doctor at university hospital, infectious diseases
Michel Botbol, psychiatrist
Paul Kessler, researcher, physics
François Gros, honorary professor at Collège de France, biology
Lydie Koch, researcher, physics
Henri Korn researcher, biology
Dominique Schiff, researcher, physics
Gérard Toulouse, researcher, physics
Joyce Blau, university student, Eastern studies
Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, university student, sociology
Joseph Parisi, researcher, physics

Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: Le Monde, http://www.lemonde.fr/opinions/article/2010/02/05/appel-a-l-ayatollah-sayed-ali-khamenei-guide-supreme-de-la-republique-islamique-d-iran_1301458_3232.html#ens_id=1190750

Source is here.

Government shuts down Baha’i-owned businesses, arrests owners

2010-02-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

Karaj Baha’i Man Arrested & His Store Sealed

18 February, 2010

RAHANA – on January 2nd, 2010, agents from the Intelligence Ministry attempted to arrest Payam Vali at his home, but had to leave since was not home at the time of their visit. Vali was subsequently summoned to the Intelligence Ministry, and arrested upon appearance on January 3rd, 2010.
8 days before he was arrested, the municipal police had sealed Vali’s eyewear shop along with 4 other Baha’i owned businesses in Karaj.

Shutting down businesses owned by Baha’is has become common in many Iranian cities. Many Baha’is have seen their businesses shut down by municipal authorities in Semnan, Tonkabon, Yasuj, Tehran, Sari and other cities. In most cases municipal authorities tell the owner –that is if he was lucky enough not to be arrested before his shop’s closure- that there is nothing they can do about the closure because it has been ordered by the Intelligence Ministry.

Source: RAHANA

UN Human Rights Council members condemn Iran's repression of Bahá'ís, others

2010-02-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

From Bahá'í World News Service.

Nations rally to defend human rights in Iran

16 February 2010

The UN Human Rights Council focused on the situation in Iran in a session on 15 February at the Palace of Nations, the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations.

GENEVA — Countries from around the world have voiced strong concern at the United Nations Human Rights Council over Iran's deteriorating human rights record.

In speeches yesterday and in documents filed with the Council, nations and human rights groups described the degree to which Iran has failed to live up to its obligations under international human rights law.

"The good news is that governments and organizations are rallying to defend innocent Iranians, who have over the last year seen their human rights so gravely violated," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

"The bad news is that Iran continues to ignore such appeals," she said, speaking after yesterday's session of Council, which specifically focused on Iran's human rights record.

Muhammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of the Islamic Republic of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, told the session that there is religious freedom in Iran and that no Baha'i is persecuted for his beliefs. If any Baha'is are imprisoned, he said, it is because of "illegal activities" as a cult.

"Put bluntly, Iran once again completely discredited itself before the eyes of the international community," said Ms. Ala'i, noting that last week Iran arrested at least 14 more Baha'is.

Among those arrested, she said, was Niki Khanjani, the son of one of the seven Baha'i leaders who are currently on trial on false charges.

"As the Nobel laureate Mrs. Shirin Ebadi has recently stated in an open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Iran is now trying to increase pressure on prisoners by taking their relatives hostage," said Ms. Ala'i. "Jamaloddin Khanjani is 76. He has been incarcerated for almost two years – and then they arrested his granddaughter at the beginning of January and now, his son."

"These are the desperate acts of a regime that is frantically lashing out to blame others for its troubles and to suppress any viewpoint that is different from its own ideology," she said.

The majority of countries who spoke out against Iran focused on the violence following last June's presidential election and also on the situation of the country's religious minorities.

Brazil called for Iran to extend rights to all religious groups in the country, saying Baha'is should enjoy the same rights as everyone. Mexico said all minorities – particularly the Baha'i community – must be able to practice their religion.

"Romania and Slovenia devoted almost the entire allotment of their time to discussing the increasing repression of Iran's Baha'i community," reported Ms. Ala'i.

Human rights groups, in documents filed with the Council, made similar points.

"Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, individuals belonging to minorities in Iran are subject to an array of discriminatory laws and practices," wrote Amnesty International in its statement. "Minorities suffering persecution include ethnic and linguistic minorities such as Kurds, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Turkmen and Baluchis, and religious minorities such as Baha'is and the Ahl-e Haq."

"The government systematically denies rights associated with freedom of religion to members of the Baha'i faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority. In most cases, including the persecution of the Baha'i community, the government uses 'security' as a pretext for detaining individuals and denying them basic due process rights," said a statement from Human Rights Watch.

The session was part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a relatively new procedure that seeks to review the human rights record of all 192 United Nations member states once every four years. This year is the first time Iran has come up for review.

Source: BWNS

Appeal of family members, prominent jurist for intervention on behalf of imprisoned Bahá'í leaders

2010-02-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

A moving appeal from relatives of the seven imprisoned Bahá'í leaders - the Yaran - in Iran, as well prominent Australian jurist leader.
(Excerpt:)

Roya Kamalabadi of Melbourne, a sister of one of the imprisoned leaders, said: “The very thought of my dear sister, Fariba facing possible execution for the love of humanity that she so cherishes in her heart is devastating to me and my family.”

“My dear fellow citizens, after the bitter experience of the Holocaust, humanity promised to itself that “Never Again” we shall allow such annihilation of humanity to take place -- let us once more reaffirm our vows not to let this happen to humanity ever again,” Mrs Kamalabadi said.

Eminent jurist calls for pressure

SYDNEY, 11 February 2010

International pressure should be brought to bear on Iran for the release of seven wrongfully-imprisoned Baha’i leaders, the eminent jurist John Dowd AO QC told an inter-faith gathering at the NSW Parliament on 9 February 2010.

“This is not a trial -- it is a persecution,” said Mr Dowd, the president of the International Commission of Jurists Australia.

Above

Melbourne Baha'i Roya Kamalabadi spoke about the imprisonment and trial of her sister, Fariba.

Among 130 people attending the gathering were MPs Rob Stokes and Anthony Roberts, Community Relations Commission chairman Stepan Kerkyasharian, leaders and members of faith communities and NGO representatives.

Grave charges have been levelled against the seven leaders in closed court sessions held on 12 January and 7 February 2010. All seven have denied the accusations which include espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, acting against the security of the country, and spreading corruption on earth.

Rhetoric of hatred

Mr Dowd said that just as the Nazis built up rhetoric of hatred and ridicule against the Jews prior to World War II, Iran is doing the same with Baha’is.

“It sets up religious courts to try breaches of religious laws and persecutes people as in Nazi Germany because having someone to blame is a very unifying factor among a suppressed people,” he said.

The seven leaders are effectively being charged with breach of Islamic beliefs, even though the Iranian constitution guarantees freedom of belief, he said.

Visibly moved

Relatives of three of the seven Baha’is spoke to the audience, many of whom were visibly moved by the sentiments expressed.

Roya Kamalabadi of Melbourne, a sister of one of the imprisoned leaders, said: “The very thought of my dear sister, Fariba facing possible execution for the love of humanity that she so cherishes in her heart is devastating to me and my family.”
“My dear fellow citizens, after the bitter experience of the Holocaust, humanity promised to itself that “Never Again” we shall allow such annihilation of humanity to take place -- let us once more reaffirm our vows not to let this happen to humanity ever again,” Mrs Kamalabadi said.

Amin Tavakoli of Adelaide said his imprisoned brother, Behrouz, was in jail because of his belief in the oneness of the world religions and the oneness of humanity.

“If I could have one wish, it would be to see him one more time,” Mr Tavakoli said.

“I would hug him and put my ear to his chest and listen to the melody of his heart, a heart that plays the melody of love – love of God, love of humanity,” Mr Tavakoli said.

Ghodsieh Samimi of Sydney said when her niece, Mahvash Sabet, was arrested almost two years ago, her family was not informed of her whereabouts for almost three months.

“The family did not even know whether she was alive or not,” Mrs Samimi said.

Mrs Samimi said many Baha’is in Iran are persecuted every day with baseless excuses.

“Even children are constantly harassed at school, Baha’is are not allowed to attend higher education, and Baha’is are harassed at their home, at work and even on the street.”

Prayers

Representatives of six major religions in Australia offered prayers for the seven Baha’i leaders.

“We, the leaders of our communities and representatives of Australia’s faiths, join with the family of these seven Baha’i leaders,” said Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, who is Senior Rabbi at Sydney’s Great Synagogue.

“We pray that they will be restored to their families; that they will be able to worship in freedom; that they will be able to celebrate their faith and inspire their fellows with the beauty and peaceful message of its teachings,” Rabbi Lawrence said.

“Today we gather with our concern and prayers for the seven Baha’i leaders who are imprisoned in Iran,” said General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, Rev. Tara Curlewis.

“As Australians we struggle to understand what it is like to live where one’s opinion or religion can not be openly expressed for fear of imprisonment or persecution,” Rev Curlewis said.

“May the people of this world respect their neighbour no matter what their race or religious belief,” she said.

Prayers were also said by Hindu Council of Australia representative, Vijai Singhal; Sikh representative, Mohinde Pal; Buddhist monk Bhante Tejadhammo; and the National Secretary of the Australian Baha’i Community, Arini Beaumaris.

Source: bahai.org.au

Iranian criminal procedure apropos Bahá'ís (Yaran) on trial

2010-02-07T15:18:00.001-08:00

From Iran Press Watch.

The Trial of the Yaran under Iranian Criminal Procedure: "The Justice of God" or Procedural Injustice?

Posted: 05 Feb 2010

by Christopher Buck, Ph.D., J.D.
[Editor: Iran Press Watch welcomes back Dr. Christopher Buck, a distinguished legal scholar. While most writers expose the injustice of Iranian practice in contrast with the international practice, Dr. Buck demonstrates how the current treatment of the Yaran is even problematic within the context of Iran's own legal framework. Dr Buck's article comes in a critical time when in two short days, on the 7th of February, 2010, the second trial of Yaran is scheduled to take place. The Baha'i Communities around the world are holding devotional gatherings as a response to the call of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Baha'i Community: "The prayers offered by the [Baha'is] … worldwide have been a constant source of comfort and support to the former members of the Yaran who have withstood their long ordeal with heroic fortitude and patience." With these thoughts in mind we invite you to consider the discourse by Dr. Buck.]
Part I:
The "Justice of Islam," Jurisdiction and Venue, Prosecution and Indictment
The trial of the Yaran, the "first session" of which took place on January 12, 2010, is being conducted under the current system of Iranian criminal procedure, a creature of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Just as my previous article, "Iranian Islam, not the Yaran, on trial in the court of international opinion" (published by Iran Press Watch on January 12, 2010, the day of the first session of the trial of the Yaran), was an effort to show how the treatment of the Yaran reflects poorly on Iranian Islam inasmuch as the "Justice of Islam" is concerned, the present article demonstrates how, by Iranian legal standards, the treatment of the Yaran is in clear violation of the current Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its existing Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP).
Both articles, therefore, are essentially "Iranian" and "Islamic" arguments. I have not seen this approach taken by others. While the international community is interested to know how the treatment of the Yaran violates international standards, I believe that the Iranian audience would like to know how the legal course of the case of the Yaran is problematic within the Iranian legal context itself. This is not an easy task for anyone who has to comprehend a completely different system of criminal procedure for the first time. Consequently, I add this disclaimer: that my understanding of Iranian law is imperfect, to say the least; yet I have made every attempt to ground my argument in clearly documented principles of Iranian criminal procedure.
The Yaran — who have been held in the notorious Evin Prison since the spring of 2008 — are represented by four lawyers from the Center for the Defense of Human Rights based in Tehran — Ms. Shirin Ebadi (Iran's first female judge prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003), Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani (co-founder of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights), Mr. Hadi Esma'ilzadeh and Ms. Mahnaz Parakand. The latter two, Mr. Esma'ilzadeh and Ms. Parakand, took part in the hearing on January 12, 2010 and represented the accused, as Ms. Ebadi is out of the country. Mr. Soltani was unavailable, having been twice imprisoned previously.
"Representation" was unduly restrictive. Shortly after the trial, Ms. Ebadi commented: "When I and my colleagues accepted to act as their defense lawyers, they [detainees] had not been allowed to see their families for over a year. And for some time too, they were not allowed to meet with us. After a year and a half when the investigation ended, I and the rest of the lawyers were permitted to read the dossier and we met them on one occasion in prison." ("Iran's Ebadi says seven Baha'is must be acquitted." Washington TV. Online at http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=17143.)
The purpose of this article is to help render translucent the otherwise opaque system of Iranian criminal procedure, which will never be fully transparent. See, e.g., Richard Vogler, "Islamic Criminal Justice: Theocratic Inquisitoriality," A World View of Criminal Justice (Hants, UK/Burlington, VY: Ashgate Publishing, 2005), 105–126.

Read the full article here.

Qur'án teacher openly clobbers, vilifies Bahá'í children

2010-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

From Iran Press Watch.

Physical assault on two Baha'i students by their Qur'an teacher

Posted: 01 Feb 2010

Tuesday 29 Day 1388 [19 Jan 2010]
Society for Combating against Educational Discrimination ( P.C.E.D. ): Physical assault on two Baha'i students by their Qur'an teacher
Following a series of governmental activities aimed at the denial of rights to the Baha'is of Iran, a short time ago two Baha'i students at the Sa'adat Guidance School in Shiraz were subjected to severe physical assault by their Qur'an instructor, whose name was Mr Rashidi.
The following account describes the episode, in the words of one of the two 12 year old students:
' The end-of-the-period bell had not rung yet, but the Qur'an instruction had finished.
The students were talking together quietly, when suddenly the teacher's voice made us all silent: " You two, come here!". I thought he was addressing the students sitting behind us, but he was probably calling my friend and me. Before rising from our seats, the teacher reached our desk and first attacked my friend, who was sitting on the first spot of the bench. With several harsh blows he threw him off his seat and dragged him to a corner of the room, where he set upon him with fist blows and kicks. Stunned and frightened, I was looking at the teacher, who was walking towards me. I was frozen in my place in terror when his fist blows showered my head and face. The only thing I could do was to cover my neck to avoid the blows hitting my neck — because I had recently had a tonsillectomy, and was worried that the blows might hit the surgery spot. At any rate, he threw me to a corner of the room, as he had done to my friend, and said "sit here on the floor", as again he kicked us with all his might. As the repeated blows were falling on my head, the only sound I heard were the insults he heaped on the beliefs of my friend and me. Whenever he entered the classroom, addressing us two, he would denigrate the Baha'i Faith before starting his lesson. I don't know why on that day he displayed such harsh behaviour toward us for our belief. I felt he had always waited for an opportunity for vengeance against us, due to our belief in the Baha'i Faith, and now he had found that chance, carrying out his teaching duties appropriately! Beaten and heart-broken, I went home.
'The next day, my parents came to school to pursue the matter. The Principal, Mr Shafi'i, categorically denied that the episode had occurred, and promised to my family that if such a thing had in fact happened he would speak to the teacher. Arriving at the school the next day, I expected that we would certainly be consoled. The Principle, addressing the morning assembly from his podium, began with insults and undeserved accusations against the Baha'i Faith, calling it a British and Israeli invention, with followers who held empty and baseless beliefs, and who were spies and enemies of Islam. I was stunned. It seemed that instead of the teacher being chastised, he had been advised to play his part in this breach of rights in the most appropriate way!! '
As is stated in the National Charter of Student Rights:
Fundamental Student Rights:

Article 1 – A student has the right to free speech and belief, and is to be protected from harm after expressing same.
Article 2 – A student is protected against harm to his body, emotional and personal dignity. His supreme human station must be respected.

Society for Combating against Educational Discrimination
Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: www.edu-right.us

Source: Iran Press Watch.
Photo source: http://www.payvand.com/news/08/jul/1030.html

French Litterateur Joins in Championing Bahá'ís' Rights

2010-01-29T15:47:00.001-08:00

From Iran Press Watch.

The Baha'i Hunt in Iran…

Posted: 28 Jan 2010

The Baha'i Hunt in Iran

By Serge Dupont-Valin

10 January 2010

I am not Baha'i. I didn't even know Baha'is existed! What a strange name – Baha'i…

In Iran, they are pursuing Baha'is, imprisoning them, destroying their possessions. But what crime are they accusing them of? Born in the 19th century, this religion, "Baha'ism", based on the concept of one prophet succeeding another, is characterized by tolerance and pacifism. This community practices, among other principles, the equality of men and women, the elimination of all forms of prejudice, the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, education for all, religious tolerance. I didn't know that the Baha'i Faith is the second most widespread religion in the world, existing in 218 countries and sovereign territories.

How did I learn all this?

My memory goes back to the book faire of Saint Louis, in Alsace – one of the most important of such expositions in France – whose organizers refused to exhibit my novels for all kinds of reasons. The truth was that that I wasn't part of the powerful group of well-known names of the literary microcosm; that is, I wasn't well-known to the media. I was resentfully about to abandon all hope of actively participating in the fair when the Baha'is, who had rented a booth to display their own literature, spontaneously offered me a place to sign my works in their stand. Nothing was negotiated; no conditions were imposed on me; no one tried to recruit me. This simple gesture of generosity accompanied by a smile was a lesson to me!

Therefore, in response to this magnanimity, I would like to inform you of the following press release:

Seven accused of spying for Israel to be judged Tuesday, tension mounts for the Baha'is of Iran

Acute anxiety, once again, for the Baha'is of Iran. The seven Baha'i leaders, two women and five men, held in Evin prison of Tehran for 20 months, are to appear in court on Tuesday, January 12, on charges that could lead to the death penalty. As the date approaches, bad news has been received that pressure is mounting as though the ground is being laid for a trial that will teach the Baha'is a lesson.

In addition, thirteen Baha'is were arrested on Sunday, January 3. Among them was Negar Sabet, the daughter of Mahvash Sabet, one of the seven to be tried on Tuesday, as well as Leva Khanjani, the granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, the older of the seven leaders. This young woman was arrested along with her husband, Babak Mobasher. Jinous Sobhani, the former secretary of Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and her husband, Artin Ghazanfari, were also summoned. Ten of the thirteen are still in detention. At the same time, and for some weeks, an anti-Baha'i campaign has been intensifying in the official media.

Plot theory

Baha'is, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, have always been the scapegoat of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian regime is constantly charging them with well-worn allegations of conspiracy theories, adapted to suit the new circumstances. These days, the Baha'is have been accused, by "experts" interviewed by the reporters of ultra-conservative newspapers, as being "behind" the post-electoral disturbances, or for having fomented the December 27 protests which took place during the festival of Ashura, and for being hidden consultants for the reform candidates. In addition, the old accusation of being agents of Zionism persists. For good measure, the authorities are requiring those being summoned to sign a commitment not to participate in demonstrations. Note that the Baha'is, according to their principles, abstain from any political activity.
The seven Baha'i leaders to be judged on Tuesday have never received an official accusation, but have been accused in the ultra-conservative newspapers of being "spies for Israel", to have insulted the sacred character of Islam and for having produced "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" – all unfounded accusations, and each one liable to the death sentence..

Shirin Ebadi is a lawyer for the seven Baha'is. Although she is abroad, her colleague, the courageous fighter for human rights, who is well-acquainted with Iranian prisons, Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, has agreed to defend them. He was arrested in June, and then freed, after a fine of 90,000 euros was paid at the end of August.

"Enemies of God Organization"

During the last ten months, 60 Baha'is have been arrested and then freed, each held for between one days and several months. At the moment 48 are incarcerated, the only reason being their faith. For thirty years they have been considered to be "unprotected infidels". This community of 300,000 believers is known as "the enemies of God organization". Second class citizens in their own country, Baha'is are deprived of post-secondary education, and have no access to the public sector. Just for being a Baha'i one can have one's property and possessions seized, can be deprived of retirement funds, can be denied a loan or a license. In school, teachers are encouraged to publicly humiliate Baha'i children. Hundreds of Baha'i cemeteries have been desecrated and razed. Citizens who attack Baha'is are not questioned. More than 200 Baha'is, among them minors, have been executed since the founding of the Islamic Republican.

However, the Baha'is have at least one ray of hope: they note that, among their countrymen, inside and outside of Iran, the number of those who sympathize with them is growing.
And, humble craftsman of literature I am, I would like to be associated with the protests emanating from the United Nations, from the European Parliament, from the foreign ministers of different countries around the world, from well-known personalities such as François Jacob of the Academy of Science, and from a considerable number of organizations and institutions, as well as from citizens who are passionate about justice and tolerance.

Translation by Iran Press Watch

Source: http://www.lemonde.fr/opinions/chronique/2010/01/11/en-iran-chasse-aux-baha-is_1289818_3232.html

10 January Message of Bahá'í Supreme Governing Council to Believers in Iran

2010-01-29T14:52:00.001-08:00

A letter of consolation, hope and encouragement addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of Iran, dated 10 January 2010, following the arrest of ten Bahá'ís on 3 January 2010 (more on that here).
(Excerpt:)

[R]egrettably, those whose inner vision is dimmed by the veils of religious prejudice have conspired to create false accusations so as to provide justification to the Iranian people for their acts of oppression against you, seemingly unaware that such actions ultimately vitiate the perpetrator's credibility.

The Seat of the Universal House of Justice, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

10 January 2010

To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith

Dearly loved Friends,

As the date set for the trial of the former members of the Yaran approaches, certain officials have made statements over the past few days claiming that the motive for the arrest of ten friends on 3 January 2010 lay not in their membership in the Baha'i community but in their involvement in organizing the events that occurred on the day of 'Ashura. The people of Iran--indeed, the people of the world and the community of nations--are familiar with the principles of the Baha'i Faith, the conduct of its adherents, and the history of its development; they know therefore that such a claim is baseless. All fair-minded people would attest that Baha'is, wherever they reside, labour shoulder to shoulder with their compatriots for the progress and prosperity of their nation. Baha'is are known to rely on the framework of the law in defence of their own rights as well as those of others. They aspire to the virtues of truthfulness and honesty, eschew violence and conflict, and avoid all manner of partisan politics. Yet, regrettably, those whose inner vision is dimmed by the veils of religious prejudice have conspired to create false accusations so as to provide justification to the Iranian people for their acts of oppression against you, seemingly unaware that such actions ultimately vitiate the perpetrator's credibility. We take comfort in knowing that you are cognizant of the operation of divine forces. You realize that within His grasp are held the reins of all things. You call on the spiritual powers born of such understanding to transcend enmity and oppression. Staunch and immovable, you have won the admiration of the world as you have continued to discharge your duties with consummate wisdom. Our hearts overflow with love and admiration for each and every one of you. We raise our hands in supplication to Almighty God, beseeching Him to safeguard you and to aid you in promoting the interests of the Cause and in serving your fellow countrymen.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

(Authorized translation from the Persian original)
(Photo copyright Bahá'í International Community)

Indications of Systematic Plotting by Iran Government to Implicate Jailed Baha'is

2010-01-27T03:23:00.001-08:00

Concern is growing over the lack of information about the status of 10 Baha'is who were arrested earlier this month in Iran.

The Committee of Human Rights Reporters has published these photographs and identified the individuals as among the 10 Baha'is, including two married couples, arrested on 3 January.

Detention of ten Baha'is leads to fears for other prisoners

27 January 2010

NEW YORK —
In addition to worry about their safety, there are fears that charges against these 10 will be used to create false evidence in court against the seven Baha'i leaders who have been held since 2008 and whose trial is set to resume on 7 February.
"Our concern is that in the absence of any evidence against the seven leaders, the authorities may be attempting to build a case by perhaps forcing these newly arrested Baha'is to 'confess' that they were involved in organizing December's Ashura demonstrations under orders from their 'leadership'," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.
"Any such claim would be absurd, given that the seven leaders have been in prison for the last two years," she said.
Since their arrest on 3 January, statements have been made in Iranian state-sanctioned media that the 10 possessed arms and ammunition in their homes as part of an anti-government plot related to the December demonstrations.
The 10 have virtually disappeared into Iran's detention system, said Ms. Dugal.
While it is not known whether any of these 10 were in fact present at the Ashura demonstrations, any suggestion that they were central to the organization of these events or that they possessed arms to be used against the government is completely without foundation, she said.
"In the three weeks since these Baha'is were detained, their families have had no contact with them, aside from a brief telephone message to one family member on 11 January."
While families have been unable to contact the 10, it has been learned that they have been transferred recently to Gohardasht prison in Karaj.
"A cell mate of some of the Baha'i prisoners was recently released, and this individual informed the families of this transfer," said Ms. Dugal. "We don't know exactly what this means, but we do know that families tried to bring clothes and money to the prisoners. The money was accepted by authorities in Karaj, but not the clothing."
The 10 Baha'is who were arrested on 3 January are Mrs. Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the seven Baha'i leaders, and her husband, Mr. Babak Mobasher; Mr. Artin Ghazanfari and his wife, Mrs. Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Nobel laureate and human rights attorney Shirin Ebadi; Mr. Mehran Rowhani and Mr. Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Mr Payam Fanaian; Mr. Nikav Hoveydaie; and Mr. Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son, Mr. Zavosh Shadmehr.
On 12 January, the formal arraignment of the seven leaders was held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
According to accounts in government-sponsored news media, the seven have been charged with: espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and corruption on earth.
In court, the defendants explicitly denied all of these charges.
Ms. Dugal said the judge has reportedly indicated that the next session of the trial on 7 February will be open and the families will be permitted to attend. The first court appearance was closed to the public.
The seven "leaders" are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.
This group of seven and the 10 Baha'is arrested on 3 January are among hundreds of Baha'is who have been detained in the ongoing persecution of Baha'is - a systematic campaign that has increased in severity in the last few years.

Source: Baha'i World News Service

Seven leaders of Iran's Bahá'í community reject accusations; new court date set

2010-01-20T07:29:00.001-08:00

From Bahá'í World News Service.

Date set for seven Baha'i leaders' next court session
20 January 2010

GENEVA — Iranian authorities have notified the lawyers of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders that the next session of their trial will be held on 7 February, the Baha'i International Community learned today.

At their first court appearance, held 12 January in Tehran, the charges were read to the seven, who categorically denied the accusations.

"While we know little about what actually took place inside the court, we can now say for certain that these seven innocent Baha'is stood up and firmly rejected all of the charges against them," said Diane Ala'i of the Baha'i International Community.

"We can also say that, based on the international outcry that accompanied the first session of their trial, the world is watching this proceeding closely and that the Iranian government will be held accountable for any injustices," she said.

The charges against the seven, according to accounts in government-sponsored news media, were: espionage, "propaganda activities against the Islamic order," the establishment of an "illegal administration," cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and "corruption on earth."

The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison ever since, spending their first year there without formal charges or any access to lawyers.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/750

Trial's Predetermined Outcome Evident from Pre-Trial Press Release

2010-01-15T00:35:00.000-08:00

The Iranian government's unjust procedures are laid bare for all to see.
(Excerpt:)

The best example that reveals the true nature of the government’s intentions with this trial is text of the pre-written report that was inadvertently printed prior to the intended date. In one of its paragraphs, the text notes that the defendants had “confessed that they had held meetings at the homes of ambassadors from Western countries.”

A Major Gaffe Reveals the True Nature of The Show Trial of the Iranian Bahá'ís

Posted on Facebook Friday 15 January 2010 at 03:54 GMT-1

Written by Leva Mottahed
Translated by Nizam Missaghi

The Bahá'í Affairs Committee of the Human Rights Activists in Iran

January 14, 2010

The trial for the former Bahá'í leaders of Iran was finally held in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on Tuesday January 12, 2010, after a 1.5-year detention period and postponing of three previous trial dates. This trial was held behind closed doors and the immediate families were not allowed to be present. Even the lawyers representing the defendants had to work their way into the courtroom after significant persistence. The lawyers were able to finally meet their clients in person for the first time on the day of the trial. Despite being held behind closed doors, there were camera crews present in the courtroom, although it was not immediately apparent with what agency they were associated or who had granted them permission to record the proceedings.

The most prominent feature of the trial was its true nature as a show trial. This was most apparent in the inadvertent release on January 11, 2010, of a report of this trial a day before its actual date. The report was apparently pre-written and sent to news outlets for publication on Tuesday afternoon, after the session’s adjournment. However, despite well-rehearsed “instructions” regarding the timing of the publication, a major semi-official news source entitled “Young Journalists” published the report at 17:50 on Monday, January 11, on its front page, and, within two hours, another website entitled fararu.com published the same article and referenced the original publication. The original article was available for viewing on the front page of “Young Journalists” website but was promptly removed at 09:05 on January 12, presumably once the gaffe was discovered. The site did not, however, realize that their article had been cross-posted and referenced on fararu.com. The original URL for the Young Journalists website http://www.yjc.ir/news/NewsDesc.aspx?newsid=264157 is now a broken link.

It is worth noting that the same exact article appeared the next day, January 12, after the court adjourned, on official and semi-official websites. This fact also reveals the true nature of the proceedings as a show trial since the authorities did not even bother to change the wording of a scripted report and re-published the same article. Farsnews and ISNA are the two sources that published the same article with the right timing:

http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8810221294

http://isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1472572&Lang=P

The above gaffes not only give credence to how this proceeding is nothing but a show trial with predetermined verdicts, but also present as strong evidence that the seven Bahá'í leaders are innocent. The regime has no document or evidence to present in support of its allegations against the Bahá'ís. Therefore, by holding the court session behind closed doors and presenting pre-written reports to the media, the regime is attempting to influence public opinion rather than ensuring justice. The best example that reveals the true nature of the government’s intentions with this trial is text of the pre-written report that was inadvertently printed prior to the intended date. In one of its paragraphs, the text notes that the defendants had “confessed that they had held meetings at the homes of ambassadors from Western countries.”

The intentions of the Iranian government toward the Bahá'í leaders are evident from the above. They have been held under “temporary detention” status for over 1.5 years with deplorable conditions and severed restrictions. Their dire situation is alarming and leaves these individuals vulnerable to significant danger at the behest of the Iranian government. It is incumbent upon all human rights activists and organizations to take action to ensure preservation of life and securing of freedom for these seven Bahá'ís.

Seven former leaders of the Baha'i Community in Iran

Photo copyright Bahá'í International Community

Survey of Recent Government-Sponsored Schemes against Bahá'ís of Iran

2010-01-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

An informed note from the the editors of Iran Press Watch.

Editorial Note: Accusations against Baha’is

Posted: 12 Jan 2010

Since the very last days of December of 2009, the authorities in Iran, through statements and the State news media, have accused the Baha’is of being involved in many ways with the recent political and social unrest in Iran. This comes as no surprise to the Baha’is in Iran or to the Baha’is around the world. In fact, such accusations in order to use the Baha’is as scapegoats for any social or political unrest in Iran has been a practice for the past 165 years, since the inception of the Baha’i Faith in Iran, though admittedly, the current Islamic Republic government in Iran has developed this strategy into a systematic plan.

Even the claim that the opposition leader is a Baha’i is not a new tactic, and was no surprise. The hope of conservative elements in Iran in so doing is to portray him as being under the dark cloud that they have tried so hard to cast over the Baha’is, thereby turning public opinion against their rivals. How ironic that the same person – Mir-Hossein Musavi, as the Prime Minister during the time of Khomeni who arrested, jailed and killed so many Baha’is — is now being stigmatized and is suffering himself by the very scheme he help to establish! Of course, it is clear that these persons are not Bahai’s – either Mr.Musavi or the courageous attorney whose firm is representing the accused Baha’i leaders, Shirin Ebadi.

The list of baseless accusations, false representations and claims is very long, quite imaginative, and simply ridiculous. The Baha’is are referred to as a “colonialist sect,” who are responsible for “the desecration of religious sanctities” and “disturbances witnessed on `Ashura,” and who are “spying for the Zionist regime” and “speaking out against the Islamic government.” The volume of such accusations is so high that Iran Press Watch could never translate and publish all of them. We include a selection of the headings below:

Baha’ism, Led by Zionism, is Hatching Intrigue Behind the Scenes of the Recent Unrest ( http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8810071122)

“It is evident that these inhumane and criminal acts, these nefarious deeds committed by deviant and misguided people, were designed and organized by global arrogance, international Zionism, the misguided Baha’i sect, and other shunned and condemned groups of traitors…” (http://www.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=866869)

President of the Coordinating Council for Islamic Propagation in Western Azerbaijan: “Of course, this movement of hooligans and agents of (global) arrogance bent on desecrating religious sanctities has only one goal: to harm the Revolution and Islam and advance the objectives of America, Israel, and Baha’ism.” (http://www.isna.ir/isna/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1464140)

Regarding the role of Baha’ism in desecrating religious sanctities, our expert in matters of security stated, “The path that the Musawi camp is taking in their attack on religious sanctities is the exact same path that the misguided Baha’i sect has been on for years.” (http://www.javanonline.ir/Nsite/FullStory/?Id=200302)

Iran State Media Blames the “Baha’i Sect” for Recent Unrest (http://www.bahairights.org/2009/12/29/iran-state-media-blames-the-bahai-sect-for-recent-unrest/)

Muhammad Karim Abedi, “..Zionism and Baha’is, the ill-wishers of Religion, tried all in their power to disturb Ashura” (http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8810081569)

The list very long. In the interest of making this note short, the list has been limited to the above.

It is well known, and there has been a long and exhaustively documented history showing that two central tenets of the Baha’i Faith are obedience to the government of whatever country in which Baha’is reside, and reverence for the revelators of all major religions, especially for the Prophet Muhammad. The International Baha’i Community has rejected the above allegations in a detailed article at the following link: http://news.bahai.org/story/747

Interestingly enough, today, the Universal House of Justice, the world governing body of the Baha’i Faith, in a letter to the Baha’is of Iran, has clarified that the Baha’is, whereever they may live, must exert their utmost effort, shoulder to shoulder with their countrymen, for the betterment of that country. (see the letter here: http://www.universal-house-of-justice-messages.org/payam/2010-01-10.html ). “The betterment of the World” Baha’u’llah tells the people of the world, “can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.”

Iran Press Watch will continue to provide information regarding the context for this current discussion. We will soon be providing historical documentation to facilitate readers’ comprehension . This is the first in a series of Editorials to enable readers to understand the recent baseless fabrications by the government of Iran.

The Editor,

Iran Press Watch.

Source: Iran Press Watch

Who are the canaries in Iran's mineshaft?

2010-01-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

A reflective article from this prominent professor on the background for the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran, in Canada's The Globe and Mail.
(Excerpt:)

We must raise our voices and cry out against the calumnies of this regime, not because we will influence its behaviour – I'm convinced we won't – but because it's our duty to speak truth to power even as power tramps on truth and persecutes the almost forgotten first victims of Iran's Islamic Revolution.

The canaries in Iran's cages

The canaries in Iran's cages: None are more persecuted than the Baha'i AP

In hard-line Iran, none are more persecuted than the Baha'i

Howard Adelman
Special to Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, Jan. 11, 2010

The Islamic Republic of Iran is going to show any wavering authoritarian regime just how it's done. No “colour” revolution will be allowed. No surrender to the street. No departing on a quickly arranged flight to seek refuge, as the Shah did. This regime has no intention of playing “nice” with anyone, including those mullahs who used to back the regime. To stay in power, even in the age of tweeting, ignore the tweets. Pick up your clubs and throw them in jail. Some technologies don't change.

The few “moderates” left in the system have all been purged. Instead of a stick in one hand and an olive branch in the other, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his coterie of like-minded extremist ideologues project mistrust and defiance. ...

On Dec. 18, the United Nations General Assembly passed a strong resolution condemning Iran's human-rights abuses – including the denial of basic civil and political rights, the use of torture and rape, the excessive use of capital punishment, the execution of juvenile offenders, the increasing numbers of hanging and stoning, the brutal suppression of women's rights advocates, and discrimination against minorities. Not surprisingly, it made no difference. ...

Comprehensive international sanctions against the regime – for its nuclear weapons projects and its brutal human-rights violations – have become a necessary next step even as threats to destroy Israel and export terrorism to Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan have somewhat receded because of the distractions of the demonstrations in Iran. (The U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have tentatively agreed to meet this weekend to discuss Iran's nuclear defiance.) ...

Amidst all this brouhaha, the canaries in their cages in Iran continue to suffer and die. Due to be put on trial today, in Revolutionary Court 28, are seven Baha'i members of Friends in Iran, the group that assumed the functions of the banned Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly. These leaders have been imprisoned for nearly two years.

Three previous trial dates in 2009 were postponed, adding to the psychological terror against Iran's largest religious minority. They will be represented by new lawyers. Their earlier ones, such as Abdolfattah Soltani or Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi (neither one a Baha'i), were imprisoned or forced to flee the country. ...

Last March, Canada's House of Commons unanimously condemned the persecution of Baha'is in Iran. Both the U.S. Congress and the UN General Assembly have also censured the persecution of Baha'is.

We must raise our voices and cry out against the calumnies of this regime, not because we will influence its behaviour – I'm convinced we won't – but because it's our duty to speak truth to power even as power tramps on truth and persecutes the almost forgotten first victims of Iran's Islamic Revolution.

Howard Adelman is professor emeritus of philosophy at York University; he founded the Centre for Refugee Studies.

Read the whole thing here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-canaries-in-irans-cages/article1427611/

Cherie Blair urges international pressure for rights of Bahá'ís of Iran

2010-01-12T16:59:00.001-08:00

A compelling statement from this prominent lawyer and public figure in defence of human rights in Iran in general and those of the Bahá'ís in particular.
(Excerpts:)

"The hostile environment raises new fears that the defendants will be denied even the semblance of a fair trial. ...
"The continued imprisonment of the leadership has already drawn international protest. But this pressure must be stepped up. ...
"International pressure does have an impact. The storm of protest over the sham trial and severe punishment of US journalist Roxana Saberi last year... led to the guilty verdict and eight-year sentence... being thrown out and the journalist freed. ...
"In Iran, for the Bahá'í community among others, the fight for human rights has become a matter of life and death."

Faith, life and death in Iran

Bahá'í leaders are being made scapegoats. We must press Tehran to grant them a fair trial

Cherie Blair
The Guardian, Tuesday 12 January 2010

As the Iranian government struggles to contain growing demands for freedom and democracy from its courageous people, it is flailing around trying to deflect blame for the protests. Foreign media and other countries, including Britain, have been accused of encouraging unrest. But the regime is also worryingly turning on all too familiar scapegoats within Iran.

Once again, followers of the Bahá'í faith within the country are in the firing line. Fresh arrests and harassment of Bahá'ís in recent days have been accompanied by increasingly extreme proclamations in the state-run media against this gentle and unifying religion. Bahá'ís find themselves once more accused of co-operating with Israel to undermine their own country.

What is even more disturbing is news that the long-delayed trial of the country's seven-strong Bahá'í leadership is about to start. Lawyers acting for the five men and two women have been told that the revolutionary court will begin to hear the case today.

The Bahá'ís have learned to treat such announcements by the court with suspicion. Their leaders have been imprisoned now for almost two years without formal charge. Their lawyers have faced continual obstruction and harassment in preparing their defence, including long periods when they have simply been refused access to their clients. Repeated delays and rescheduling of the trial are another example of the authorities' contempt for justice.

The hostile environment raises new fears that the defendants will be denied even the semblance of a fair trial. Although it is not clear, it appears the Bahá'í leadership may face unwarranted charges such as espionage for Israel and "spreading corruption on earth", which both carry the death penalty.

The continued imprisonment of the leadership has already drawn international protest. But this pressure must be stepped up. The revolutionary court system is secretive; the only chance of justice being served is for the case to be held in open court so proceedings can be independently monitored. The Iranian government will be desperate to keep this abuse of justice quiet. They must be shamed into changing their mind.

International pressure does have an impact. The storm of protest over the sham trial and severe punishment of US journalist Roxana Saberi last year forced President Ahmadinejad himself to intervene. His move led to the guilty verdict and eight-year sentence imposed by the revolutionary court being thrown out and the journalist freed.

But along with demands for a fair trial, we need to step up pressure on the Iranian government to drop the intimidation and harassment of other religious minorities, too. When leading British Bahá'ís approached me last year for advice on human rights, I was shocked to hear about the record of persecution the followers of an intrinsically peaceful faith had suffered.

The Iranian constitution may promise religious freedom but the reality is different, as the 300,000-strong Bahá'í community knows to its cost. Bahá'ís have suffered persecution in Iran since the religion was founded, in the mid-19th century. But this has been stepped up since the Islamic revolution in 1979, with the elimination of the Bahá'í faith becoming state policy. Hundreds have faced torture and execution; thousands have been imprisoned; and arrests remain common and arbitrary.

At the heart of this persecution is theology. Bahá'ís see their faith as an independent world religion that builds on the prophets and scriptures of other faiths. This is anathema to the Iranian regime, which has designated them "unprotected infidels", giving the authorities a free hand to flout legal protections.

More than six decades ago the right of every individual to freedom of thought, conscience and religion was enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Bahá'ís are not asking for special privileges but just that this fundamental right is met.

The trial of the Bahá'í leaders should matter to all who care about human rights. In Iran, for the Bahá'í community among others, the fight for human rights has become a matter of life and death.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/12/bahai-rights-on-trial-iran

Allegations Arrested Bahá'ís Possessed Weapons Latest Falsehood from Iran Government

2010-01-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

From the Bahá'í World News Service.
(Excerpts:)

"This is nothing less than a blatant lie," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations...

"All of these latest accusations are so far-fetched as to be ludicrous if they were not so obviously aimed at putting innocent lives at risk," she said. ...

Baha'i International Community rejects allegations that arrested Baha'is had weapons in homes

9 January 2010

GENEVA — The Baha'i International Community today categorically rejected new allegations by the Iranian government that arms and ammunition were found in the homes of Baha'is who were arrested in Tehran last Sunday.

"This is nothing less than a blatant lie," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "Baha'is are by the most basic principles of their faith committed to absolute nonviolence, and any charge that there might have been weapons or 'live rounds' in their homes is simply and completely unbelievable.

"Without doubt, these are baseless fabrications devised by the government to further create an atmosphere of prejudice and hatred against the Iranian Baha'i community. For more than a century Baha'is have suffered all manner of persecution in Iran and have not resorted to armed violence, and everyone knows this. Unfortunately, the Iranian government is once again resorting to outright falsehoods to justify its nefarious intentions against the Baha'i community. It should know that these lies will have no credibility whatsoever.

"We are particularly concerned by the fact that these accusations come just days before the scheduled trial of seven Baha'i leaders, who have been locked up for nearly two years on equally unfounded charges," she said.

"All of these latest accusations are so far-fetched as to be ludicrous if they were not so obviously aimed at putting innocent lives at risk," she said. "As we have said before, rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on others, including foreign powers, international organizations and media outlets, students, women, and terrorists."

On Friday, several news agencies reported that Tehran's general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said the Baha'is who were arrested on Sunday "were arrested because they played a role in organizing the Ashura protests and namely for having sent abroad pictures of the unrest."

"They were not arrested because they are Baha'is," said Mr. Dolatabadi, according to Agence France Presse. "Arms and ammunition were seized in the homes of some of them."

Ms. Ala'i also rejected Mr. Dolatabadi's assertions that Baha'is were involved in the planning of the Ashura demonstrations, or in any violent or subversive activity related to the recent turmoil in Iran.

"For the past 30 years, Iranian Baha'is have been subjected to the worst forms of persecution, ranging from arbitrary execution to the exclusion of their children from school," said Ms. Ala'i. "Yet they have responded only through means that are peaceful and legal."

Seven Baha'is leaders are scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday on trumped-up charges of espionage, "insulting religious sanctities," and "propaganda" against the government. They have been held in Evin prison since mid-2008. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

On Sunday, 13 Baha'is were arrested in early morning raids on their homes in Tehran. Three have been released but 10 remain detained at Evin prison.

They are: Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, and her husband, Babak Mobasher; Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, and her husband Artin Ghazanfari; Mehran Rowhani and Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Payam Fanaian; Nikav Hoveydaie; and Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son, Zavosh Shadmehr.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/747

Iran Rights Organization Alerts to Seriousness of Charges Facing Bahá'ís

2010-01-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

Further to the week's news of the intensified campaign against Bahá'ís in Iran, and the upcoming trial against the former Bahá'í "leaders" scheduled for 12 January (read article on that here), voices are being raised in their defence, as below.

Fear of Imminent Executions of Baha’is

Baha’i Community at High Risk as State Exploits Political Unrest

(7 January 2010) Iranian authorities have added new charges against 7 Baha’i leaders detained since 2008, under which they could be executed if convicted, and have arrested at least 12 more members of the religious minority, while desensitizing the Iranian population with propaganda campaigns against the Baha’is, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. In news reports broadcast nationally, commentators have claimed that recent Ashura demonstrations were masterminded by Baha’is, although no evidence has been produced to support the accusations.

“Iran and the world are again confronted by the specter of Bahai’s being executed, this time on charges trumped up in the context of current widespread political unrest,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Since Ashura (27 December), Baha’is known to have been arrested include Jinoos Sobhani, Leva Khanjani, Babak Mobasher, Payam Fanaian, Nika Hoveydai, Mona Hoveydai, Artin Ghazanfari, Farid Rohani, Ahmad Rohani, Negar Sabet, Ebrahim Shadmehr, and Zavosh Shadmehr.

The seven Baha’i leaders arrested in the spring of 2008, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm, are due to stand trial on Tuesday, 19 January. The charges in their cases have been expanded since their arrest and now include those that can carry the death penalty.

“Given the totally unjustified executions of two national Baha’i leadership groups that took place in the early 1980s, and the inciting rhetoric of the government against Baha’is following Ashura, there is a real concern for the lives of the Baha’i leaders about to be tried,” Rhodes said.

More than 200 Baha’is have been killed by the State following the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Thousands more have been arrested, harassed, surveilled, dismissed from their jobs, or had their finances and property confiscated by the government. Baha’is are prohibited from holding government jobs and their children are not allowed to attend university.

The Campaign calls on the international community and organizations to condemn the actions of the Islamic Republic against the Baha’i community, to release all Baha’is who have been arrested because of their beliefs, and to cease its targeting of Baha’is throughout Iran.

Source: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/01/fear-executions-bahais/

LATEST: Events in Iran moving towards climax

2010-01-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

A confluence of alarming developments in Iran -

Government forces killing at least eight in the streets

Leading clerics voicing death sentences against all dissenters

and 88 prominent citizens, all university professors at Tehran University, the latest to raise their voice in protest. Can there be any more doubt that a tipping point is nearing?

Not to mention the intensifying blaming (scapegoating) in Iranian news media of the Bahá'ís of Iran for the recent public unrest (read below), and the incarceration on 3 January of 10 more Bahá'ís (according to a Bahá'í International Community interviewed on bahairadio.org [in Persian] on 5 January), many of whom are relatives of the seven former Bahá'í leaders who are still behind bars.

CNN, 5 January:

The 88 professors -- all of whom are considered employees of the Islamic republic -- who signed the letter [criticizing the government's violent handling of student protesters] are "risking their jobs and God knows what else," said Ali Alfoneh, a research fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute...

Read the full article, Tehran professors decry handling of protesters, here.

More on the appalling harrassment of civilians in Iran here.

Faces of Iran: Iranian protesters hold a rally on the Shi'ite mourning day of Ashoura in central Tehran, Iran December 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Iranian riot police run towards opposition protesters during clashes in central Tehran December 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Below on the situation of the Bahá'ís.

The seven Baha'i "leaders" scheduled to go on trial on 12 January, photographed several months before their arrest in the spring of 2008.

Bahá’í World News Service, 5 January:

Trial of seven Baha'i leaders in Iran looms

"The Baha'i community in Iran has all too often been subjected to campaigns of vilification and false charges devised to deflect the attention of a disquieted population onto the Baha'is and away from those in power," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "And now, in these days leading to the trial, there are signs that once again the Baha'is are being made scapegoats.

"Rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on others, including foreign powers, international organizations and media outlets, students, women, and terrorists. Now the Baha'is have been added to this long list of alleged culprits," she said.

"Over the past several days, Iranian state-sponsored media have accused the Baha'is of being responsible for the unrest surrounding the holy day of Ashura," said Ms. Ala'i. "This is clearly aimed at rousing public sentiment against the seven Baha'is being held in Evin prison. We are particularly concerned that the government, or ultraconservative elements within it, may use the turmoil in Iran as cover for extreme measures against these wrongly imprisoned individuals.

This concern deepened on Sunday, she said, when authorities rounded up 13 Baha'is from their homes in Tehran, took them to a detention center, and tried to get them to sign a document saying that they would not engage in any future demonstrations.

"Putting two and two together, the situation facing these Baha'i leaders is extremely ominous. We are deeply concerned for their safety.

"We expect their trial to be nothing but a show trial, with a predetermined outcome," she said. ...

Read the full article here

Photo of Bahá'í "leaders" copyright Bahá’í International Community.

Threats to public of capital punishment, scores of wanton arrests reveal a regime at end of its resources

2010-01-02T17:50:00.001-08:00

The blind denunciation and hitting out by the Iranian government against any and all forms of public demonstration is daily intensifying, thus exacerbating people's discontent with the regime. An e-mail circular of 2 January 2010 from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (iranhumanrights.org) (read below) reports the latest desperate measures being contemplated and implemented on behalf of a government that is being subjected to increasing public pressure and international scrutiny. Attempts by the Iranian media to blame the country's social unrest on the influence of foreign countries and/or the Bahá'ís of Iran (more on that here) are but part and parcel of the regime's ongoing propaganda machine.

Further down, find a widely publicized article from ABC news (Australia) detailing the continued appalling human rights abuses perpetrated by the Iranian security and justice system.

Iran: Detained Protesters Threatened with Execution

Pressure Builds on Judiciary to Act "As in 1979" (3 January 2010) In apparently coordinated messages, pro-government clerics have publicly called for detained protesters to be executed, placing intense political pressure on the Islamic Republic's supposedly-independent judiciary to act as judicial authorities did in the early days of the Revolution, and attempting to intimidate Iranians from demonstrating for their rights, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran stated today.

The ayatollahs were quoted, from speeches during pro-government demonstrations and during Friday Prayers, by Fars News Agency.

"We are deeply concerned that, while inappropriate political pressure is being placed on judicial authorities, government propaganda is preparing the population for executions," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Ayatollah Alamolhoda , a member of the Assembly of Experts, warned citizens who had demonstrated their opposition to the government's restrictions on civil rights that they would be considered Mohareb, or enemies of God, if they did not give up their opposition. Mohareb is a crime punishable by death in the Islamic Republic. Alamolhoda implored the demonstrators to "come back to the side of the Supreme Leader," otherwise they would "regret the punishments" waiting for them.

During Friday Prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Janati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, addressed the protesters as follows: "These people obviously are Mofsed felarz [one who denies the Prophet and spreads debauchery] and immediately after Revolution such people were punished…" ...

Janati addressed the Judiciary and said, "Detain those who should be arrested, don't release them after several days in order to continue chaos. These people won't be led to the right path." He added, "The Intelligence and Information institutions should do their task and if these people dare again to disrespect and insult [sacred] values in the street they should not be secure and should be arrested and tried immediately. Also, for their trial, judges should proceed as rapidly as those in 1979."

Ayatollah Sayed Yousef Tabataienejad, during Friday Prayers in Isfahan, also addressed the Judiciary and stated: "The disruptive group fought with God by coming onto the streets…they are Mofsed felarz and the Judiciary should know that their actions are obvious debauchery and according to God and the Koran the punishment is execution."

Ayatollah Haj Sheikh Asadolah Imani, a member of the Assembly of Experts, in the Friday Prayers in Shiraz, said, "Anarchists should know that if they cause anarchy or contribute in it, they are Mohareb and Mortad, and the Judiciary should punish them properly."

Iran arrests hundreds of dissidents

By correspondent Anne Barker and wires

Posted Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:17am AEDT
Updated Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:15am AEDT

Iranian forces have broadened their crackdown against opposition protests by arresting hundreds of dissidents, as a senior cleric called for opposition leaders to be put to death.

Security authorities in Tehran have arrested at least 300 people accused of inciting the latest protests against the government.

Security forces are also restricting the movements of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main opposition leader.

Those arrested include prominent dissidents or their relatives, such as the sister of Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Ms Ebadi said on French radio France Info that Iranian authorities were trying to silence her by arresting her sister.

"This arrest is illegal because my sister is a dentist, she is not in any way active in human rights or politics... and she didn't participate in any protests," Ms Ebadi said.
She said intelligence officials entered her sister's house on Monday night to arrest her without a warrant, rifled through her belongings, and confiscated computers.

Eight people were killed in Sunday's riots.

Yesterday pro-government loyalists staged their own rallies in support of the government and denouncing the opposition.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the United States and Israel of inciting the latest anti-government protest.

Mr Ahmadinejad joined a chorus of Iranian leaders attacking foreign governments for encouraging the latest violent protests against the Islamic regime.

He accused the US and Israel of staging a "nauseating play" by fomenting the unrest.
Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki summoned the British ambassador in Tehran and threatened his country with a "slap in the mouth" if it didn't stop meddling in Iran's affairs.

A representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says opposition leaders are "enemies of God" who should be executed under the country's sharia law.

"Those who are behind the current sedition in the country... are mohareb [enemies of God] and the law is very clear about punishment of a mohareb," said cleric Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, who possesses ultimate authority in Iran.

Under Iran's Islamic sharia law the sentence for "mohareb" is execution.

Source: http://abconline.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/30/2782418.htm?section=world

SARI: Four Baha'i women arrested, families harrassed

2010-01-02T15:37:00.001-08:00

Arrest of Four Baha'i Women in Northern Iran

Posted: 30 Dec 2009

Washington, 23 Dec. (Television Washington) – Last week, in continuation of widespread pressure on the Baha'is in Iran and repeated arrests in various locations of the country, four Baha'i women were arrested in the city of Sari, near the Caspian Sea, capital of the province of Mazandaran.
According to a report from the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran, last week on Tuesday [15 Dec. 2009], Mrs. Samira Samiee [1] and on Saturday [19 Dec. 2009] Mrs. Sepideh Masumi, Mrs. Sepideh Zamani, and Saha Zamani – four Baha'is living in that city [Sari] were arrested.
According to the same report, on Tuesday morning security agents arrived at the home of Mrs. Samira Samiee and her husband Mr. Fardin Yousefi, searched the house, tore apart Baha'i pictures, confiscated some personal belongings, arrested Samira, and "beat, insulted and threatened with pepper spray" her husband, who was protesting the arrest of his wife.
According to the same report, at the same time, about 15 other security agents arrived at the home of Mrs. Sepideh Masumi; since she was not at home, they searched her house and insulted her father, who is an elder man, with vulgar language (such as religiously "untouchable"). The agents put Sepideh's mother under pressure and made her to promise that Sepideh would present herself [to the agents] on Saturday.
Consequently, Mrs. Sepideh Masumi along with Sepideh & Saha Zamani, who were also asked to present themselves to the Court, arrived at the court. After many hours of interrogation, on leaving the court they were arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to a holding cell.
Last week, two more Baha'is in Semnan and Sari were also arrested. Also, the Islamic Revolutionary Court issues sentences of imprisonment and exile for another three Baha'is in Yasuj.
In this connection, yesterday the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre [IHRDC], located in the United States, published a number of reports with regard to the situation of the Baha'is in Iran: "Prohibition of religious belief, persecution and prosecution of the Baha'is in Iran," "Crime against humanity: the attack of the Islamic Republic on the Baha'is," and "A community under oppression: the record of the suffering of the Baha'is of Shiraz." The IHRDC accused the Islamic Republic and its authorities of "extermination of the Baha'i Faith" through arrest and oppression of its followers.
The followers [of the Baha'i Faith] suffer from many limitations under the Islamic Republic, including education, travel, residence, employment, religious observations and even burial of their dead.
Editor's Notes:
[1] IPW reported Mrs. Samira Samiee's arrest earlier. See http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5373
[2] Iran Human Rights Documentation Center: http://iranhrdc.org/httpdocs/English/homepage.htm
[Source: Television Washington, http://www.televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=fa&t=1&id=16725&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter]

From Iran Press Watch

Attempts by Iranian Media to implicate Baha'is as sources of social unrest

2010-01-02T15:36:00.001-08:00

Iran State Media Blames the "Baha'i Sect" for Recent Unrest

Posted: 30 Dec 2009

(MNBR) – Yesterday in Iran, articles appeared in two government-run news outlets blaming the Baha'i "sect" for the recent unrest in Iran, and namely the widespread protests that took place across the country on the day of Ashura. The Javan Newspaper, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, claimed that the protesters in "Mousavi's camp" tore Qur'ans during the protests, and that this is a practice that is common among the "Baha'i branch" of Mousavi's staff. The semi-official Fars News Agency, which has recently seen an influx in its ranks of Basij members, claimed that "Baha'ism under the leadership of Zionism is behind the latest crisis and unrest".

The sign reads: "Mousavi, the Baha’i, must be executed"

The following is a translation from Farsi of the relevant paragraphs of the Fars News Agency story:
Baha'ism, Led by Zionism, is Hatching Intrigue Behind the Scenes of the Recent Unrest
Ne'matollah Bavand, an expert and researcher in political affairs, proclaims that Baha'ism under the leadership of Zionism is behind the latest crisis and unrest.
Asserting that there is no doubt that Baha'ism, led by Zionism, is behind these disturbances, Bavand declared: "A female advisor to one of the candidates in the recent presidential election who wears a turban defended Baha'ism." [Note: this is an implied and disparaging reference to Mehdi Karroubi].
He added: "How long will the government put up with these people? Haven't the people been convinced yet of the nature of these hypocrisies?…An advisor to this man, who pretends to be a man of the cloth and who was once the head of parliament, has openly come out in defense of Baha'ism and is currently completing training with her husband in England to become spies."
He emphasized, "The public sees these things and becomes upset. Isn't there a way to take care of these problems? The key players leave Iran and people of lesser importance are tried, when it is the key players that need to be tried!…The enemy has come to seek revenge for all the victories [of the Islamic Republic] in the Mecca of Islam: Iran!"
Below in a translation from Farsi of the Javan newspaper story
Plot of Baha'ism in the Musawi Camp to Publicly Desecrate Religious Sanctities is Exposed
On 'Ashura, the protectors of the Musawi camp did not have the decency to abstain from desecrating even the most sacred of religious sanctities. By tearing up copies of the Qur'an on Enqelab Street in front of those mourning the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, they have exposed another side of their contempt for religion.
Confirming the above report, an expert in matters of security told Javan Online: "The actions of the Musawi Camp in desecrating religious sanctities is nothing new. In fact, this began happening when a Baha'i branch in the staff of this candidate was formed during the days leading up to the election."
He added: "This sect has long been planning to attack the religious sanctities of the people on 'Ashura but since they can never secure the protection of the masses, they will never be succeed."
Regarding the role of Baha'ism in desecrating religious sanctities, our expert in matters of security stated, "The path that the Musawi camp is taking in their attack on religious sanctities is the exact same path that the misguided Baha'i sect has been on for years."
He added: "We have evidence connecting the sect of Baha'ism with the Musawi camp and the strategic partnership between these two groups."

[Source: Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights http://www.bahairights.org/2009/12/29/iran-state-media-blames-the-bahai-sect-for-recent-unrest/]

From Iran Press Watch

House letter to Bahá'ís of Iran stresses spiritual requisites for family well-being

2010-01-02T15:19:00.001-08:00

A remarkable message from the Universal House of Justice addressing this and related pivotal social issues.

Baha'i world governing body encourages the Baha'is [of Iran] to participate in the betterment of Iran

Posted: 30 Dec 2009

The Universal House of Justice [1], the world governing body of the Baha'is of the world, in recent months has called the Baha'is in Iran to an active participation in the affairs of Iran, its reconstruction and in the improvement of its social conditions [2].
In its messages [to the Baha'is in Iran], the Universal House of Justice has explained the importance of the future of Iran to the Baha'i Faith, and has asked the Baha'is, notwithstanding the current threatening conditions [for them], and despite being the largest religious monitory in Iran, to collaborate actively with other Iranians who are active in the areas of social development, without taking part in any of the many Iranian political groups.
In it's most recent message to the Baha'is of Iran [3], the Universal House of Justice has asked the Baha'is of Iran to search for the foundations of sustainable social and cultural advancement in their consultation at the family and community level, through emphasis on the role of the family in children's education, through a true understanding of justice and service to mankind.
This message, which was written on the occasion of the translation [into Persian] and publication of a collection of Baha'i teachings on family life, calls attention to the importance of consultation in these areas as an effective means for improvement of social relationships.
In this message, the Baha'is in Iran are asked to work towards the realization of a social order based on justice and unity with other Iranians. The Universal House of Justice identifies the development of family life as the prerequisite for attaining this goal. It writes: "the weakness of spiritual bonds in family life is among the signs of the moral decline of the social order of our time. The lack of complete equality between men and women in the family and ignoring children's rights in family life leads to a culture that allows the belittlement of the station of women and children, to the imposition of one's will over others, which leads to violence, first in the family unit, schools and workplace, and finally in the streets and on the social scene." [4]
The Universal House of Justice also warns that an unbalanced attention to the physical security of the family, in some circumstances, "can lead to narrow social views" and those who under a pretense of "family unity" may teach [a dichotomy between] "us and them" to their children, as well as those who "through the indoctrination of such poisonous beliefs" may promote "prejudice" against other social groups in the society.
According to the Universal House of Justice, this [unbalanced] education will reduce human empathy in the children; it is no surprise if children who grow up under these conditions "become indifferent to the sufferings of others" and even participate in the spread of injustice. Even when they do not become directly involved in the infringement of human rights, "since the defense and the protection of the people in oppressive society is very difficult, they will adopt the easy way of silence and tolerance with the oppressor instead of the means of justice and defense, and unknowingly will become obstacles to their own spiritual growth and to the advancement of their own people."
This message of the Universal House of Justice is an invitation to the Baha'is in Iran to engage in reflection and consultation on these subjects within their families, and with neighbors and co-workers about "how could every member of the family play a constructive role in the creation of a positive atmosphere; and how can they ensure that in this process each generation attains astonishing progress over the previous ones."
The Universal House of Justice views this effort as an important service for promoting the progress of Iran.
Editor's Notes:
[1] The Universal House of Justice is the international governing body of the Baha'i Faith. See: http://info.bahai.org/universal-house-of-justice.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_House_of_Justice
[2] For a collection of the messages of the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of Iran in Persian see: http://www.universal-house-of-justice-messages.org. For English translations, please contact IPW.
[3] Dated 24-Nov-2009, See the complete message in Persian here: http://www.universal-house-of-justice-messages.org/payam/2009-11-24.html
[4] The English translation of the quoted passages is a provisional translation by IPW.
[Source: Farhang Goftego (Culture and Dialogue), http://www.farhanggoftego.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=647:2009-12-08-15-43-36&catid=53:2009-08-25-13-30-02&Itemid=59; Translation by IPW]

From Iran Press Watch

New trial date set for 7 former Bahá'í leaders in Iran

2009-12-16T21:50:00.001-08:00

The Bahá'í World News service announced the following yesterday (16 December):

Trial set for 12 January in case of seven Baha'i "leaders": Attorneys have received formal notification of a trial date of 12 January in the case of the five men and two women who formerly comprised the small group called the Friends in Iran. They were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held in Tehran's Evin Prison for more than a year and a half.

Read More on BWNS

Photo copyright Bahá’í International Community.

Front-page photo of Bahá'í "Lotus" temple in Iran newspaper provokes ban

2009-12-07T14:01:00.001-08:00

Ban on newspaper lifted

ILNA | AP | Nov. 23, 2009

Iranian authorities have banned the country's largest-circulation newspaper for publishing a photo of a Baha'i temple, state media reported Monday.

Iran's Shiite cleric-led regime views the Baha'i religion as heretical and has banned it since the 1979 revolution. The photo also gave Iran's leaders an opportunity to silence the Hamshahri daily, which mostly reports on social issues but which has been critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Hamshahri was ordered closed by the Press Supervisory Board, a government agency run by hard-liners, for printing an advertisement containing a photo of a Baha'i temple that encourages tourists to visit the shrine, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The newspaper's director, Ali Reza Mahak, said he has received no order to close and was preparing to publish Hamshahri's Tuesday edition. But Deputy Culture Minister Mohammad Ali Ramin later confirmed to Iran's state TV that Hamshahri has been ordered closed.
The IRNA report said legal authorities would investigate the newspaper, which is run by Tehran's municipality and supports the capital's mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a moderate conservative who has long been a rival of Ahmadinejad.
Iran's hard-line judiciary has shut down more than 120 pro-reform newspapers and jailed dozens of editors and writers on vague charges of insulting authorities since 2000.
The closure order was also a message to Iran's estimated 300,000 Baha'is.
Seven Baha'i leaders have been in jail since May 2008 on charges of endangering national security for allegedly proselytizing. Leaders of the minority faith, however, say they are being persecuted by Iran's government for their religious beliefs.
Earlier, from ILNA...
A week-long ban on Hamshahri newspaper was lifted after a few hours. The daily, which is affiliated with the Tehran Municipality, was due to be suspended starting today.
The Press Supervisory Board announced the ban earlier this morning, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency. The suspension order was reportedly issued because the paper ran a tourist advertisement with a photo of a Bahai sect center.

Source found here.

In Brazil visit, open letter to Ahmadinejad from Baha'i National Assembly

2009-12-06T16:01:00.001-08:00

An English translation of an open letter from Brazil's National Spiritual Assembly (the highest elected administrative body of the Baha'is of Brazil) during Mr. Ahmadinejad's recent visit to their country. From Iranpresswatch.org (translation slightly edited for clarity - Ed.).

Open Letter to Mr. Ahmadinejad
December 3rd, 2009

      Mr. President,

      Your visit to Brazil, invited by President Lula, provokes reflection on the relations between the two countries. Both Brazil and Iran have attracted increased attention in the world stage: they are rapidly advancing countries, with enormous geopolitical influence, and populations marked by great diversity. Nothing would be more natural, therefore, than to promote this relationship, by which one could share in best practices and establish ties of cooperation.

      In name of the above mentioned similarities, we call your attention to the following point: whereas Brazil has adopted a model of living together in diversity, with policies aimed at promoting participation and respect for human rights, in Iran one finds the arbitrary restriction of such rights in the persecution of minorities, in discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religious identity.

      In Iran, the Bahá'ís (the largest religious minority in the country) face the severe consequences of religious discrimination, having their work licenses denied, as well as their access to education and justice. Their properties and sacred places have been confiscated and destroyed. In the last 30 years, more than 250 Bahá'ís have been executed for their beliefs; since 2005, more than 200 have been arbitrarily imprisoned, intimidated and harrassed – all because they would not deny their faith. Their seven national leaders have been arbitrarily imprisoned for more than 18 months, their defense being constantly impeded.

      The government-controlled media offends the Bahá'ís with hundreds of articles, radio and television programmes, web posts and leaflets with speeches of hatred, promoted by clergymen and government officials – whereas Bahá'ís are prohibited from exercising their right to respond to the accusations.

      Here in Brazil, the Bahá'ís take part in the construction of democracy and the development of their communities – activities recognized by the Brazilian Government and society. Here, they can practice their faith in freedom and safety, in consonance with the principles of the oneness of humankind, equality of race and gender, promotion of peace and service to humanity.

      How, then, can this difference in treatment be justified? Why is it that the Bahá'ís, in most parts of the world, are seen as persons of good will, committed to the advancement of society, without any involvement in partisan politics; while in Iran, where their Faith was born in the nineteenth century, they receive such a degrading treatment?

      It is the responsibility of governments to promote the common good, to defend the interests of their citizens and to stimulate human development with justice and dignity. We hope that the dialogue between both Presidents may stimulate reflection on the needs for new policies in Iran that would allow the followers of all religions, including the Bahá'ís, to contribute to the progress of their homeland.

Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5327
Photo source here.

Politics behind labeling Baha'is as PRIMARY enemies of Iranian state

2009-11-29T15:00:00.001-08:00

A concise and informed article on the historical and ideological background for the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran, it effectively cuts through the tangle of paranoia surrounding Iran's politics - both overt and covert - of religious oppression.

Baha'i in Iran

A Life of Repression

The situation for Baha'i in Iran has been deteriorating ever since the "Islamic Revolution" thirty years ago. Yet persecution has intensified under President Ahmadinejad's rule. By Katajun Amirpur

Baha'i calligraphy of the 'Greatest Name' : in Bahá'í belief the Greatest Name of God is 'Bahá', or 'splendour'

Anti-Americanism, open hostility towards Israel, a legal system that does not grant men and women equal rights, and a doctrine that calls itself the "rule of the supreme legal scholar" have determined the official philosophy and actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Yet there is another, less well-known constant: hostility towards the religious minority of the Baha'i. In Iran, where the religion has its origins, there are still an estimated 350,000 Baha'i, making them the country's largest religious minority by far. Unlike Jews and Christians, however, they are not entitled to protection as a religious minority under the constitution.

The Baha'i faith grew out of Shi'a Islam, but has severed itself from its roots. Although the Baha'i recognise Mohammed as a prophet, they do not regard him as the seal of monotheistic prophethood as other Muslims do.

Instead they believe that the divine revelation entered a new phase with Bahaullah, who died in 1892 and is regarded as a manifestation of God. The central dogma of Shi'a Islam is the belief in the return of the mahdi, comparable to the Jewish messiah in eschatological terms. For the Baha'i, however, the mahdi has already returned in the form of the founder of their religion. This view is religious sacrilege for the Shi'a.

The "Anti-Baha'i Society"

In 1950s and 60s Iran, the intellectual elite and young people were particularly fond of the modernist ideas of the Baha'i, including equal rights for men and women. Concerned over the growing influence of the Baha'i at that time, Shaykh Mahmud Halabi founded the ostensibly charitable organisation Hojjatieh. Halabi and his group saw the Baha'i as a major threat to traditional Shi'a values.

Their main aim was to persecute the unfaithful, which meant primarily the Baha'i, giving Hojjatieh the popular nickname of "Anti-Baha'i Society". Hojjatieh gained a great deal of support from most Shi'a authorities for their persecution of the Baha'i, and even the then Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, otherwise seen as a friend of the Baha'i, gave the organisation free hand whenever he needed the support of the Shi'a clerics.

Important pilgrimage site for the Baha'i: the shrine of the religion's founder Bab in Haifa, Israel, is a UNESCO world heritage site

Fairly passive in the political sphere, Hojjatieh had found an arrangement with the ruling political regime under the shah, avoiding open opposition to the largely anti-clerical atmosphere at the time. It concentrated on taking over key positions and thus gradually Islamicising the system from within. This strategy bore fruits, yet the revolution violated Hojjatieh's turf.

For although Hojjatieh was Islam-oriented, it was not in favour of Khomeini's ruling doctrine. In the early 1980s, the quietist Hojjatieh movement was forced to disappear. Its central agenda, however – persecution of the Baha'i – was adopted by the new government.

Particularly in the initial years after the revolution, the Baha'i suffered widespread persecution. Hojjatieh later made peace with the state doctrine and Khomeini himself, and its members are said to have gradually been incorporated into the ruling elite of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Stubborn rumours have it that the figure behind this development is the current revolutionary leader Ali Khamenei, allegedly a long-term member of Hojjatieh. Another alleged influential member of Hojjatieh is Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, the mentor of the present president Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Widespread arrests under Ahmadinejad

In the thirty years since the revolution, the situation for the Baha'i has never been good. Yet over the past four years under Ahmadinejad's presidency it has deteriorated considerably. There have been arbitrary arrests, desecrations of graveyards, bullying of school children.

In May 2008, seven members of the informal leadership committee of the Baha'i were arrested. Six more Baha'i were arrested in January – including a woman who works in the Defenders of Human Rights Center, an office founded by the Nobel Peace Prize holder Shirin Ebadi. No official charges have been brought against the committee members to this day. The lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who represents the imprisoned Baha'i, has been denied any contact to her clients.

"For the radical forces to which Ahmadinejad belongs, the threats against Israel are a means to distract from domestic difficulties," writes Katajun Amirpur | According to information from the German "National Spiritual Council of the Baha'i", forty people are currently under arrest. The main cause for concern is the amendment to criminal law that recently took the first legislative hurdle in Iran, and is currently waiting to be passed in the second instance.

If it is ratified, it would be legal to indict Baha'i for "defection from the faith" – and they could face execution. The Baha'i have also been feeling the bite of a heightened media campaign over the past few months. To add insult to injury, they also have to take part in re-education programmes.

Although there had been a few practical measures making life easier for the Baha'i under the reform-oriented president Mohammad Chatami, most reformers diligently avoided the issue.

Now, however, open resistance to the persecution of the Baha'i is raising its head within the Shi'a clergy. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, for instance, issued a controversial fatwa calling for the Baha'i to be finally granted full rights as Iranian citizens.

Montazeri was the designated successor to Khomeini, the founder of the state, up to 1989, when he was demoted shortly before the latter's death for his criticism of human rights violations. Despite his stance of opposition to the government, he is regarded as Iran's highest-ranking theologian.

Iranian Holocaust denials

Mahmud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly issued scandalous public statements on Israel and the Holocaust. The popular assumption is that Iran's Jews, who now number around 25,000, are also at risk. Yet Ahmadinejad appears to have no major problems with Iranian citizens of the Jewish faith.

Shortly after his statements on Israel prompted worldwide outrage, Iran's president visited Tehran's Jewish community in October 2006 and transferred a large sum of money to the Jewish hospital in Tehran.

For the radical forces to which Ahmadinejad belongs, the threats against Israel are a means to distract from domestic difficulties and present themselves on the international stage as fighters for the Palestinian cause. Their hostility towards the Baha'i, however, is founded on faith – and is therefore a matter of genuine conviction. It is a mystery why their persecution has not gained international attention.

Katajun Amirpur © Qantara.de 2009
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire

Source: http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-979/i.html

Shiraz: New case of abduction, torture of Baha'i

2009-11-04T05:58:00.001-08:00

The intensified persecutions in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (as outlined here) show little sign of abating.

Kidnapping and Torture of a Baha'i in Shiraz

Posted: 03 Nov 2009

A Baha'i has been kidnapped, persecuted, and tortured by unknown individuals in Shiraz.

According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha'i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mr. Rouh'u'llah Rezaie, a 45-year-old Baha'i in Shiraz, was stopped, kidnapped, and moved to an unknown place as he was returning home, to his wife and child, from a gas station early in the morning on 8/8/1388 [October 27,2009]. There, he was threatened, insulted, and subjected to a simulated hanging in a show-execution. He was left naked in extreme cold, and different parts of his hands, chest, and forehead were burnt by cigarettes. Finally, he was released on a road in the suburbs of Shiraz.

It should be noted that Mr. Rezaie was imprisoned for five years in 1360 [1971], when he was 18, in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz. He has endured the most terrible conditions and all possible physical and psychological pressure due to his religious beliefs.

[Source: http://hra-news.info/news/8174.aspx; Translated by Iran Press Watch]

From Iran Press Watch

Baha'i students still barred from university studies

2009-10-30T07:43:00.001-07:00

Three Baha'i students expelled from Semnan University

Posted: 29 Oct 2009

Although they had only attended one week of classes at the university, Ms. Mojdeh Nourani, Ms. Farahnaz Felfeli, and Mr. Aradalan Tebianian, who had passed the national university entrance examination in 1388 (2009), were expelled from Semnan University and deprived of their right to education by order of University Protection authorities.

According to HRANA, based on reports from the Higher Education Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, these students repeatedly appealed to various levels of authorities, including the President of the university, to no avail. The only response they received was: "orders from above". It is important to note that university authorities have expressed that they have been instructed not to present any document or any evidence showing that the students were expelled from the university.

[Source: http://hra-news.info/news/7953.aspx]

From Iran Press Watch

After 17 months, renewed delay in trial against Baha'i leaders

2009-10-18T12:52:00.001-07:00

From Baha'i World News Service.

Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set

18 October 2009

GENEVA — Although the trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran for more than 17 months was scheduled for today, when attorneys and families arrived at the court offices in Tehran they were told it would not take place. No new trial date was given.

"The time has come for these seven innocent people to be immediately released on bail," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

"The seven, whose only 'crime' is their religious belief, are once again in legal limbo, held with no idea of the legal process ahead of them. The whole charade cries out for an end to their unlawful detention," she said.

The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic." They have also been charged with "spreading corruption on earth."

Last week, it appeared likely that the trial would indeed be postponed again, since attorneys for the seven had not yet received the proper writ of notification.

"The fact that their attorneys did not receive proper notification and that there is no new date for the trial is just one among many gross violations of Iran's own legal procedures, not to mention the violations of due process recognized by international law, that have marked this case from the beginning," said Ms. Ala'i.

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/734

Stirring defence in Hungarian parliament of Baha'is in Iran

2009-10-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

A remarkably articulate and forceful condemnation of the ongoing human rights violations against the Baha'is of Iran in the Hungarian parliament.
(Excerpt:)

In their country, in Iran, the Baha'is are not allowed to freely practice their religion and they are exposed to constant persecutions.
The religion is not against anyone or anything. The Baha'i Faith is a world religion whose aim is to unite all the people of the earth.

Hungarian Parliament condemns persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran from Bahá'í Magyarország on Vimeo.

Parliament Palace, Budapest, Hungary

Photo credit: Public domain http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/File:Parliament_Building_Budapest_Hungary.jpg

Ban of Baha’i students from higher education in Iran based on Supreme Council ruling

2009-10-08T01:41:00.001-07:00

Baha'i Students Deprived of Higher Education

Posted: 07 Oct 2009

Editor's Note: Upon its founding over 30 years ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran adopted a policy of barring Baha'i students from universities and all institutions of higher education. Occasionally, a few Baha'is have been allowed entrance; however, in almost all cases they were identified as being Baha'i during their first or second year of education and were then expelled without any further explanation. Below is a letter written by a group of Baha'i students deprived of higher education with respect to their appeal to the Court of Administrative Justice of Iran, as published by Human Rights Activists News Agency, which IPW is pleased to publish in translation.

A Letter by Baha'i Students

In previous years, dozens of Baha'i students who were deprived of higher education made their appeal to the Court of Administrative Justice of Iran, submitting complaints against the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology for prohibiting them from entering universities, hoping that their grievances would be heard and the restrictions lifted. The students filed complaints after their repeated attempts to contact the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology proved fruitless.

Throughout the years, Baha'i students have faced many obstacles in their desire to receive higher education. They have contacted the appropriate authorities at different offices in relevant ministries and organizations, including the Organization for Testing and Evaluation, the Ministry of Science, and the Ministry of the Interior. However, despite the cooperation and expressions of sympathy by many of those in charge, the authorities have always conjured up excuses for breaching the legal rights of these Baha'is in their native land.

Unfortunately, the Court of Administrative Justice of Iran has proven to be no exception in its treatment of Baha'i students' cases. The judges of this court, based on the article of law, do not have the power to rule against previously approved policies of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. Since, by a ruling of the Supreme Council, Baha'is are forbidden from obtaining higher education, the judges of the Court of Administrative Justice are unable to serve justice and to uphold the rights of Baha'i students. One of the judges of Branch 5 of the Court of Administrative Justice showed the text of the Supreme Council's ruling to a Baha'i student before apologizing and telling him that he was unable to help him with his plea.

Even on occasions where cases of Baha'i students are accepted by the Court of Administrative Justice, no favorable result has ensued. In response to the request that it "overturn the deprivation order by the Ministry of Science", the Court of Justice announced the "rejection of the requested appeal" and communicated an outcome which read in part, "based on article number D.M. dated February 25, 1980, of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, sanctioned by the Supreme Leaders, your appeal is hereby rejected".

Baha'i students who, like their own parents who were denied the opportunity to finish their studies in the early 80s — many had as few as two credits remaining to complete their college studies and obtain university degrees — have had no choice but to believe that the rhetoric of "religious freedom" in their homeland is nothing other than meaningless chatter.

A Baha'i student's religious convictions are considered an offence that is counteracted by denying him education. What can be the reason for depriving an 18 year old from entering university, a youth who has done nothing wrong, who by the testimony of his classmates has been a moral leader and a role model, who based on his beliefs has a religious obligation to obey his government and to wholeheartedly serve his country? Is there any rational justification for this blockade? With shock and disbelief, the sympathetic employee of the Organization for Test and Evaluation searched through files of outstanding students with high marks, trying to uncover the reason why they were denied access to education. After an hour of investigation yielded nothing, he wrote "Baha'i" on the file and said, "This is an issue that we have had with Baha'is for over twenty years".

If there is a reason for this action, why isn't it communicated by the Ministry of Science? Why should a Baha'i student have to wait for hours to meet with the authority in charge of minorities affairs, only to finally hear an apologetic employee say, "The responsible authority is on vacation, come back in 20 days"?

Most painful of all is the effort to justify the obvious oppression inflicted on Baha'i students by accusing them – or to say it more accurately, by accusing every Baha'i, from toddler to bed-ridden elder – of being a spy or being stirred up by foreigners. This is the same accusation because of which the seven previous informal leaders of the Baha'i community of Iran have been languishing in confinement for months. These are the Baha'i leaders who for years tried to reinstate Baha'is' rights to education — leaders who, like other Iranians, love their homeland, and who have been yearning and still yearn to serve their country, the birthplace of their faith.

Signed

Fada Mahmudi, Afruz Mirzaei, Masoud Mahmudi, Rozita Tashakor and Jila Keshavarz Rahbari.

Below is a copy of a notarized letter from the Court of Administrative Justice of Iran, in response to the appeal of Rozita Tashakor, one of the above mentioned Baha'i students, rejecting her appeal based on article number D.M., dated February 25, 1980, of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, sanctioned by the Supreme Leader.

[Posted on September 30, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Deprived of Education

Posted: 07 Oct 2009

Editor's Note: The following is a letter written by a Baha'i college student upon expulsion from the university at which she had been studying. This letter appears below in translation.

I, Mona Rezai, born in 1989, participated in the National College Entrance Exam during the academic year 2008-2009, and was admitted to Mashhad's Sajad University, majoring in electronic engineering.

After completing the administrative steps of the registration, I started my studies with my fellow non-Baha'i students in this university. After a year, I was summoned by the Students' Affairs Department and was questioned about my religion. Subsequently, I was informed that Baha'i students are not allowed to continue their higher education.

On September 12, 2009, when I returned to school to register electronically for my third semester, the webpage for course selection was blocked, and I was not able to continue the registration process. Therefore, I returned to the Students' Affairs Department. The Director of this department explained that they had received a new protocol from the National College Entrance Exams Organization, and according to this protocol I was barred from continuing my education. However, he added that I had the right to refer the matter to the National College Entrance Exams Organization, or the Department of Faculty and Students Admission in Tehran, for further investigation. I also received the same explanation from the Security Department.

I have submitted a letter to the Educational Council of the University in order to investigate my status.

Although this is not the first time that Baha'i students have been deprived of their right to receive a higher education, it is hoped that this issue will be resolved in the near future.

We have been promised that one day Iran will be an example of a paradise where people can live with no prejudice and all will have important roles in improving and developing this country.

Mona Rezai

[Posted on Thursday, October 1, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

From Iran Press Watch

Yaran's upcoming trial (18 Oct.) generates stellar event in support of Baha'is of Iran

2009-09-26T08:50:00.001-07:00

View a video of one of the event's presenters, Emmy winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, here.

Azar Nafisi, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dwight Bashir Join Swelling Chorus in Support of Iranian Baha'is

Washington, D.C. – Sept. 12, 2009

Speaking to a crowd of over 1,400 people packed into The George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on September 12, Dr. Azar Nafisi, best-selling author; Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar-nominated actress; and Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, joined the swelling worldwide chorus speaking out for human rights in Iran. On this particular evening, their message focused on Iran's long-suffering Baha'i religious minority.

In a moving and impassioned presentation, Dr. Nafisi spoke about the common humanity of all people and the suffering of one being the suffering of all. She reflected on the significance of the fact that her beloved country, which she grew to love, with its ancient heritage, its beautiful language and its poets, the homeland of great religions and an early pioneer of human rights and religious freedom, should be diminished in the way it has because of its mistreatment of its Baha'i citizens. She said their struggle is an existential struggle, because in many ways they are being systematically denied the opportunity to exist.

Dr. Bashir began his presentation by quoting from President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo: "People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways … Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith ..."

"The last part of President Obama's statement is exactly what we are witnessing in Iran today," Dr. Bashir said.

He then provided a snapshot of the deplorable status of human rights and religious freedom in Iran, including deteriorating conditions for Baha'is, Christians, Muslim minorities and dissidents. Bashir urged the U.S. government to raise religious freedom and related human rights in any future bilateral or multilateral discussions with Iran.

Dr. Bashir also cited a letter addressed to the Commission from Iranian-American journalist Ms. Roxana Saberi, which urges the Obama Administration to speak out in support of seven Baha'i leaders who have been imprisoned in Iran on false charges, some of which could carry the death penalty. Ms. Saberi shared a prison cell with the two female Baha'i leaders when she was detained in Evin prison earlier this year..

Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo addressed the gathering via video from Los Angeles. She began by voicing her support for the Iranian Baha'is and expressing her desire to see more freedom in her beloved homeland. Ms. Aghdashloo also said that although she is not a member of the Baha'i community, she has great admiration and respect for Baha'is and for the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. She also read a monologue from her upcoming film entitled Mona's Dream — the true story of a 16-year-old Iranian girl who was executed in 1983 for teaching Baha'i children's classes.

Another highlight of the evening was a dramatic presentation by seven Baha'i children from the DC Metro area, each of whom expounded on the life of one of the seven imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders while the prisoner's picture was projected behind them. The Metropolitan Washington Baha'i Chorale led by Van Gilmer also performed several songs, including a prayer that was originally taught by Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, to fellow prisoners while they were incarcerated in a dungeon in Tehran in the 1850's.

Source: http://dcbahai.org/news-and-events/74-iranevent09

Superstitionism shaping Iranian Identity - Baha'is primary suspects

2009-09-26T08:33:00.001-07:00

A learned essay (in several parts) analysing the roots and development of the phenomenon of superstitionism in Iranian culture and thought.

(Excerpt:)

What, ultimately, may have heralded the demise of the conspiracy paradigm, ironically, is its unfalsifiability. The paradigm proved so convenient that it was soon exploited by everybody to attack everybody. The Islamic regime, in particular, has made ample use of the paradigm since its very inception 30 years ago to attack opposition groups, critics, intellectuals, and finally, in the course of recent events, the general public. The result has been a gradual corrosion of the whole paradigm, and the emergence of a common sense of identification among the victims of these attacks. Hopefully, this can in time signal the end of the era of conspiracism and a move towards a reality-oriented understanding of history. Today, most Iranian intellectuals, as well as many well-educated middleclass individuals, are no longer willing to succumb to extravagant conspiracy theories. For anti-Baha'i propagandists, this implies that the old spy stories will no longer be effective.

Baha'is, Superstitionism and the Iranian Identity (Part 1)

Posted: 23 Sep 2009

By Aram Anahid

Until recently, whenever the word "Baha'i" was mentioned in Iran it was simply to reinforce the claim that the members of the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority were foreign agents. During the past few years, however, the Baha'i religion has increasingly been linked to an altogether new subject: superstitionism. Increasingly, Baha'i teachings are ridiculed as naïve and irrational, are linked to rising superstition in present-day Iran, or are alleged to be part of an ongoing 160-year-old plot by Western Imperialists aimed at spreading Millennialistic opiates in the form of foolish beliefs and practices. The rapidly increasing speed with which such news and analysis are turning up suggests that Iranian anti-Baha'i propaganda is entering a new phase.

Today, the unfortunate fact that everything bad happening in Iran has to be, somehow, glued to Baha'is isn't much of a surprise. Seven decades ago, when the Baha'is of Iran were first accused of espionage, they responded with astonishment. Until then, they had constantly been accused of corruption, blasphemy, and atheism but not of being Russian or English spies. During the course of the Iranian constitutional revolution and its aftermath, however, Iranian society had become increasingly skeptical of the negative role played by foreign powers, and had decided that its problems were rooted, not in atheism, but in imperialism. This gave rise to new, often grossly illogical, conspiracy theories, many of which implicated Baha'is. Thus, the old enemies were redefined to suit the new understanding. It took some time before Baha'is came to realize that anti-Baha'ism has indeed gone through a paradigm shift and was now defining its self-confessed enemy, the Baha'i Faith, as a foreign conspiracy against Iran and Islam.[1]

Baha'i writers, who were often prominent scholars of Islam and adept at defending their beliefs from within the framework of Shi'ite thought, now faced accusations that, in practice, rendered all their knowledge of the Qur'an and the traditions of Shi'ite Islam useless. Gradually, however, they began to adapt, and to respond, to the new allegations. Unfortunately, Iranian public opinion had already found satisfactory and reached consensus upon the assumption that Baha'is were involved with foreign powers. In fact, even those individuals who took pride in their liberal values and thoughts, and who chose not to shun Baha'i acquaintances, were often unwilling to abandon this assumption, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Indeed, the claims put forth from within the new anti-Baha'i paradigm were almost non-falsifiable. Every argument presented by Baha'i scholars against these claims would serve as further evidence that the whole scam was carefully being directed by foreign masterminds. Every conviction demonstrated by the followers of the Faith would reinforce the claim that the whole show had so shrewdly been unfolded that even its main actors, the Baha'is, seemed convinced that theirs was an authentic religion.

What, ultimately, may have heralded the demise of the conspiracy paradigm, ironically, is its unfalsifiability. The paradigm proved so convenient that it was soon exploited by everybody to attack everybody. The Islamic regime, in particular, has made ample use of the paradigm since its very inception 30 years ago to attack opposition groups, critics, intellectuals, and finally, in the course of recent events, the general public. The result has been a gradual corrosion of the whole paradigm, and the emergence of a common sense of identification among the victims of these attacks. Hopefully, this can in time signal the end of the era of conspiracism and a move towards a reality-oriented understanding of history. Today, most Iranian intellectuals, as well as many well-educated middleclass individuals, are no longer willing to succumb to extravagant conspiracy theories. For anti-Baha'i propagandists, this implies that the old spy stories will no longer be effective.

Thus, in practice, we are gradually shifting towards a new paradigm. Once again, the shift is precipitated by the immediate experience of Iranians. During the past few years a faction within the Iranian regime has come under attack for its strict adherence to an illogical, wishful, and even superstitious worldview. Stories abound about government officials' self-professed communications with the Hidden Imam, about their intimate conversations, in front of the incredulous eyes of astonished onlookers, with an invisible and inaudible Mahdi, about their preparations for His imminent advent, or even about their speculations regarding the His future war plans. If true, these stories are indeed disturbing. What, however, may be even more distressing for the long-wronged members of the Baha'i Faith in Iran is the fact that some critics are now using terms such as "New Babists" to refer to the members of the above faction, and are actively drawing parallels and exploring the possible links between their worldview and those of the Babi-Baha'i religions.

These critics can be divided to two groups. First are those who have chosen an anti-religious stance, who ridicule Shi'ite beliefs, and believe that Shi'a millennialism is best understood as a socio-cultural disorder. For them, both the advent of the Babi and Baha'i religions in the 19th century, and the rise to power of Iran's president Ahmadinejad are the outcomes of a deep-rooted malaise of Iranian society. Others choose a strictly Shi'ite stance; they insist that the Hidden Imam was indeed born in the year 255 A.H. and that He still lives among us, but they paradoxically argue that belief in His imminent return or in the possibility of direct contact with Him is simple superstition. In any case, both groups proceed to conclude that what is now going on in Iran, and what happened some 160 years ago, are both expressions of religious superstitionism. What they have all chosen to ignore is the fact that, unlike what we are witnessing in Iran today, the 19th century Babi-Baha'i movement was based, not on the assumption of the factual validity of seemingly irrational Islamic/Shi'ite traditions, but on a totally new understanding of the symbolic significance of those traditions.

(to be continued …)

Endnotes:

[1] Mohammad Tavakoli-Targhi; "Anti-Baha'ism and Islamism in Iran, 1941-1955", http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/4531

From Iran Press Watch

Anti-Baha’i graffiti widespread on Baha'is' houses - Ardestan

2009-09-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

Anti-Baha'i Graffiti

Posted: 23 Sep 2009

The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights reported the following on September 19, 2009:

A recent visitor in Ardestan, Isfahan province, took these photographs that show insulting graffiti sprayed on Baha'i houses. These messages were written on the walls of Baha'i houses all around town. Some of the houses were sprayed with messages of "impurity" (Nejaasat) of the residents, others said "this is an official house of the spies for Israel", a common accusation leveled against Baha'is in Iran. On other walls, the names of the Baha'is were listed, followed by accusations of being liars, etc.

[Posted on September 19, 2009, at Muslim Network].

From Iran Press Watch

Investigative article in largest Portuguese newspaper on plight of Iranian Baha'is

2009-09-26T08:15:00.001-07:00

"Crime" of being a Baha'i is paid in jail

Posted: 23 Sep 2009

Editor's Note: Publico (www.publico.pt) is considered the most influential daily newspaper in Portugal. Last week, its Foreign Desk senior reporter, Margarida Santos Lopes, interviewed Mr. Iraj Kamalabadi, the brother of imprisoned Fariba Kamalabadi, regarding the situation of the incarcerated Yaran and his report was published on Saturday: Publico. The front page of the newspaper also had a reference to this article. The article describes the situation of the Yaran in vivid terms and a translation was provided to Iran Press Watch by Mr. Marco Oliveira. This translation appears in 3 parts, corresponding to the three parts of the article.

By Margarida Santos Lopes

Iran: Islamic Regime denies citizenship rights to a community of 300 thousand members.

The seven leaders of the largest religious minority in Iran – five men and two women – have been held for more than a year without trial. Some charges carry the punishment of death, but the regime knows that they are innocent.

At 3:30 AM on May 14, 2008, intelligence agents arrived at the home of Fariba Kamalabadi in Tehran. They had a search warrant. It took them three or four hours to search the rooms. They arrested her and confiscated several items, from computers to family photos. Iraj Kamalabadi, one of five brothers, who lives in California, complains: "It was a concerted plan to arrest all the Baha'i leaders. Their houses were raided at the same time."

Psychologist Fariba, 46, was taken to Evin Prison on the same day that the entrepreneur Jamaluddin Khanjani, 75, industrialist Afif Naemi, 47, the agricultural engineer Saeeid Rezaie, 51, the former social worker Behrouz Tavakkoli, 57, and optometrist Vahid Tizfahm, 37. Professor Mahvash Sabet, 55, has been detained earlier, on March 5, 2008, in Mashhad, where she had been summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence, under the pretext of answering questions about a funeral at the Baha'i cemetery.

After months of isolation, the seven leaders of the largest religious minority in Iran only recently knew the formal charges against them: "spying on behalf of Israel", "insulting religious sanctities", "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" and "corruption on earth." Iraj Kamalabadi, in a phone interview with Publico, does not accept these charges: "They are innocent and have only been arrested for being Baha'is."

The law provides the death penalty for espionage and "corruption on earth", but the Center for Human Rights in Iran, whose president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, is part of a team of lawyers, ensures that there is no evidence to condemn them, and recommended that the trial, scheduled after several postponements for October 18, be open to the public.

Iraj hopes that international pressure will save his sister and the other detainees from the fate of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of Iran (advisory boards of nine members, elected by the believers that govern community life, without any clergy) after the 1979 Islamic revolution. On August 21, 1980, the nine members of the first Assembly were kidnapped. "No one ever saw them again, they are probably dead," said the consultant, who in 1977 went to study in Boston, and could no longer return home.

On December 27, 1981, only one member of the second Assembly survived the firing squad. In 1984, four out of nine members of the third Assembly since the Revolution were executed.

"In the mid-1980s, the government ordered that Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies should be dissolved," says Iraj. "Because Baha'is are obedient to the laws of the countries where they live, the community dissolved all its institutions at the local and national level. An informal association was then established, with the consent of the authorities, called the Yaran [in Persian, meaning "Friends"], to administer the basic needs of the Baha'i community. "The seven leaders arrested in March and May were the Yaran."

The blanket on the floor

The persecution is not new to Fariba Kamalabadi, a mother of three children who dreamed of becoming a doctor but who, like all Baha'i youth, during the 30 years since the revolution, could not enter university. "It's the third time she has been arrested," said Iraj. "The first was about five years ago; the second was three and a half years ago. Our father also spent some time in prison. They arrested him at home and took him wearing his pajamas. He was severely tortured, and died shortly after being released, due to heart problems aggravated by abuse."

Iraj believes his sister is not being physically abused, but warns against the deterioration of conditions under which she and six others leaders are living. "In the first months of isolation, they were subjected to harsh interrogation," he says. "Their cells have no ventilation or natural light. They were given a blanket and a pillow. They fold the blanket; the bottom serves as a mattress and the upper part as a cover. The food is horrible, and the portions have been gradually reduced. The utensils with which food is cooked and served have not been washed. Even the bread is moldy."

Since the protests against the results of presidential elections in June, says Iraj, the cells "have been overcrowded with new detainees. Many have contracted diseases. Before being arrested, my sister was taking medication for cholesterol and an irregular heartbeat. In prison, they do not allow you to treat yourself. She is seriously ill. When my mother was allowed to visit her, three months ago – the first time – she could not recognize her own daughter – only skin and bone. They all suffer from malnutrition. Their skin shows signs of not being exposed to the sun. Because most of their time is spent sleeping or sitting on the floor, they also have bone problems."

A "flower" in prison

In the midst of adversity, Fariba experienced a small miracle. "One day, when the 14th birthday of her youngest daughter [Taraneh Taef] was near, not having anything to give her, she noticed that the meal that was served had a rotten carrot," says Iraj. "She also noted that the base of the carrot had roots growing. She wrapped it in paper moistened with water, and the plant began to grow, even without sunlight. When the family went to visit, she offered the carrot to her daughter as a birthday present. It was a very moving moment." (See: IranPressWatch)

Iraj repeats that there is utterly no reason why the seven leaders – the Yaran – should not to be immediately released. The authorities "know that the accusations are false, but they inflict pain due to a deep hostility towards Baha'is."

Aside from all that, he is encouraged by the changes of mentality that Persian society has shown. "In February, a group of academics, writers, journalists, artists, and Iranian activists published an open letter entitled "We Are Ashamed". In an unprecedented move, they admitted having ignored, for 150 years, the plight of the Baha'is.

Questioned about her expectations for the coming negotiations between Iran and the Group of 5+1 (U.S., UK, France, Russia, China and Germany), Diane Ala'i, the Representative of the Baha'i International Community at the UN in Geneva, tells Publico that she has only one request: "Put human rights in the agenda, and do not sacrifice it on behalf of other interests."

Bahá'i (1)-Article on Publico, Portugal 9-19-09

From Iran Press Watch

Award-winning actress pays tribute (7 min) to Baha'is and martyr Muna

2009-09-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Graceful Emmy-winning and Oscar nominee, actress Shohreh Aghdasloo, praises the spirit and ideals of the Baha'i Faith and remembers the 17 year old martyr Muna Mahmudnizhad, quoting a translation of a poem she wrote in her diary (read more on Muna's fate here):

God holds the soul in his hands.
He sees its glowing light
and He knows.
He feels its warmth like a fire,
and every land stands still,
quiet before the universe,
as He stands in admiration of that soul -
that soul who gives its light
without thought of itself,
only in adoration of the Creator
of All.

Ms. Aghdasloo's recording was made in connection with a Baha'i Human Rights event attended by 1400 concerned citizens at George Washington University September 12, 2009, in Washington DC over the issue of human rights in Iran and the plight of persecuted Baha’i community of that land, just days before she won her Emmy for "House of Saddam Hussein." View a full article on that event here.

Image of Mona Mahmudnizhad (above) is copyright the Baha'i International Community (view original here). Images of Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo (left and right) from here and here.

CNN: Columbia professor highlights significance of Baha'is' rights for democracy in Iran

2009-09-17T07:22:00.001-07:00

The plight of the Baha'is of Iran - after a century-and-a-half of brutal oppression - is increasingly attracting the serious attention of prominent scholars and enlightened thinkers of in particular Muslim and Christian extraction. Professor Dabashi here argues decisively the need for the peoples of the West to raise insistently their voice in demanding the restitution of the God-given rights of a defenseless, peace-loving minority. Read the original here.

(Excerpt:)

"...the fate of the Iranian Baha'is should not be eclipsed under the cloud of other civil rights abuses [in Iran], for they represent much more than their own small community. ...
"While other religious minorities are specifically protected under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, this is not the case for the Baha'is.

"Article 13 of the Constitution has specifically and exclusively recognized Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian Iranians as "the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education."

"The word "only" in this article seems specifically designed to exclude the Baha'is from this clause. ...
The experiences of Muslims as a minority here in the United States, or in Europe for that matter, gives them a unique position to raise their voice against the abuse of non-Muslim minorities in Iran and the rest of the Muslim world. ...
The fate of Iranian Baha'is is not only a matter of their fundamental civil rights in the context of any republic, Islamic or otherwise. It is the very cornerstone of democratic citizenship without which the Muslim majority of Iranians is denied their constitutional protection. Watch the fate of the Iranian Baha'is carefully.
The day they are free to practice their religion without fear, Iranians at large will have finally secured their civil liberties."

When Baha'is are free, then all Iranians will be

Posted: 16 Sep 2009

Editor's Note: Prof Hamid Dabashi is the author of Iran: A People Interrupted. He is Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. The following commentary appeared on CNN on September 16, 2009.

/world

By Hamid Dabashi

Story Highlights

Hamid Dabashi: Seven Baha'is on trial in Iran, perhaps for their lives
He says the Iranian regime doesn't support freedom for the Baha'i minority
He says Muslim Americans are in unique position to speak out for Baha'is in Iran
He says when Baha'is are granted liberty, all Iranians will have civil rights

(CNN) — In their latest communique regarding the fate of seven arrested members of the Baha'i religious minority in Iran, Amnesty International has expressed grave concern they may face the death penalty if they are found guilty of the charges of "espionage for Israel," "insulting religious sanctities," and "propaganda against the system."

As the Islamic Republic of Iran experiences the most serious challenge to its legitimacy in its 30-year history, the vulnerability of religious and ethnic minorities is the most accurate barometer of the crisis that all Iranians face in these dire circumstances.

Of all the various Iranian minorities, the Baha'i community historically has been the weakest and most vulnerable. The world's attention is rightly drawn to the fate of prominent reformists charged with treason, and to the arbitrary arrest, torture, rape and murder of young Iranians. But the fate of the Iranian Baha'is should not be eclipsed under the cloud of other civil rights abuses, for they represent much more than their own small community.

Minorities have always been at the mercy of belligerent authorities, particularly when they face a crisis of legitimacy. Kurds in western Iran, Arabic-speaking communities in the south, Azaris in the north, as well as Turkmans and Baluchis in the east have been at the forefront of such discriminations, which has in turn instigated chronic separatist movements in these areas.

At the same time, Iranian Zoroastrians, Jews and Armenians have also faced varied degrees of discrimination, at official or cultural levels and registers, as they have joined their Muslim brothers and sisters in opposing domestic tyranny and foreign intervention alike.

Among all these minorities, the Baha'is remain the most fragile in part because of intra-Shia sectarian hostilities that go back to mid-19th century and the rise of a vastly popular messianic movement known as Babism, of which the contemporary Baha'is are an offshoot. Its adherents consider themselves the followers of an entirely new religion, in fact the very latest Iranian monotheistic faith with over five million followers scattered over 200 countries.

While other religious minorities are specifically protected under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, this is not the case for the Baha'is.

Article 13 of the Constitution has specifically and exclusively recognized Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian Iranians as "the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education."

The word "only" in this article seems specifically designed to exclude the Baha'is from this clause. Having the same effect, Article 14 of the Constitution stipulates the constitutional protection of the minorities to be exclusive to those "who refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The location of the Baha'i holy sites in Haifa, Israel, has been a principal source of harassment and intimidation against the Baha'is. This goes back to the late Ottoman period and obviously predates the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. It's also something over which the Baha'is have had no control.

Read the reminder of the article at CNN

From Iran Press Watch

Powerful video (2 min) by Muslims in defense of Baha'is' rights

2009-09-05T15:37:00.001-07:00

The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights impresses yet again with an excellent, stirring video that speaks out for justice for Irans people in general, and for its Baha'i minority in particular. The dynamic, transformational force that this Network represents bodes well for the influence that enlightened religionists can exert on the course of world developments in all parts of the earth!

United for Baha'i Human Rights (text - excerpts)

[T]imes are changing...

And as the world raises its voice for human rights in Iran
We know change can come
We know the power of words
We know our unity.

And we know that
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

And so we cry out from the rooftops...
And from blogs, videos and social networks.

Out of our shared belief in justice
For Baha'i human rights
For the people of Iran
For people everywhere.

Be informed. Stay aware.
The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
www.BahaiRights.org

About the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights:

The authors are Muslim interfaith activists who are deeply concerned with the treatment of Baha'is within the Middle East. We don't believe in the Baha'i faith, but we respect those who do.

We would like to make the general public of the region aware of Baha'i human rights abuses in order to take effective action against the increasingly alarming situation of Baha'is

Latest Video: United for Baha'i Human Rights

We are extremely excited to release our latest video, which has been in the works for quite some time now. As we noted on our timeline, this powerful video (whose chants we used in the background to one of this video's scenes.) abuses against the innocent Baha'i minority in Iran have been committed for over 30 years. Inspired by the reactions of Iran's latest election, where many Iranians took to the streets to demand change and respect for their human rights, we felt that a new video was in order, especially after

To truly explore the amount of abuse the Iranian regime has been committing against the Baha'i minority in Iran, please explore this extensive timeline.

For the past 30 years, followers of the Baha'i Faith in Iran have been lynched, falsely imprisoned, vilified and driven out of their homes. Baha'i children have been deprived of their right to an education, adults have been prevented from earning a livelihood and thousands of families had their properties illegally confiscated by the government.
But the Iranian regime would have us believe that its the innocent party in these circumstances. It continues to deny that it harbors any intentions to eradicate the Baha'i community, while employing all possible means to slander and denigrate the memories of its victims. We need to fight for their human rights.

Source: http://www.bahairights.org/2009/08/31/latest-video-united-for-bahai-human-rights/

Update of recent incidents - arson, random arrests, sentences, imprisonments, intrigue, harrassment

2009-09-05T11:54:00.001-07:00

Short Updates

Posted: 28 Aug 2009

The following news items were reported on the Persian page of Baha'i World News Service on August 26, 2009.

Hamadan (BWNS1):

Mrs. Mehrangiz Husayni, a resident of Hamadan, who was arrested last year on October 24, 2008, was convicted and has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment on the charge of "propagation of the Baha'i Faith", commenced her incarceration on August 16. [See IPW1]

Karaj (BWNS2):

The trial of Shahram Safajoo, who was summoned to the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Branch 28, on August 22, 2009, has been postponed to October 18, which coincides with the anticipated trial of the former Yaran ("Friends" – informal leaders of the Baha'i community of Iran). Mr. Safajoo was arrested on April 26, 2009, after his residence was searched; he was released on bail on May 18. [See IPW2]

Kashan (BWNS3):

On August 19, Mr. Vahid Haqiqi and his son, Sina, and Mrs. Mona Rouhani – all three residents of Kashan in the province of Isfahan – were summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in their native town. They were arrested the next day, and released on August 22 after providing bail. [See IPW3]

Qa'emshahr (BWNS4):

Mr. Sohrab Laqa'i, a resident of Qa'emshahr, who was arrested on July 8, 2009, has been allowed only a single telephone conversation with his children ever since. The residence of Mr. Laqa'i was searched by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on January 4, 2009, along with the homes of four other Baha'is. [See IPW4].

Sari (BWNS5):

On August 18, 2009, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the home of Mrs. Didar Hashemi, a resident of Sari in the province of Mazandaran, and confiscated certain personal items after a search of the home. The agents had a court order for the search of the building, but not for her arrest. They returned the following day and arrested Mrs. Hashemi. [See IPW5]

Yasuj (BWNS6):

Ali-Askar Ravanbakhsh and his wife, Zulaykha [Musavi-]Ravanbakhsh, who are residents of Mehryan, and Mrs. Ruhiyyih Yazdani (Bagha'i), a resident of Yasuj, were given family leave from prison starting on August 11 (see IPW6). The three Baha'is are completing their 4-year prison sentences, of which 2 years have been reduced to 5 years of probation. They were tried and found guilty on charges of "propagation [of speech] against the Islamic Republic" and "participation in the formation and organization of illegal groups". For the first charge they received 3 years, and for the second were sentenced to a one-year imprisonment. [Their sentence commenced October 28, 2008.]

Baha'i Couple on Trial

Posted: 03 Sep 2009

The following report was filed by the online site of Human Rights Activists News Agency on Thursday, September 3, 2009:

A Baha'i couple was tried after a year on the charge of promotion of their religion.

On July 29, 2008, security agents went to the home of Fayzu'llah Qanvatian in the town of Ahwaz and after a research of the residence and confiscation of his books and personal items charged this family with "promotion of the Baha'i Faith" and "propaganda against the regime".

At the same time and while still at their home, security agents compelled Mr. Qanvatian and his wife, Mrs. Nushin Ruhani, to answer a series of written questions. They were then escorted to the interrogation office, where bail and surety was arranged for them and they were freed that day pending their trial.

During this past year, the couple have been summoned several more time and interrogated by officers of the Ministry of Intelligence.

The case of this couple was sent to the public prosecutor of the city of Ahwaz. During the court session, the prosecutor asked for maximum penalty under the law. The court then decided to pass the case to the city's Revolutionary Court for adjudication.

On August 31, the said court met and reviewed the case. It then announced that in days ahead it would rule on the merits of the charges and the case before it.

[Posted on Thursday, September 3, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Baha'i Farm Set on Fire

Posted: 29 Aug 2009

Earlier today, the following news was reported by the online site of Human Rights Activists News Agency:

Independent and reactionary elements have set on fire the farm-produce of a Baha'i.

On August 20, 2009, the farm products of Mirza Aqa Fanaian, who is the only Baha'i resident of the village of Darjazin, located 5 miles north of Semnan, was set on fire. These products consisted of barley and hay. Mr. Fanaian is an elderly person and this farm is the sole source of his livelihood and was valued at 10 million rial [equivalent of US$1,000].

The province of Semnan has seen considerable increase in anti-Baha'i activities during the current year by independent and reactionary forces. The Baha'i appeals to law enforcement agencies to prevent these elements from perpetrating these violent acts have not produced any results and have fallen on deaf ears.

[Posted on Saturday, August 29, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Baha'i Sentenced in Sanandaj

Posted: 29 Aug 2009

Iran Press Watch has previously reported on the arrest of Mr. Zabiu'llah Raufi, a Baha'i resident of Sanandaj (IPW). Further details are provided by the online site of Human Rights Activists News Agency on Saturday, August 29, 2009:

Mr. Zabiu'llah Raufi, a Baha'i resident of Sanandaj, has been given the sentence of a year imprisonment and exile to the town Minab [near Bandar Abbas in south of Iran].

On August 19, 2009, he was summoned before the Revolutionary Court and arrested at the same time. He continues to be incarcerated. It should be noted that the actual date that the court convened is not known, nor was he provided legal representation, or was there formal legal proceedings. It was at this trial that his sentence was communicated to him.

It should further be noted that in recent days, 18 friends and acquaintances of Mr. Raufi have been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence of Sanandaj and they have been forced to sign assurances that they would not associate with the family of Mr. Raufi.

[Posted on Saturday, August 29, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

3 Baha'i Prisoners in Sari

Posted: 28 Aug 2009

Editor's Note: The following report was posted on Friday, August 28, 2009, by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters and appears below in translation:

The trial of three Baha'i citizens by the names of Vesal Yusufi, Payam Yusufi and Anvar Moslemi was convened on August 17.

The condition of Mrs. Vesal Yusufi has been reported as most worrisome. She is unable to stand and suffers greatly from pains in her stomach and back. Because of her grave condition, after the repeated insistence of her family during the past several days, the authorities have consented for a physician to see her.

According to various reports, her 18 year old son, Payam Yusufi, has been physically tortured in order to exact from him various confessions and to compel him to sign documents. So far, the files of these prisoners have not been shared with their lawyers and they remain in prison without charges formally brought against them. ... (Read the full story here)

[Posted on August 28, 2009, at: http://chrr.us/spip.php?article5224. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Baha'is Arrested in Kashan

Posted: 26 Aug 2009

On Saturday, August 22, 2009, Khabar Navard shared the following news, which appears below in translation:

In a continuation of the widespread arrests of Baha'is throughout Iran, on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, at 12:30 pm, five (5) agents in plain clothes raided the home of Mr. Vahid Haqiqi in Kashan. After they search his residence, agents confiscated his computer, CDs and various religious materials and took both Mr. Haqiqi and his 17-year old son, Sina, into custody. (Read the full story here)

Baha'i Imprisoned in Hamadan

Posted: 25 Aug 2009

On Saturday, August 22, 2009, Khabar Navard shared the following news, which appears below in translation:

In continuation of widespread arrests of Baha'is throughout Iran, Mrs. Mehrangiz Husayni was arrested in Hamadan. According to a court order issued on October 24, 2008, she was sentenced to a year incarceration and on August 16, 2009, was arrested by the security agents and conducted to prison to start her sentence.

The authorities have stated that the charge against her is, "propagation of the Baha'i Faith".

It should be noted that Iran claims freedom of expression for its citizens, but people are not at liberty to express their convictions. What is being charged by authorities against the Baha'is as "propaganda against the regime" is in reality free expression of beliefs and convictions, which Baha'is carry out despite the high cost of imprisonments, fines, and large property or cash bails.

[Source: Khabar Navard. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

An Arrest in Semnan

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 04:06 PM PDT

Editor's Note: Iran Press Watch regrets that due to the pressure of work it failed to report on an important development in Semnan, as reported through Mihan site on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. For the sake of the completeness of our historical records, that report is now shared in translation:

In mid February 2009, Murteza Hamidi [presumably a Muslim] was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Semnan.

Previously, on December 15, 2008, his home was raided at the same time as the homes of 20 Baha'i families were attacked by agents of the same Ministry in a widespread operation.

The charge against Mr. Hamidi is "possession of Baha'i books and materials", and "relationship with Baha'is". It should be noted that his grandfather is a Baha'i, as are many other members of his family; therefore it is perfectly natural and understandable for Hamidi to have Baha'i printed materials in his possession and to have interactions with Baha'is.

Repeated efforts by his family to secure his freedom have remained futile, and Mr. Hamidi continues to languish in prison without any recourse. The other point that adds to the anxiety of this situation is that Mr. Hamidi and his family have been extensively pressured by the Ministry of Intelligence to file complaints against some Baha'i residents of Semnan for promoting the Baha'i Faith to him and his children. Through this method, the authorities hope to create a legal pretext for further harassment and persecution of the Baha'is of Semnan.

Is this effort not another step in an organized and systematic campaign to eliminate the Baha'is of Semnan? This would then be an effort which could serve as a dangerous and inhumane model for the rest of the nation to entirely eliminate the Baha'is.

[Posted on http://emails.mihanblog.com/post/125. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

A Baha'i Sentenced to Imprisonment

Posted: 18 Aug 2009

According to Human Rights Activists News Agency, the Revolutionary Court of Semnan has convicted a Baha'i resident to 18 months imprisonment.

According to the court ruling, Mrs. Susan Tebyanian[-Jabbari], a Baha'i resident of Semnan was convicted to 18 months imprisonment. In the course of her sentencing, the court noted that because of lack of appropriate facilities in Semnan (given her background), one of the prisons in Tehran would be designated for her by the court.

It should be noted her trial took place about a month ago, but the present ruling was issued and communicated on August 12.

[Source: August 18, 2009, hra-news]

The Persian page of the Baha'i World News Service provides further details:

On June 2, 2009, the trial of Mrs. Susan Tebyanian, a Baha'i of Semnan, took place. She had been arrested on April 27, 2009, and released on bail and surety on May 1. The court sentenced her to 18 months imprisonment on the following charges:

Formation of illegal groups and societies associated with the Baha'i community under the pretext of "moral training classes"
Membership in illegal groups and societies of the Baha'is, such as, "Education Committee", and "Committee for Training and Education"
Propaganda against the regime and in support of the Baha'is, such as, local gatherings and associations.

[Source: BWNS. Translations by Iran Press Watch]

A Baha'i Home Searched

Posted: 18 Aug 2009

According to Baha'i World News Service, on July 29, 2009, the home of Mr. Nader Munzavi in Delijan, in the province of Makazi, was searched and his computer and Baha'i books were confiscated. Mr. Munzavi is the sole Baha'i resident of this small town. Last year, he was summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence for interrogations.

[Posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at BWNS. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

From Iran Press Watch

Ayatollah confronts Iranian regime: labels it un-Islamic, condemns injustices

2009-09-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

Montazeri Condemns Iranian Regime

Posted: 27 Aug 2009

Editor's Note: Yesterday, August 26, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri issued a proclamation in response to a letter dated August 23 by some 293 Iranian intellectuals, journalists, human rights activists and other concerned citizens. Iran Press Watch is working on a translation of that proclamation and will post it shortly. Meanwhile, a description of this remarkable statement was published by Radio Zamaneh, which we share below for our readers' information.

Ayatollah Montazeri, a senior dissident cleric, condemned the government crackdown on protesters after the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and claimed: "The authorities should at least have the courage to announce that this regime is neither a republic nor Islamic and no one is allowed to protest, to express an opinion or to criticize anything."

Montazeri's letter, which was in response to 300 activists who had called for the intervention of senior Shiite leadership to resolve the current crisis, was published in Ayatollah Montazeri's Communications Headquarters. In it, Montazeri claims that he has urged the government on several occasions to desist from violence but to no avail. He presses on for the release of all detainees and calls the mass trials of reformists "a travesty of Islamic law."

"Islam," he points out, "is a truly divine religion that in it freedom of opinion and speech are evident and fully transparent…even in the acceptance of this faith, the Quran clearly states that there must be no force or obligation. The way of the Prophet and the Imams was also thus that people in sheer freedom and without any fear of any kind would express their opinions and critique any issue."

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was a close collaborator of Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and in the government that issued from it. He was set to succeed Ayatollah Khomeini but was put aside over disagreements with government excesses. He was under house arrest for five years for criticizing the government. He now lives in Qom and as a Grand Ayatollah, remains a high authority on Islamic theology and law. He has been a staunch critic of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

The government has tried to silence post-election protests against the disputed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June by detaining thousands and violently putting down mass demonstrations. Mass trials of reformist leaders have been set up to parade recanting political activists and televise confessions pointing at a foreign-backed conspiracy to topple the regime. Opposition leaders have denied the charges and spoken out against torture and forceful extraction of confession in prisons.

[Posted on August 27, 2009, at Radio Zamaneh.]

From Iran Press Watch

Mona (17), martyred in 1983, keeps attracting eulogies

2009-09-05T11:01:00.001-07:00

Yet another eulogy of this steadfast Baha'i youth who was martyred for serving her faith in the capacity of a children's teacher.

They Hanged Her for Teaching Love

Posted: 31 Aug 2009

Editor's Note: The following essay is reprinted from American Thinker and is by Amil Imani, a pro-democracy activist in the United States. Mr. Imani is a columist, literary translator, novelist and essayist, who has been writing and speaking out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran.

By Amil Imani

She is called the Angel of Iran, because she lived her short life angelically. The demonic Islamist Mullahs, true to their nature, couldn't bear an angel in their midst. On June 18, 1983, they hanged the young woman, barely past childhood, for refusing to renounce her belief: the belief in love, justice, and equality for all children of God.

Her name was Mona, a 17-year old Baha'i Character School (Sunday school) teacher. Her pupils loved the indescribably gentle loving teacher who taught them to grow up as exemplary humans with hearts brimming with the love of God, all his people and his creation.

One day the Mullahs' agents came to her house while the young school-girl was studying for her next day English exam. The savage Islamists had another much tougher exam in mind for her to be administered in the horrific prison of the Mullahs. They were certain that they could break the frail young woman under pressure and torture; that they could make her recant her faith and adopt their bigoted creed.

Our great Zoroaster, the luminous ancient prophet of Persia, spoke of the ongoing battle between the forces of good under Ahuramazda-God, and the forces of evil directed by Ahriman-the Satan. Zoroaster warned us not to fall for the enticements or be deceived by the machinations of Ahriman. He further informed us that evil can be recognized by the deeds of its people; people who would oppose the precepts of Ahuramazda.

And the child-woman Mona was seen by the Islamist clergy as a threat to their very demonic precepts and practices. They felt compelled to either convert her to their creed of darkness or extinguish her young life.

Mona, the young teacher, deeply loved children and believed that they had to be brought up as champion workers for Ahuramazda.

Baha'is claim that the founder of their religion, Baha'u'llah, is the reappearance of the spirit of Zoroaster; that Zoroaster's triad teachings of Good Thoughts, Good Speech, and Good Behavior are elaborated in greater details by Baha'u'llah.

Mona's lessons for the children, a detailed exposition of Zoroaster's teachings, are summarized in the passage below by Baha'u'llah.

"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, and a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."

Ten Baha'i women of Shiraz, Iran were among the many Baha'is who were arrested by the Islamists for their faith. The young Mona was one of them. These women endured months of endless abuse in the prison of the Mullahs, yet every one of them refused under threat of death to recant their faith of love.

The heartless Mullahs finally decided to make good on their threat and hanged these magnificent human beings, one-by-one. The Angel of Iran was the last to be hanged for she wished to pray for each woman as she was hanged. When Mona's turn came, she kissed the noose and placed it around her own neck with prayers on her lips.

The savage Islamists hanged the magnificent child-woman Mona after a long period of tortuous imprisonment. By killing her, the agents of Ahriman aimed to kill love. But assuredly they can never kill love. They only kill the lover.

Oh, you earthly angels!

You immigrating birds,

Whose only adornment

Is a bed of white feathers!

The innocent children of Iran,

Are wearing your white glowing robe,

And have left the memories of life,

To others!

I see the poor black swallows,

Flying over the ruins of our city!

I see overflowing pain,

Intertwined,

With the hearts of every Persian!

My heart stops palpitating!

My breath starts to dry up!

My faith simply fades away,

And my bed falls silent.

[Posted on August 31, 2009, at American Thinker]

From Iran Press Watch. More on the fate of Mona Mahmudnizhad and her nine fellow martyrs here.

Iranian rights lawyer adamant in face of imprisonment, intimidation

2009-09-05T10:42:00.001-07:00

Lawyer spent 10 weeks in prison 'for nothing'

Posted: 01 Sep 2009

Editor's Note: Iran Press Watch has previously reported on the detention (IPW1) and release (IPW2) of Abdolfattah Soltani, one of the lead lawyers for the imprisoned former Baha'i leaders in Tehran. Today's Los Angeles Times article provides further details that might be of considerable interest to our readers:

By Los Angeles Times

On the 28th day of his detention inside Iran's Evin Prison, he was granted his first family visit.

It was then that he found out that while he had been locked up, his sister had died in a car accident.

Prison authorities offered to let Abdul-Fatah Soltani attend the mourning ceremony.

There was just one condition.

The famed human-rights lawyer had to promise that he wouldn't speak out to the media about his incarceration.

He rejected the offer, missing the chance to join his family to grieve for his sister.

"I did not believe I had done anything wrong, so accepting their condition was against my belief and my principles," Soltani, now free, told The Times in an interview at his downtown office a few days ago. "Accepting their condition was a rubber stamp on my non-committed crime."

Instead he vowed to prison authorities that once he was out of prison, he would haul all of them into court, suing them for unjustly locking him up.

Soltani is among Iran's small cadre of human-rights lawyers and is the spokesman for the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, which was co-founded by the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi.

Read full article at Los Angeles Times

A Positive Development

Posted: 27 Aug 2009

Earlier today, Thursday, August 27, 2009, BBC Persian reported that Abdolfattah Soltani was freed from incarceration in Evin prison after enduring more than two months of imprisonment, of which 17 days was spent in solitary confinement. In an interview with BBC following his release, Mr. Soltani reported that charges against him are: “instilling doubts in elections”, “propaganda against the regime”, “formation of groups to undermine national security”. He characterized these charges as unfounded in the law and untrue.
He added that the first of these charges were conveyed to him after 27 hours of imprisonment, but Mr. Soltani insists that such a charge is completely spurious as there is no penalty under law for “instilling doubt” in elections. Furthermore, he indicated that as a human rights advocate, he had not participated in any of presidential campaigns nor represented any of the candidates.
Mr. Soltani indicated that the prosecutor had moved quickly, presumably on the strength of his wife’s open letter (see Iran Press Watch), to provide him with temporary release on a 100 million tuman [equivalent of US$100,000] bail in form of property surety.
He stated, “On June 16, four agents entered my office without having a warrant and showed me a court order dated, June 10, that is, two days before the election, which had to do with the unrest in streets and had nothing to do with me.”
“I spent the first 17 or 18 days of incarceration in solitary confinement and for two weeks was deprived of using showers, nor had any means of communications or access to newspapers or books.”
Mr. Soltani was not tortured or subjected to other inhumane treatments that commonly take places in Iranian prisons. However, he indicates that once he entered the common prison facilities, many other prisoners reported that they had been tortured or beaten or otherwise physically mistreated.
In denying any wrongdoing and referring to charges against him as baseless, Mr. Soltani noted that four years ago, he was imprisoned for seven months but was released when all charges against him were proven to be unfounded.
[Based on BBC Persian. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

From Iran Press Watch

Call by law Professor to ban Iranian officials from visiting Canada

2009-09-05T10:34:00.001-07:00

Ban Iranian Leaders from Canada

Posted: 02 Sep 2009

Editor's Note: The following essay by Prof Payam Akhavan appeared on September 2, 2009, in National Post and is reproduced in part below for the readers for Iran Press Watch.

By Payam Akhavan

In the aftermath of the brutal repression of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran, the evidence of systematic murder, rape, torture and unlawful detention of thousands of protestors continues to accumulate. Under international law, these large-scale atrocities constitute crimes against humanity for which the relevant Iranian officials bear individual criminal responsibility. How should Canada and the international community respond to a regime with such an appalling disregard for the human rights of its citizens? A first step is to recognize that leaders ordering or tolerating such atrocities are international outlaws who should be denied admission to Canada and other democracies.

The numerous horror stories emerging from Iran confirm a consistent pattern of extreme violence against those detained for participating in the protests. A severely traumatized 15-year-old boy recounts how he was arrested for wearing the green wrist-band of the opposition, and subjected to savage beatings, sexual humiliation and gang-rape for 20 days. Another youth describes the condition of his 24-year-old friend Amir Javadifar, who was arrested during the protests and tortured to death in custody: "He had a fractured skull, one of his eyes was almost crushed, all the nails on his toes had been extracted and all of his body was bruised." Alas, there are now hundreds and hundreds of such accounts by victims and witnesses despite the censorship and intimidation of the regime.

There is little doubt that such abuses are part of a state-sanctioned policy of terrorizing supporters of the "Green Movement" that challenged President Ahmadinejad's electoral victory in June. While 100 protest leaders are prosecuted in a farcical show trial and accused of a "foreign conspiracy," nobody has been prosecuted for the heinous crimes against thousands of prisoners. One of the senior judiciary officials assigned to investigate these allegations is the notorious henchman, Saeed Mortazavi, implicated in the murder of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi in July 2003 and in the torture of many others. Not surprisingly, he has dismissed reports of abuse as baseless. Another senior pro-regime figure has gone even further and called for the punishment of those who dare to expose these abominations. After reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi publicly stated that "female detainees were raped savagely" in prison, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami declared that Karroubi "deserves to be punished for libel."

Read the rest of article at National Post

From Iran Press Watch

Vigorous publishing activity of works attacking Baha'i Faith

2009-09-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Intellectual and Psychological Attacks against the Baha'is

Posted: 02 Sep 2009

During recent years, there has been a systematic and organized effort in Iran to publish many polemics and attacks against the Baha'i community of that country. Much of this effort is funded lavishly by the central administration in Tehran and approved by the national parliament, which has a specific budget line for "combating the Baha'is", and devotes millions of dollars each year to fund this work. Many seminars, public talks and conferences are held throughout the country to acquaint the population with ways to confront the Baha'is, and, under the guise of "scholarship", to maliciously undermine, belittle and completely misrepresent the Baha'i teachings. During the same period, over 80 books, hundreds of monographs and at least an equal number of articles in high-circulation newspapers and journals have been published against the Baha'i Faith, always completely twisting or simply falsifying Baha'i history, origins, teachings, aims, administration, community life, and every other aspect of the Baha'i movement.

Well-funded research groups with access to significant -resources are devoted to this work, and advanced degrees are offered to those who contribute to this body of polemical literature. Actually, the sheer extent of this polemical literature which has no basis in reality, the cost of producing it and the time and money involved in training people to transmit it are in themselves considerable testimony to the extent to which the clerical class of Iran feels threatened by the Baha'i Faith, which has no clergy. (Iran Press Watch has previously reported on many of these attacks.)

In an atmosphere poisoned by this massive intellectual and psychological warfare against the Baha'i community of Iran, the Baha'is are absolutely banned from responding ‑ the slightest attempt to publish a response is met with a harsh response by the central authorities, often involving a prison sentence, beating, expropriation of property and sometimes much worse.

Against this backdrop, Iran Press Watch notes the following significant anti-Baha'i publication, as reported by the Shabestan site, which appears below in translation:

A compact CD by the name of Besuy-e Haqiqat [Towards the Truth] and under the title "Rejecting the Wayward Sect of Baha'ism" has been published and disseminated by the Endowment and Humanitarian Organization of Isfahan's Seminary.

According to the Shabestan news outlet, this compact CD contains 313 books and articles in Persian and Arabic. The Persian library of this CD has 285 books and articles in Persian under five sections: (1) Beliefs includes 47 books and articles; Stories includes 13 books and articles; Deduction includes 51 books and articles; and Rejection and Critique includes 63 books and articles.

Among the features of this software are the following: index to all books and articles, advanced search in the body of published texts or footnotes, attractive pictures and beautiful posters, a utility to print individual pages and copy materials to Notepad, and diverse setup environments.

From the above report, it is evident that such a massive effort to produce materials against the Baha'i community is only intended to turn public opinion against the Baha'is and to provoke national sentiment against this minority community.

[Posted on Monday, August 31, 2009, at Shabestan News. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

From Iran Press Watch

A month after arrest, prisoner's location still undisclosed

2009-08-24T05:15:00.001-07:00

Two disturbing reports of unnanounced arrests of three Baha'is in the region of Mazandaran.

Worrisome Situation of an Imprisoned Baha'i

Posted: 21 Aug 2009

The following is a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency which appears below in translation:

Despite being arrested more than a month ago, there is no news about whereabouts of a Baha'i resident of Qa'emshahr.

While at work, Sohrab Laqa'i, a Baha'i resident of Qa'emshahr, in the province of Mazandaran, was arrested in the afternoon of July 8 by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence who produced no warrant for his detention. However, in all these days, Mr. Laqa'i has had only a very short conversation with one of his children, though no mention was made of his whereabouts or conditions under which he remains incarcerated.

In response to many inquiries by his family from the local judiciary or security authorities regarding Mr. Laqa'i's condition, whereabouts or charges against him, no specific or convincing answers have been given. The vary fact that authorities remain evasive about this case has given considerable worries to the family.

It should be mentioned that Mr. Laqa'i's resident was raided and searched more than a month ago by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, who confiscated his computer, CDs and books.

[Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, at hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Mother and Son Arrested

Posted: 22 Aug 2009

According to Television Washington online site, on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in the town of Sari, in northern Iran, arrested Mrs. Vesal Yusufi, a 38-year old resident of the village of Mahforuzak, in the vicinity of Sari, along with her 18-year old son, Payam Yusufi. Agents produced no court order or warrant for this arrest, and used extremely offensive language and abusive behavior in the course of this conduct.

The two Baha’is were taken to an unknown destination.

Mrs. Yusufi’s sister has stated that the agents searched their home and confiscated religious books and pictures, and also personal items.

According to Television Washington site, there is no news of this mother and son after their arrest and their whereabouts remains unknown.

[Posted on Saturday, August 8, 2009, at Television Washington. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

From Iran Press Watch

9-volume history of Baha'i Faith published (in Persian)

2009-08-21T06:49:00.001-07:00

Tarikh Zuhuru'l-Haqq Published Electronically

Posted: 20 Aug 2009

Iran Press Watch is pleased to learn that the first two volumes of Mirza Asadu'llah Fadil Mazandarani's magisterial history, titled Tarikh Zuhuru'l-Haqq, have been typed, edited and annotated by Adel Shafipour and published online. Mr. Shafipour has given permission to Iran Press Watch to host these two volumes.

Mazandarani was a profoundly learned Baha'i of the time of Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi. He composed and published several dozens of books that are of immense interest to scholars of the Babi and Baha'i movements. Among his projects was a 9-volume series on the history of these twin movements, which he commenced during Abdu'l-Baha's ministry and completed in the 1950s prior to his passing. This unique record of the events associated with the rise and establishment of the Babi-Baha'i community was based almost exclusively on primary source documents (i.e. eyewitness accounts) and other solid documentation, and represents the largest single writing project of these two religions.

Of the 9 volumes, only volume 3 has previously been published in print. There is an e-version available on H-Bahai, but this version is a scan photocopy and is quite inferior to the completely re-typed and annotated version. Mr. Shafipour is continuing his work and over time all 9 volumes will be made available online in this form.

Since these volumes represent a peerless documentation of the trials and persecution of the Baha'i community of Iran, they are being posted at this site as a way of fleshing out our academic records.

Mr. Shafipour is warmly thanked for this singular contribution to the field of the Babi-Baha'i scholarship. His project can be accessed at: http://adelsh09.googlepages.com/home

Tarikh Zuhurul-Haqq, vol. 1

Tarikh Zuhurul-Haqq, vol. 2

From Iran Press Watch

Baha'is in Iran - persecutions

June Demolishment of 50 Bahá'í Homes in Ivel Continues to Receive Press

Scotland Religious Leader Adds Voice to Protests Against Sentences of 7 Bahá'ís

Awareness of Plight of Persecuted Baha'is in Iran Seen in Statement from US Representative

Shirin Ebadi Laments "Irregularities" in Yaran Trial Culminating in Sentences

Iran Sentences Innocent Yaran to 20 Years' Jail, Say Reports

Reports say Iran's Baha'i leaders "sentenced"

The Guardian: Article Alerting to Destruction of 50 Homes, Persecution of Baha'is in Iran

Nine Closed Court Files Reopened in Renewed Efforts to Persecute Baha'is

BBC - Homes (50) of Baha'is Bulldozed in Northern Iran

IDDLE EAST

Imprisoned Human Rights Activist Demands Respect, is Granted Release

On the alert: US Government calls on Iran to meet International Obligations

Young Baha'is - harshly imprisoned - allowed meeting with families

Another prominent human rights reporter arrested in Iran

Life as a Baha’i in Semnan: the case of Mr Hedayati

New tv series on Iran state network grossly misrepresents history, tenets of Bahá’í Faith

FRANCE: Company of Academics, Professionals Appeal to Iran Supreme Leader on Behalf of Bahá'ís

Government shuts down Baha’i-owned businesses, arrests owners

UN Human Rights Council members condemn Iran's repression of Bahá'ís, others

Appeal of family members, prominent jurist for intervention on behalf of imprisoned Bahá'í leaders

Iranian criminal procedure apropos Bahá'ís (Yaran) on trial

Qur'án teacher openly clobbers, vilifies Bahá'í children

French Litterateur Joins in Championing Bahá'ís' Rights

How did I learn all this?

Plot theory

"Enemies of God Organization"

10 January Message of Bahá'í Supreme Governing Council to Believers in Iran

Indications of Systematic Plotting by Iran Government to Implicate Jailed Baha'is

Seven leaders of Iran's Bahá'í community reject accusations; new court date set

Trial's Predetermined Outcome Evident from Pre-Trial Press Release

Survey of Recent Government-Sponsored Schemes against Bahá'ís of Iran

Who are the canaries in Iran's mineshaft?

The canaries in Iran's cages

Cherie Blair urges international pressure for rights of Bahá'ís of Iran

Allegations Arrested Bahá'ís Possessed Weapons Latest Falsehood from Iran Government

Iran Rights Organization Alerts to Seriousness of Charges Facing Bahá'ís

LATEST: Events in Iran moving towards climax

Threats to public of capital punishment, scores of wanton arrests reveal a regime at end of its resources

SARI: Four Baha'i women arrested, families harrassed

Attempts by Iranian Media to implicate Baha'is as sources of social unrest

House letter to Bahá'ís of Iran stresses spiritual requisites for family well-being

New trial date set for 7 former Bahá'í leaders in Iran

Front-page photo of Bahá'í "Lotus" temple in Iran newspaper provokes ban

In Brazil visit, open letter to Ahmadinejad from Baha'i National Assembly

Politics behind labeling Baha'is as PRIMARY enemies of Iranian state

Shiraz: New case of abduction, torture of Baha'i

Baha'i students still barred from university studies

After 17 months, renewed delay in trial against Baha'i leaders

Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set

Stirring defence in Hungarian parliament of Baha'is in Iran

Ban of Baha’i students from higher education in Iran based on Supreme Council ruling

Yaran's upcoming trial (18 Oct.) generates stellar event in support of Baha'is of Iran

Azar Nafisi, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dwight Bashir Join Swelling Chorus in Support of Iranian Baha'is

Superstitionism shaping Iranian Identity - Baha'is primary suspects

Anti-Baha’i graffiti widespread on Baha'is' houses - Ardestan

Investigative article in largest Portuguese newspaper on plight of Iranian Baha'is

Award-winning actress pays tribute (7 min) to Baha'is and martyr Muna

CNN: Columbia professor highlights significance of Baha'is' rights for democracy in Iran

Powerful video (2 min) by Muslims in defense of Baha'is' rights

Update of recent incidents - arson, random arrests, sentences, imprisonments, intrigue, harrassment

Ayatollah confronts Iranian regime: labels it un-Islamic, condemns injustices

Mona (17), martyred in 1983, keeps attracting eulogies

Iranian rights lawyer adamant in face of imprisonment, intimidation

Call by law Professor to ban Iranian officials from visiting Canada

Vigorous publishing activity of works attacking Baha'i Faith

A month after arrest, prisoner's location still undisclosed

9-volume history of Baha'i Faith published (in Persian)