Iranian media attacks on Baha'is and Nobel Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi seek to stir “irrational fears and prejudices”

NEW YORK, August 12 2008 (BWNS) — Fraudulent claims in the Iranian news media about seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders and the efforts of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and others to defend them represent an effort by the government to prevent Baha’is from having adequate legal representation – and also to stir up “irrational fears and prejudices,” the Baha’i International Community said in a statement today.“Reports published in government-run news outlets point to an effort on the part of the authorities to use the mass media to spread accusations that the seven prisoners have engaged in subversive activities, and to continue to deprive these Baha’is from any access to legal counsel by maligning Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, the well-known Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner who, together with her colleagues, has stated her readiness to defend the Baha’is,” said the statement.

The statement, posted to the Baha’i International Community’s United Nations Office Web site, responds to allegations that Mrs. Ebadi’s daughter has become a Baha’i, that Baha’is are agents of Zionism, and that when Iranian Baha’is communicate with the Baha’i Faith’s international governing body in Israel, it is somehow a “conspiracy.”

“The Iranian government seizes every means at its disposal to stigmatize the Baha’is and then, within the poisoned atmosphere it has itself created, when it wants to discredit someone, it asserts that the person is a Baha’i,” the statement said. “Mrs. Ebadi is not the first individual upon whom this tactic has been used. As a lawyer, Mrs. Ebadi defends individuals and groups of many different backgrounds; this does not mean that she necessarily espouses their beliefs. What, then, is the state-sanctioned press trying to insinuate when it contends that her daughter is a Baha’i?”

The full statement can be read at:

http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/featured/Iran-Intensifies-Disinfor… Continue Reading…

Baha'is reject allegations of subversive activity in Iran

NEW YORK, August 3 2008 (BWNS) — The Baha’i International Community categorically rejects statements by an Iranian prosecutor that seven Baha’is detained in Tehran have “confessed” to operating an “illegal” organization with ties to Israel and other countries.

“We deny in the strongest possible terms the suggestion that Baha’is in Iran have engaged in any subversive activity,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “The Baha’i community is not involved in political affairs. Their only ‘crime’ is the practice of their religion.”

“The seriousness of the allegations makes us fear for the lives of these seven individuals,” she said.

She was responding to Iranian newspaper reports of statements by Hasan Haddad, deputy prosecutor general for security at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

Ms. Dugal said that seven Baha’is arrested earlier this year were members of a committee that helped attend to the needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran.

“That is no secret – the government knew perfectly well about the existence of this committee long before its members were arrested, just as the government knows perfectly well that these people are not involved in any underhanded activity,” she said.

Ms. Dugal said the detentions are part of a well-documented, decades-long campaign to stamp out the Baha’i community in Iran, and that the latest accusations follow the same pattern as previous unfounded charges.

“Suggestions of collusion with the state of Israel are categorically false and misleading. The Iranian authorities are playing on the fact that the Baha’i world administrative center is located in northern Israel,” she said.

“The Iranian government completely ignores the well-known historical fact that the Baha’i Faith was centered in Iran until 1853 when the authorities there banished the Baha’i prophet-founder, who was forced into exile and eventually imprisoned in Acre on the Mediterranean coast under the Ottoman Turkish regime. That area happens to be in what is now Israel.”

Ms. Dugal said many Baha’is in Iran – including members of the coordinating committee before their imprisonment – are frequently detained for questioning about their activities. The Baha’is, she said, have nothing to hide and try to answer truthfully whenever they are interrogated.

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Reuters: Report says Iran accuses arrested Baha'is of Israel links

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Seven detained Baha’i believers have confessed to setting up an illegal organisation in Iran that took orders from Israel and others to undermine the Islamic system, an Iranian newspaper reported on Sunday.
You can access the full article here
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U.S. House of Representatives Passes Resolution Condemning the Persecution of Baha’is in Iran

WASHINGTON, August 1 2008 – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution condemning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. H. RES. 1008 is the tenth congressional resolution since 1982 on the Baha’is in Iran.

“The passing of this resolution is particularly timely given the escalation of attacks against the Baha’is in Iran in recent months,” said Ms. Kit Bigelow, Director of External Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S. “This includes a series of arson attacks on the homes and vehicles of Baha’is, and the arrests in March and May of the seven members of Iran’s national Baha’i coordinating group. They are being held in Evin Prison in Tehran without any charges and without access to an attorney or to their families.”

The congressional resolution condemns the government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of Baha’is; calls on Iran’s Parliament to reject a proposed Islamic penal code, and calls on the Iranian regime to immediately release ten imprisoned Baha’is.

“This is government-sponsored persecution,” said Rep. Mark Kirk (IL-10), who introduced the resolution. “And we in the Congress should not be silent as Iran sets up the mechanism to ethnically cleanse its Baha’i minority, totaling over 250,000 human beings.”

“It sends a strong signal that Congress will continue to watch closely the treatment of the Baha’i people in Iran,” said Rep Howard L. Berman (CA-28), who is the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and co-sponsored the resolution.

“We are deeply grateful that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed this resolution, which speaks up for those who are unable to have their voices heard in their homeland. We look forward to the day when the Iranian Baha’is will have their human rights restored and be able to contribute as equal citizens to the advancement of the country and the global community which they love,” said Ms. Kit Bigelow.

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There are 2 versions of Bill number H. Res. 1008 for the 110th Congress

1. Condemning the persecution of Baha’is in Iran. (Introduced in House)[H.RES.1008.IH]
2. Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2006, Congress declared that it deplored the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha’i community and… (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)[H.RES.1008.EH]



Other notable quotes from the Congressional record:

Rep. Mark Kirk (IL-10):

“For the life of me, I do not understand why they attack Baha’is. The Baha’i faith teaches that Moses and Jesus and Mohammed are all respected teachers who added to the faith of our times. The Baha’is embody acceptance and tolerance and accommodation. They have a faith which renders them incapable of being a threat to a government, so it is up to us to speak for them. It’s up to us to hold up a mirror to the Iranian Government to show it as a vicious and cruel state.”

“We have seen this movie before, but they have worn other uniforms in other countries. It is my hope that we can make this call to action to join with the European Parliament. We can help change the ending of this flick so that hundreds of thousands of Baha’is may one day be able to sleep well in future days knowing that the great democracies from across the seas in Europe and America watch over them.”



Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH):

“Totalitarian regimes everywhere, hiding behind the false excuse of state sovereignty, are eager to combat any progress in human rights and freedoms and to expand their hegemony and repression as far as others allow them to do. Therefore, the United States must continue to make clear, in both word and deed, that the spread of religious freedom and human rights worldwide is not merely an ideal, but an imperative.”



Rep. Frank R. Wolf (VA-10)

“I am pleased to join a bipartisan group of my colleagues as a cosponsor of this important resolution, and I hope its passage will send a strong message to the Iranian government that the United States Congress will always stand in solidarity with the persecuted people of the world.”



The full congressional record from the House floor can be accessed here



The press release from Congressman Kirk’s office can be accessed here

Congressman Wolf’s statement on the House floor can be accessed here. Continue Reading…

Arsonists in Iran target Baha'i homes, vehicles

NEW YORK, July 28 2008 (BWNS) — Acts of arson targeting homes and vehicles are the latest violent tactics directed against the Baha’is of Iran. “In the early hours of the morning of 18 July, the house of the Shaaker family in Kerman went up in flames, only weeks after their car had been torched and in the wake of a series of threatening phone calls,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“As would be expected in the light of the mistreatment Baha’is in Iran are routinely receiving, the officials who investigated the fire either ignored or dismissed obvious signs of suspicious activity, including a muffled explosion, simply saying that it was the result of an electrical problem,” she said.

At least a dozen cases of arson that target Baha’is have been reported in Iran in the last 15 months, Ms. Dugal said. She gave the following examples:

• On 15 July at 1:15 a.m., Molotov cocktails were thrown into the front courtyard of the home of Khusraw Dehghani and his wife, Dr. Huma Agahi, in Vilashahr, only months after anonymous threats directly related to her being a Baha’i forced Dr. Agahi to close her clinic in nearby Najafabad where she had practiced medicine for 28 years.
  
  
• On 25 July, the car of a prominent Baha’i in Rafsanjan, in Kerman province, was torched and destroyed by arsonists on motorbikes. Soheil Naeimi, the owner of the car, and 10 other Baha’i families in the town had received threatening letters from a group calling itself the Anti-Baha’ism Movement of the Youth of Rafsanjan that, among other things, threatened jihad (holy war) against the Baha’is.
  
  
• On 10 June, an outbuilding on the property of the Mr. and Mrs. Mousavi, elderly Baha’is living in the village of Tangriz in Fars province, was destroyed by fire when it was doused with gasoline. The Mousavis, along with their two sons who were sleeping close to the building, narrowly escaped injury when the gasoline tank used to start the fire exploded. The Mousavis believe that the perpetrator thought they were all sleeping in the hut when he set the fire. Mr. Mousavi issued a formal complaint against the person they suspected, but the legal office has declined to pursue the case because the suspect swore on the Qur’an that he was not guilty. Out of respect for the Qur’an, the Mousavis have dropped the charges.
  
  
• On 4 April, the home of a Baha’i was set on fire in Babolsar, in the north of Iran.
  
  
• In February in Shiraz, a 53-year-old businessman was attacked on the street, chained to a tree, doused with gasoline, and assaulted by unknown persons who then attempted to throw lighted matches at him.
  
  
• Also in Shiraz in February, several arson attempts were made against vehicles and a home belonging to Baha’is.
  
  
• On 1 May 2007, arson destroyed the home of ‘Abdu’l-Baqi Rouhani in the village of Ivil, in Mazandaran.
  
  
• In Karaj, the burial section of a Baha’i cemetery was set on fire.
  

“These latest attacks follow the authorities’ attempts to deprive the Iranian Baha’i community of its leadership,” Ms. Dugal said, referring to the arrests in March and May this year of the seven members of Iran’s national Baha’i coordinating group, all of whom are still locked up in Evin Prison in Tehran without any charges and without access to an attorney or to their families.

“As Baha’is worldwide watch with alarm this escalation in violence,” she added, “their fears that a sinister plan of persecution is unfolding become increasingly confirmed. Their only hope is that enough voices of protests are raised around the world to compel the government in Iran to put an end to this violence.”

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Seven jailed Iranian Baha'is make brief contact with families

NEW YORK, 19 June 2008 (BWNS) — Seven prominent Baha’is imprisoned in Iran have each been allowed a brief phone call to their families, the Baha’i International Community has learned.

The calls were the first contact with the jailed Baha’is since six of them were arrested on 14 May in pre-dawn raids at their homes in Tehran. The seventh was arrested in March in the city of Mashhad.

The Baha’i International Community has learned that on 3 June, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet and Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi were permitted to make short phone calls to their families. Mrs. Sabet had been detained in Mashhad on 5 March but on 26 May was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran, where it is believed the others are also being held.

Later it was confirmed that Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm also have made brief phone calls to their families.

No charges have been filed against any of the seven, who comprise the entire membership of a coordinating committee that saw to the minimal needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community of Iran.

In 1980, all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran were taken away and presumed killed as they were never heard from again. A year later, after the Assembly had been reconstituted, eight of the nine members were arrested and killed.

Besides the seven committee members imprisoned in Tehran, about 15 other Baha’is are currently detained in Iran, some incommunicado and most with no formal charges.

http://www.news.bahai.org/story/640
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The Baha’i International Community has also posted a report summarizing the latest news it has verified from Iran: Iran Update Continue Reading…

Remembering a day of tragedy, a day of courage

(Mona Mahmudnizhad, Zarrin Muqimi-Abyánih, and Ruya Ishraqi)
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the day 10 Bahá’í women were hanged in Shiraz, Iran, for teaching religious classes to Bahá’í youth — the equivalent of being Sunday School teachers in the West.

One of the men attending the gallows on that day in 1983 confided to a Bahá’í: “We tried saving their lives up to the last moment, but one by one, first the older ladies, then the young girls, were hanged while the others were forced to watch, it being hoped that this might induce them to recant their belief. We even urged them to say they were not Bahá’ís, but not one of them agreed; they preferred the execution.”

According to eyewitness reports, the women, ranging in age from 17 to 57, went to their fate singing and chanting, as though they were enjoying a pleasant outing.
All of the women had been interrogated and tortured in the months leading up to their execution. Some still bore visible wounds.

The youngest of the martyrs was Muna Mahmudnizhad, known as Mona, a 17-year-old schoolgirl who, because of her youth and conspicuous innocence, became a symbol of the group. In prison, she was lashed on the soles of her feet with a cable and forced to walk on bleeding feet.

Yet she never wavered in her faith, even to the point of kissing the hands of her executioner, and then the rope, before putting it around her own throat.

Another young woman, Zarrin Muqimi-Abyanih, 28, told the interrogators, whose chief goal was to have her disavow her faith: “Whether you accept it or not, I am a Bahá’í. You cannot take it away from me. I am a Bahá’í with my whole being and my whole heart.”

The judge said, during the trial of another of the women, Ruya Ishraqi, 23, a veterinary student: “You put yourselves through this agony only for one word: Just say you are not a Bahá’í and I’ll see that…you are released…” Ms. Ishraqi responded, “I will not exchange my faith for the whole world.”

The names of the other women hanged on June 18, 1983 were: Shahin Dalvand, 25, a sociologist; Izzat Janami Ishraqi, 57, a homemaker; Mahshid Nirumand, 28, who had qualified for a degree in physics but had it denied her because she was a Bahá’í; Simin Sabiri, 25; Tahirih Arjumandi Siyavushi, 30, a nurse; Akhtar Thabit, 25, also a nurse; and Nusrat Ghufrani Yalda’i, 47, a mother and member of the local Bahá’í Spiritual Assembly.

All had considered their duty to teach Bahá’í religious classes — especially after the government had barred Bahá’í children from attending even regular school.

http://bahai.us/day-of-courage Continue Reading…

Concern mounts over the fate of Iranian Baha’i leaders

The Bahá’í International Community today expressed its deep concern for the fate of the six Baha’i leaders who were arrested on May 14, 2008. At present, the whereabouts of none of the seven are known.

It was originally understood that the six were taken to Evin prison with the seventh remaining in Mashhad since March 2008. Relatives have made repeated attempts to gain more information, but have only been met with evasion and conflicting stories from government officials.

For further details, please visit http://news.bahai.org/story/635 Continue Reading…

Baha'i International Community rejects Iranian allegations on recent arrests

The Bahá’í International Community has rejected the Iranian government’s allegations that six Bahá’ís were arrested last week “for security reasons and not for their faith.”

“All of the allegations issued in a statement on Tuesday by the Iranian government are utterly baseless,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, referring to statements made in a press conference given on May 20, 2008, in Tehran by Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham, at which he acknowledged the arrest and imprisonment of six Bahá’í leaders last week.

For further remarks by the Bahá’í International Community on this matter, please visit http://news.bahai.org/story/634 Continue Reading…

Baha'i Leaders Arrested in Iran

Members of the national coordinating group of the Iranian Baha’i community

On May 14, Iranian intelligence officials arrested six Baha’i leaders and took them to the notorious Evin prison. The imprisonments are ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha’i leaders were summarily rounded up and subsequently executed.

The six men and women, all members of the national-level committee that coordinates the activities for the Iranian Baha’i community, were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.

The seventh member of the committee was arrested on March 5 in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there.

Arrested on May 14 were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran. Mrs. Kamalabadi, Mr. Khanjani, and Mr. Tavakkoli have been previously arrested and then released after periods ranging from five days to four months. The seventh member of the committee, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, also lives in Tehran although she has been detained in Mashhad.

These actions by the Iranian authorities are strongly reminiscent of their earlier treatment of Baha’i leaders when on August 21, 1980 all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran, the national governing body, were abducted and disappeared without a trace. It is certain that they were killed.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran reconstituted soon after those disappearances, and eight of those nine members were executed on December 27, 1981.

The Baha’i World News Service has released a story with further details and statements by the Baha’i International Community. You can access the story here Continue Reading…