Persecution of Baha'is in Iran (2006 Report): (evolution, mission, faith, service)

[arthra]

A new report on religious liberty in Iran was released in September 2006 from the United States Department of State "International Religious Freedom" has been released and can found at

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71421.htm

It details persecution and deprivation of the rights of Iranian citizens and among these details the repression of the Baha'i Faith and persecution of Baha'is in that country. The Report enumerates and supports what has been reported previously but has I think some further detail so I am posting this link above for anyone who wants to read more and below is an excerpt of recent persecutions:

Between August 2005 and May 2006, eighty-seven Baha'is were arrested (but only eighty-six were detained). At the end of the period covered by this report, two remained in prison. Most of the others were never formally charged but they were only released after posting bail. For some, bail was deeds of property worth approximately $11,000; others were released in exchange for personal guarantees or work licenses. Some were not allowed to resume working for six months after their detention. There were also reports of attacks on Baha'is by unidentified assailants.

In the first week of August 2005, fourteen Baha'is were arrested from several cities, including Tehran. They were held in incommunicado detention, and there was concern from several sources that they were at risk of torture or ill treatment. During the rest of August and during September, nine more Baha'is were arrested in various cities. On September 17 and 19, three were released on bail. On September 5, four Baha'is were sentenced to ten months of imprisonment for opposition to the government. On the same day, the homes of nine Baha'is were searched in Yazd, and books, computers, tapes, videos, and CDs were confiscated.


On December 19, 2005, the longest imprisoned Baha'i, Zabihullah Mahrami, died in prison of unknown causes. He was arrested in 1995 and convicted of apostasy in 1996. He was forced to engage in hard labor at the penitentiary and regularly received death threats. His family was told he died of a heart attack, but Mahrami was reportedly in good health prior to his death.


On January 15, 2006, three Baha'is from Kermanshah were arrested on charges of "involvement in Baha'i activities and insulting Islam." Their homes and four others were raided the same day and books, documents, and other items were confiscated. On January 16, the Revolutionary Court set property worth more than US$30,000 as collateral for the three Baha'is, and they were released on January 20. On February 5, 2006, three Baha'is from Esfahan were arrested for coordinating Baha'i activities.


On March 18, 2006, Mehran Kawsari was released from jail without bail. He was tried in connection with the November 2004 open letter to then President Khatami that requested the restoration of human rights for the Baha'is and was charged with taking measures against the internal security of the government.


From May 9 to 11 2006, eleven Baha'i homes were raided in Shahinshahr, Najafabad, and Kashan but no arrests were made. On May 19, six Baha'i homes were raided in Shiraz, and notebooks, computers, books, and documents were seized. The homeowners were among the fifty-four Baha'is arrested that day. The individuals were mostly youths engaged in humanitarian service. With permission from the Islamic Council of Shiraz, they were teaching classes to poor children as part of a UNICEF program. On May 24-25, fifty-one out of fifty-four of the detainees were released. As of June 14, the remaining three had been released, initially for collateral payments of $54,600 per person but in the end solely based on personal guarantees.


On June 13 2006, one Baha'i man from Sanandaj was arrested and released on June 29 on unknown terms. There was an unconfirmed report of five more arrests in Shiraz, but no further information is yet available. On June 18, three Baha'is from Hamadan were arrested after government officials confiscated books, computers, and Baha'i documents, but they were released on bail on June 21. No details of the terms of their release were available. On June 21, one Baha'i from Baluchistan province was reportedly abducted, and authorities said they suspected criminal elements were involved. On June 28, one Baha'i was taken into custody and was being held in the Ministry of Information's detention center. This individual was previously arrested and released in August 2005.

[Djamila]

I find the timing of this report strange. And the fact that is credits Saudi Arabia for moving in the right direction, when freedom of religion is literally illegal in Saudi Arabia, strikes me as odd.

So I'm very skeptic of what this report says, not that I expect Bahai people have it easy in Iran... but I'd prefer to see a report from Amnesty International or another more respectable organization.

[Ody]

I have always wondered why the treatments of the Zorastrians have never really been looked into in compairison to other groups.

I guess an obscure religion doesn't touch the publics heart.

[arthra]

Originally Posted by Djamila

I find the timing of this report strange. And the fact that is credits Saudi Arabia for moving in the right direction, when freedom of religion is literally illegal in Saudi Arabia, strikes me as odd.

So I'm very skeptic of what this report says, not that I expect Bahai people have it easy in Iran... but I'd prefer to see a report from Amnesty International or another more respectable organization.

Djamila,

Thanks for your post!

If you've been at all aware of the persecution of Baha'is in Iran then you know the details are mostly already known and have been documented.

The reason I posted it here was there are some additional incidents reported in the past year that many may not be aware of. Also this report concerns only conditions in Iran not Saudi Arabia.

- Art

[arthra]

Originally Posted by ‡Âlãn‡

I have always wondered why the treatments of the Zorastrians have never really been looked into in compairison to other groups.

I guess an obscure religion doesn't touch the publics heart.

Thanks for posting here Alan and welcome!

You'll note this is a Baha'i section of RF so I excerpted elements that concerned Baha'is.

If you check the source
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71421.htm
and read the report there is indeed mention of Zoroastrians who are given a modicum of religious freedom unlike the Baha'is.

In friendship!

- Art

[Ody]

Originally Posted by arthra

Thanks for posting here Alan and welcome!

You'll note this is a Baha'i section of RF so I excerpted elements that concerned Baha'is.

If you check the source
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71421.htm
and read the report there is indeed mention of Zoroastrians who are given a modicum of religious freedom unlike the Baha'is.

In friendship!

- Art

I wasn't aware of the report in regards to Zorastrians, I meant nothing about it to you personally, but reporting agencies in general.

[Djamila]

No, it's all part of their latest report, arthra. They've covered most of the world in this report, you've just seen the Iranian portion of it.

I've sadly not heard anything about the persecution specifically of Bahais in Iran, only the generalized incidents.

[arthra]

Originally Posted by Djamila

No, it's all part of their latest report, arthra. They've covered most of the world in this report, you've just seen the Iranian portion of it.

I've sadly not heard anything about the persecution specifically of Bahais in Iran, only the generalized incidents.

Thanks for posting again Djamila!

You can read the portion on Saudi Arabia Djamila if you'd like and comment somewhere about it but here... I've only cited the report on Iran because it more directly related to persecution of Baha'is. One reason I posted this was because many like you have "not heard anything about the persecution specifically of Baha'is.."

- Art

[Djamila]

I agree, arthra. I sincerely didn't mean to... hijack... your intentions. I just don't trust this report and I wouldn't say so if I didn't care at all, but I do care to know about this. I'd just prefer to have the information from an organization I trust more... so if you have anything else, please share it! Truly, I'm not toying with you. I'll read it.

[arthra]

Djamila,

Thanks again for your post!

Here is a cite that you can explore... I would suggest you take your time.

http://question.bahai.org/about.php

Most of the reports as I mentioned earlier in the Statement Department Report on Iran were already known to us except the more recent ones in the past year, that's why I posted them.

- Art