For decades, followers of the Baha'i Faith in Iran were met with gross abuses against their human rights - from being denied access to education and health care, to imprisonment and even unlawful executions.
Created by mideastyouth on 10/06/2008
Last updated: 12/03/10 at 11:47
Tags: Iran Bahai Faith Human rights abuse persecution
Soheil Nasirzadeh, Babak Rouhi, Ezzatollah Ahmadian were summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in Mashhad, and following interrogations, were asked to sign written declarations that they will not participate in religious gatherings.
Following their refusal to sign such documents, the 3 were warned that 3-year old cases against them will be opened, and they would face imprsonment.
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=928:567&catid=66:304&Itemid=293
Sorour Sorourian (25 years old) was arrested in Hamadan. Her room was raided and several of her personal belongings were confiscated.
Sorour was released on the following day.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/release-youth/
During a period of a week, the residence of Yahya Hedayaty in Semnan was attacked thrice during the night.
The windows of his home were broken, but legal inquiries made about the incidents were fruitless
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=930:35&catid=66:304&Itemid=293
After being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence, Afshin Ehsanian was arrested.
Afshin is one of the 54 youth who were arrested in 2006 for offering classes to underprivileged children.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/afshin-ehsanian/
Ali Ehsani was summoned, and verbally charged with propaganda against the regime. Due to his inability to meet the requested bail, Mr. Ehsani was transferred to prison.
In early January, Mr. Ehsani's store was broken into without warrants, and everything was confiscated from it.
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=833:361&catid=66:304&Itemid=293
Sahba Khademi (24 years old) was arrested in Hamedan while driving to her sister's home, and taken to an unknown destination.
Sahba's home had previously been raided, and she had also been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/sahba-khademi/
Three days after their homes were raided, Farhad Maasumi Haleh Hooshmandi were summoned by security agents.
Despite being assured that they would be released on the same day, their families were informed on the 21st of March that their arrest would last for a longer time.
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=775:547&catid=66:304&Itemid=293
Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the homes of Mr. Farhad Maasumi, and Ms. Haleh Hooshmandi. Items confiscated from their homes included: books, computers, CDs, passports and identification papers. Both had previously received one-year suspended sentences, in relation to classes they were offering to impoverished children
In the early morning hours, unidentified individuals spray-painted slogans and threats on the walls of several Baha'i homes in the city of Semnan.
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=700:21&catid=66:304&Itemid=293
Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence arrested Pooya Tebyanian (24 years old) from his place of work
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/03/pooya-semnan/
Shirin Foroghian was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligenve and transferred to Kachoi prison.
Her husband, Adil Samimi, had been arrested on the 25th of December
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/03/woman-arrest-sari/
Three medical students from the University of Shahand Tabriz were expelled from university. University officials shut down the students' (Sina Dana, Sama Noorani, and Faraz Vazirzadeh) access to the online university registration and course selection.
Two apartments, belonging to the Pirasteh and Pur-Husayni families, were attacked by Molotov cocktails in Semnan.
After being summoned by Ministry of Intelligence officials, Saman was arrested,
http://hrairan.org/images/SitePhoto/saman-sabeti.jpg
The home of Saman Sabeti, a Baha'i who was in charge of community affairs in Qaemshahr, was raided.
Personal belongings and religious books were confiscated in the process
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/02/15/bahai-detained-in-qaemshahr/
Ministry of Intelligence officials summoned Namya Haghar for questioning, and subsequently arrested him. Currently, no information is avaialable on his whereabouts.
http://hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=442%3A987&catid=66%3A304&Itemid=293
Homes of 10 Baha'is who are active in the Baha'i community in Mashhad were raided, and two: Ms. Sima Eshraghi and Mr. Jaleed Vahdat were arrested
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/01/28/10-homes-raided-in-mashhad-2-bahais-arrested/
9 women were arrested by authorities in the city of Qaemshahr. The detained women were: Taraneh Sanai, Shahnaz Sa’adati, Amelia Fanaian, Anisa Fanaian and Farzaneh Ahmadzadegan
For the third time in a span of a few months, the Baha'i cemetery in Qaemshahr underwent massive destruction.
Undercover agents oversaw the destruction that left the ground completely flattened.
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/01/20/in-pictures-complete-destruction-of-qaemshahr-cemetery/
8 Baha'is were arrested in the tourist destination of Kish, under charges of teaching the Baha'i Faith.
http://news.trend.az/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1398189&lang=en
Agents raided several homes during the early morning hours and confiscated several personal belongings. The raids were followed by the arrest of 6 individuals
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/01/15/more-raids-arrests-in-iran/
9 Baha'i students were dismissed from the University of Kerman, on the basis of their religious affiliation
Adel Fanaian and Abbas Nourani, members of the local administrative body of Semnan, and Zaher Eskandarian, a former member, were arrested at their homes.
They had previously been arrested in 2005
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/01/05/three-bahai-administrators-arrested-in-semnan/
After raiding her home and confiscating all Baha'i material, Soha Zamani was detained by security officials. She was released 2 days later on bail.
Badiollah Abolfazli was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment, after being found guilty of “being an active member of the Bahá’í community”; “teaching Bahaism and being involved in activities against the Islamic Republic”; and “teaching Muslims secretly by providing them with Bahá’í materials”.
5 optical shops owned by Baha'is were forcibly closed by the Public Places Supervision Office. The owners were informed that the Ministry of Health had filed a complaint against the businesses, so they had to be closed. The Ministry of Health denied that it filed such a complaint.
Agents from the Ministry of Intelligence stormed 3 Baha'i homes in Qaemshahr and asked the residents to present themselves before the Ministry.
http://www.bahairights.org/2009/01/07/three-baha%E2%80%99i-families-in-qaemshahr-harassed/
The residence of Peyman Roohi was raided, and all Baha'i material was confiscated.
Over a three day period, 13 Baha'i homes in the city of Semnan, Iran were raided and personal belongings were confiscated. Security agents also cut phone lines and warned Baha'is from informing others about the raids.
The raids resulted in the arrest of Ms. Sahba Fana’ian
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/12/16/bahai-houses-searched-in-iran/
Kamran Jamshid, a cultural activist and book dealer, was arrested and charged with spreading information on the Baha'i Faith.
Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the home of Soheila Motallebi, a well-known musician, and arrested her.
3 social activists who were offering social and etiquette classes to underprivileged children in the Iranian city of Yasuj were sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. Zolaykha Mosavi, Rohieh Yazdani and Ali-Asgar Ravan-Bakhsh were charged with acting against social security
Anti-Baha'i presentations were given at two high schools in Shiraz. All students from grades 11 and 12, including Baha'is, were obliged to attend; it had been announced that any student not present would have marks deducted.
The Baha’i cemetery in the town of Ghaemshahr faced an intensive destruction where approximately 80% of the graves were destroyed by bulldozers.
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/10/27/desecration-of-cemetery-in-ghaemshahr-iran/
A girl was expelled from high school, after it became known that she is a Baha'i. The school's principal wrote to the Ministry of Education, informing them that the girl was discovered to be a Baha'i, and requested the Ministry to take the necessary actions.
Iranian news agencies reported the launch of a petition calling for the dissolution of all Baha'i institutions in Iran.
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/09/25/petition-against-bahais-islamically-sanctioned/
After spending 29 days in solitary confinement (during which he was abused and humiliated), Badiollah Abolfazi was verbally informed that he will be charged with "initiating actions against the Islamic Republic".
Resalat, a conservative Iranian daily, published a report in which the Deputy of Tehran’s General and Revolutionary Dadsara is quoted to have alleged 7 arrested Baha'i leaders admitted to links with Israel
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/08/03/iran-alleges-israeli-bahai-link/
3 officers from the Prosecutor's Office in Ahvaz searched the home of the Ghanavatian family. The officers claimed that complaints were lodged by neighbours regarding their “activities against the regime” and “teaching Baha’ism”. Personal belongings and Baha'i material were confiscated during the search.
Mehrdad Sabetrasekh was aribitrarily arrested and held for two months. He was only released after submitting a bail of $10,000
In the early hours of the morning, the home of a Baha'i family in the Iranian city of Kemran was burned down. Neighbours reported witnessing strange activity, and arson is expected
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/07/19/a-bahai-home-arsoned-in-kerman-iran/
Molotov cocktails were thrown into the front courtyard of the home of Khusraw Dehghani and his wife, Dr. Huma Agahi,
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.
Mehran Bandy Amirabad was arrested at his work by Ministry of Intelligence agents.
Security officials arrested two officials of the Baha'i community in Isfahan and one other member of the Baha'i community, reportedly on charges of burying their dead at a particular site that had been used for the past 15 years.
Early in the morning, the house of six Baha'i leaders in the Iranian capital Tehran were raided, and the leaders were held without charge in the notorious Evlin prison
http://news.bahai.org/story/632
A Baha'i home was set on fire in the city of Babolsar.
Two days after receiving threatening letters from a group that calls itself Sarbazan Gumnam Imam Zaman (the unknown soldiers of the Lord of the Age), a Baha'i in the Iranian city of Shiraz narrowly escaped an attempt to torch him.
http://www.bahairights.org/2008/03/21/attempt-to-torch-a-bahai-in-shiraz/
Authorities arrested Touraj Amini, Iraj Amini, and Payman Amoui on charges of teaching the Baha'i Faith. Iraj Amini and Payman Amoui were released on March 10, and Touraj Amini was released on March 17.
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