A week before the fifth Intercontinental conference is due to convene in Djakarta, Indonesia, the government withdrew the permit to hold the conference. [BW13:331]
• For the story of why the permit was revoked see DM83–5.
• The cancellation of the conference in Djakarta began a period of severe repression of the Faith in Indonesia which eventually led to the Faith being banned in 1962. [DM85, 88]

The Bahá'í Faith was banned in Algeria by official decree, all Bahá'í institutions were disbanded and the National Spiritual Assembly dissolved. [BW15:189; BW19:41]
• Algeria has a long history of repression and persecution of religious minorities. Bahá'í activities have been banned by law in Algeria since this time. The government has made little progress on its 2014 commitment to reopen synagogues that had been converted to mosques or churches. In 2006, Algeria adopted Ordinance 06-03 requiring non-Muslim organizations to register with the National Commission governing worship by non-Muslim groups, housed under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This commission rarely meets and often fails to respond to registration requests by non-Muslim groups in the time required by the ordinance. [US Commission on International Freligious Freedom - Annual Report 2021 p57]

Following the ban imposed by the government of the Central African Republic on Bahá'í activities in November 1970 and subsequent representations made by the international Bahá'í lawyer Dr Aziz Navidi, the ban was lifted and the Bahá'í Faith officially recognized.
• This was broadcast in every news bulletin on government radio for the next 24 hours, the first public proclamation of the Bahá'í Faith in the country.
• See also A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p8].

Following the banning of Bahá'í activities in Egypt in 1960, Egyptian Bahá'ís submitted a petition to the Supreme Constitutional Court asking for redress and for justice to be upheld. [BW15:173]
• The opinion of one Mandatory of the government is that the 1960 decree was unconstitutional. [BW15:173]

The government of Indonesia re-affirmed the ban on the Bahá'í Faith.
• Following this a number of Bahá'ís lost their jobs.

As a result of an intervention by the Egyptian chargé d'affaires, Bahá'í activities in Burundi were banned. [BW16:137]
• At the request of the Universal House of Justice and through the able intervention of Dr. 'Aziz Navidi, several representations were made to the Government.

In Cambodia, political upheaval and a ban on the Bahá'í Faith had scattered its communities and caused some believers to be imprisoned briefly. Dempsey and Adrienne Morgan returned in 1971 and discreetly helped facilitate communication among Bahá'ís. Once the ban was lifted in 1974, he assisted in re-formation of several Local Spiritual Assemblies and instituted training classes. The foundation built by the national Bahá'í community helped it endure the devastating upheavals of subsequent years. [The American Bahá'í, Servants of the Glory page 48]
• "All effective contact with the Cambodian Bahá'ís was lost during the period of Khmer Rouge rule (1975-79), and apart from contact with Bahá'ís subsequently found in refugee camps in Thailand, the community had to be completely re-established in the 1980s." [Religious Freedom in the Asia Pacific: The Experience of the Bahá'í Community p87 by Graham Hassall]
• "With the conclusion of warfare and the establishment of the new regime all Bahá'í activity in Cambodia is at a standstill, as far as can be ascertained. For a time the national Teaching Committee secretary wrote of continuing teaching activity among the believers and enquirers but there are now no available channels of communication and there has been no recent news of the fate of the Khmer Bahá'ís". [BW16 p.138]

In Indonesia several Bahá'ís were arrested, given light sentences and released for violating the 1962 and 1972 bans on Bahá'í activity. [BW19:41]
• A few months later four Bahá'ís were sentenced to five years' imprisonment; they remained in prison for the full five years. [BW19:41]

Egyptian security services have exploited the decree to orchestrate six major crackdowns on the Bahá'í community , in 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972,1985 and 2001. The authorities arrested a total of 236 Egyptian Bahá'ís in these crackdowns, on grounds that they had violated the decree or on charges of "contempt of religion" On the few occasions on which arrests were followed by prosecutions, none of the defendants were ever found guilty of violating Law 263/1960 or any other law." [BW16:137; Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom p31 footnote 54]

The government of Equatorial Guinea outlawed all religions and the national spiritual assembly was dissolved.
• It was re-formed in 1984.

In Uganda, 27 religious organizations were banned, including the Bahá'í Faith, and the Bahá'í House of Worship was closed. [BW17:81]
• The national spiritual assembly and all 1,550 local assemblies were dissolved. [BW17:141]
• The Assembly was able to re-form in 1981. [The Achievements of the Seven Year Plan p2]

The Bahá'í Faith, along with many other religious groups, were banned in Uganda. The National Assembly and 1,550 local assemblies were dissolved. The ban was lifted in April of 1979 and the community began the process to re-build. [BWNS135; BW17:141]
• The National Spiritual Assembly was re-established in 1981. [BW18:553]

The Bahá'ís of Vietnam were prohibited by the government from meeting and practising their religion. [BW17:81; BW19:50]
• Bahá'í centres throughout the country were closed or confiscated;
• The national Hazíratu'l-Quds in Ho Chi Minh City was seized and made into an orphanage;
• Two members of the national spiritual assembly were arrested and sent to 're-education' camps.
• One was released in 1982, owing to ill health.

The government of the Congo banned the majority of smaller religious groups, including the Bahá'í Faith. [BW17:141]
• The national Hazíratu'l-Quds was confiscated and the assemblies dissolved.

In Niger, an announcement was made on the national radio banning 'the Baha'ist sect and the Nineteen Day Feast' throughout the country; immediately, all Bahá'í administrative activities were suspended and the national spiritual assembly was dissolved. [BW17:147]
• Mr Djoneidi was called into police-headquarters in Niger for questioning and was held for three days; then released unharmed. Other Bahá'ís were also called in.

The persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92; BW19:177–226]
• Twenty–nine Bahá'ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:232–3]
• All Bahá'í elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government in this year; most of the members of the previous three national governing councils having successively been executed. The members of a third National Spiritual Assembly eventually all were arrested or "disappeared". In the absence of a national governing council (known as a "National Spiritual Assembly"), the ad hoc leadership group, called the "Friends in Iran," (Yaran) was formed with the full knowledge of the government. The various governments in power in Iran since 1983 had always been aware of this group. In fact, over the years government officials have routinely had dealings with the members of the Yaran, albeit often informally. [BWNS694] iiiii
• For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
• For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6 and BW19:44–6.
• For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá'í International Community, Bahá'í institutions and others see BW18:352–6, 424–5.

In Iran the Bahá'í Faith was banned in Iran and membership of Bahá'í institutions made a criminal offence. This order required the dissolution of the third National Spiritual Assembly and roughly 400 local assemblies. [BW19:43]
• The National Spiritual Assembly was dissolved as well all Bahá'í institutions throughout the country. [BW19:43]
• Despite the dissolution, the authorities continued to harass and intimidate the former National Spiritual Assembly members, former members of Local Spiritual Assemblies and other administrative officials around the country, as well as every individual who had signed the open letter defending the Bahá'í community. Between late 1983 and early 1984 over 500 Bahá'ís – most of whom were former council members or related to former members – were arrested without charge.

  In time, seven former members of the third National Spiritual Assembly were arrested and eventually executed by the government.

  • Jahángír Hidáyatí, who had already attracted much hostile attention from the Islamic regime as a board member of the Bahá'í-run Nawnahálán Corporation, was arrested on June 30, 1983, and held in solitary confinement in Evin prison for eleven months, during which time he was repeatedly tortured in an effort to persuade him. to recant his faith on public television. He refused. Hidáyatí was executed on May 15, 1984. [BW19p205]
  • Shápúr (Húshang) Markazí was arrested in September 1983. During the course of his imprisonment, torturers broke his ribs and damaged one eye so badly that it seriously impaired his vision. Their goal was reportedly to force him to admit to false charges implicating the Bahá'í institutions as a network involved in espionage and himself as a spy. He was executed on September 23, 1984.
  • Ahmad Bashiri was arrested in July of 1983 for serving on several Local Spiritual Assemblies in different towns and eventually on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. He was severely tortured during his 15 months in prison and finally executed on November 1, 1984.
  • Dr. Farhád Asdaqí was called to Tehran and asked to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly after the arrest of the second National Assembly. He did this until the third National Assembly was disbanded in September 1983. Dr. Asdaqí went into hiding in 1983 but was finally arrested in June 1984. He was executed on November 19, 1984 – after four months of imprisonment and torture.
  • Farid Bihmardi was elected and served on the last National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. He was arrested in the streets of Tehran and was imprisoned a total of twenty-two months in Evin prison. During this period he was tortured and spent nearly 9 months in solitary confinement. He was never allowed visitors and was executed on June 10, 1986. It is believed that he was hung; however, since he was buried before his family was told of his execution, no proper examination was done to determine the cause of death. [BW20p385]
  • Ardishír Akhtarí was arrested by four Revolutionary Guards from Zarbat Group at Evin on September 11, 1984 at his home. He spent over three years in prison before he was finally executed on September 28, 1987.
  • Amír-Husayn Nádirí was also arrested on September 11, 1984. He was imprisoned at Evin and Gohardasht where he was tortured extensively. He was held in detention for over three years before being executed with Ardishír Akhtarí on September 28, 1987. [BW20p387 note 232; A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran]

Forty–one Bahá'ís from various parts of Egypt were arrested, charged with offences against laws introduced in 1960 banning activities of Bahá'í institutions. [BW19:41, 283]
• For an account of the event, its aftermath and the press campaign surrounding it see BW19:283–7.

The court hearings open on the cases of the Bahá'ís arrested in Egypt in February on charges of disregarding the 1960 ban on Bahá'í activity. [BW,9:285]
• The cases were adjourned until 7 October to allow time for the defence lawyer to study the files numbering about a thousand pages. [BW19:285]

The re-formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Vietnam took place after a lapse of some 33 years. Joan Lincoln was the special emissary of the Universal House of Justice at their National Convention. A number of people attending the activities had joined the Bahá'í Faith in the 1950s and 1960s and had remained firm in the Faith despite the years of restrictions on certain activities.
• A major step towards official recognition of the Faith had been taken a year previously when authorities issued a certificate recognizing Bahá'í activities.
• The Bahá'í Faith had been established in Vietnam in 1954. In 1957 Bahá'ís they joined with a number of other countries in southeast Asia to form a Regional Spiritual Assembly, and in 1964 the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam had been formed. [BWNS617; BWNS647; One Country]

Bahá'ís celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh in a ceremony in Baghdad attended by representatives from the Iraqi parliament, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, civil society as well as media activists.
• This was considered the most prominent ceremony where Bahá'ís officially announced themselves for the first time in 47 years, as the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council issued Decree No. 105 in 1970 to ban Bahá'í activities. As a consequence, Bahá'í administrative institutions in Iraq were dissolved and any activity where Bahá'ís declared their religious identity was punishable by imprisonment.
• During the proceedings they asked for support to rescind the law on prohibiting Bahá'í activity, which was still in effect despite the fact that the law contradicted the 2005 constitution, which guaranteed freedom of belief to all citizens.
• Millions of Bahá'ís around the world celebrated the honorary bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh on Oct. 21-22. Bahá'ís in Baghdad celebrated after one month of postponements given the security difficulties and challenges surrounding the ceremony. [Al-Monitor.com]