- 1850-05-00 —
The start of the Zanján upheaval. Hujjat had converted a sizeable proportion of the town and tension mounted between the Bábís and the 'ulamá. [DB540–1, 527–81; Bab185–8, 209–13; BBD111, 245; BBR114–26; BBRSM28, 216; GPB44–5; TN245]
- See BW19p381 for this chronicle of events by Moojan Momen.
- 19 May: Mir Salah dispersed a mob sent against Hujjat by the Governor; the Governor sent to Ṭihrán for reinforcements; the town divided into two.
- 1, 13 and 16 June: Arrival of troop reinforce ments.
- 1 July: Capture of an important Bábi position.
- 25 July: Capture of an important Bábi' position.
- 4 August: Fierce fighting ending in Bábi victory and recapture of lost positions.
- 17 August: General assault on Bábi positions repelled, but Bábi's lost ground.
- 25 August: Arrival of 'Aziz Khan-i-Mukri, commander-in-chief of 1ran's army.
- 3 September: General assault ordered by 'Aziz Khan repelled.
- 11 September: Arrival of troop reinforcements.
- early October: Bombardment and assault took several Bábi' positions, leaving the Bábis confined to a small number of houses.
- mid-November: Arrival of further reinforcements.
- 29 December: Martyrdom of Hujjat.
- about 2 January 1851: General assault resulted in capture of remaining Bábi' positions and killing of several hundred Bábi men and women. End of Zanjan upheaval.
- 1850-05-27 —
First Nayríz upheaval. Vahíd traveled from Yazd towards Shíráz, eventually coming to Nayríz. He went to the Mosque of Jum'ih where he ascended the pulpit and proclaimed the Cause of God. The governor moved against him and Vahíd ordered his companions to occupy the fort of Khájih. The siege that followed lasted a month. [B178, 204–5; BBR109–13; BW18:381; For23]
- See RB1:325–31 for the story of Vahíd. See also GPB50, KI223.
- See also B178–82; BBD171; BBR109–13; BBRSM28, 216; DB485–99; GPB42–4; RB1:264; TN245.
- See BW19p381 for a chronicle of events.
The main events were:
- 27 May: Entry of Vahid into Nayriz; his address at the Jum'ih mosque; the Governor made moves against him; Vahid ordered his companions to occupy the fort of Khájih..
- about 6 June: Arrival of Mihr-'Ali Khan-i-Nuri with troops from Shiraz.
- about 8 June: Night sortie by Bábis routed troops.
- about 9 June: Prolonged fighting on this day led to many deaths on both sides.
- 17 June: Vahid, having received a promise of safety written on the Qur'án, left the fort for Mihr-'Ali Khan's camp.
- 21 June: The Bábis were, through treachery, induced to leave the fort, then set upon and killed.
- 24 June: The arrival in Shiraz of thirteen severed heads of Bábfs which were paraded through the town.
- 29 June: Martyrdom of Vahfd.
- 11 July: Mihr-'Ali Khan arrived in Shiraz with Bábi' prisoners and decapitated heads.
- 1850-06-17 — At Nayríz, Vahíd received a message from the Governor offering a truce and a promise of safety written on the Qur'án. He, together with five attendants, leave the fortress and were received into the camp of his enemies where he was entertained with great ceremony for three days. [B180–1; BW18:381]
- 1852-08-15 — "In the hecatomb of 1852-1853 the ranks of the Bábís were drastically thinned.
Most of the leading disciples were killed, only a few surviving in distant exile.
The next ten years were hopelessly dark. Within the Bábí community there was
much confusion and fear. It seemed at times that all the heroism, all the sacrifices,
had been in vain. Enemies gloated over the virtual extermination of what they
saw as a pernicious heretical sect. Sympathetic outsiders concluded that the movement
that had shown so much promise cracked under persecution and collapsed,
leaving behind only a glorious memory." [Varqá and Rúhu'lláh: Deathless in Martyrdom by Kazem Kazemzadeh, World Order, Winter 1974-75 p.29]
- 1867-04-00 —
- 1868-08-01 — Mullá Muhammad-Ridá, Ridá'r-Rúh was poisoned in Yazd. [BW18:383]
- 1870-00-00 —
In Zanján, Áqá Siyyid Ashraf was arrested, condemned to death as a Bábí and executed. [BWG470]
- He was the son of Mír Jalíl, one of the companions of Hujjat who was martyred in Tihrán at the end of the Zanján episode. [BKG470]
- He was born during the siege at Zanján. [BKG470]
- His mother was brought to prison to persuade him to recant his faith but she threatened to disown him if he did so. [BBD25; BKG470; ESW73–4; GPB199–200]
- See G135–6 for Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet concerning Ashraf and his mother.
- 1889-07-18 — The Bahá'ís were persuaded to leave the Telegraph Office in Isfahán after being assured that they would receive protection in their villages. [BW18:383]
- 1889-08-00 — Bahá'ís of Sidih and Najafábád, after having received no help or protection, went to Tihrán to petition the Sháh. [BW18:383]
- 1901-00-00 — William Hoar, one of the first Bahá'ís in America, was asked by `Abdu'l-Bahá to meet with the Persian ambassador in Washington to request justice for the Bahá'ís of Iran, thus marking the beginning of the efforts of the American Bahá'í community to alleviate the persecution of their brethren. [BFA2:51]
- 1911-08-23 —
'Abdu'l-Bahá went for a carriage ride in the nearby hills. ["With 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Switzerland" by Juliet Thompson, SoW Vol 2 no 14 (Nov 23, 1911) p9-13, ABF15]
- Later that day, by chance, 'Abdu'l-Bahá encountered the Persian prince, Sultán-Mas'ud Mírzá Zillu's-Sultán (1850-1918), the eldest son of Násirid-/dín Sháh, (1850-1918) in the Parc Hotel. He was in voluntary exile in Europe accompanied by his four sons. At various times, he had been the governor or governor-general of various provinces in Iran from 1862 to 1907 and had persecuted the Bahá'ís zealously. He was responsible for ratifying the execution of the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs in 1879. Upon meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá he presented his excuses but 'Abdu'l-Bahá forgave him by saying "All those things are in the past. Never think of them again." [DJT172-3, ABF17; ABW411]
- Annie Boylan arrived in Thonon-les-Bains from America by way of Lausanne. 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported to have told her that the building of the Shrine of the Báb was the fulfillment of the prophecy that "the Lord would come and rebuild the temple that had been torn down". He added that the Tomb of the Báb and that of Bahá'u'lláh were considered the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar. [SoW vol 11. no. 1 (March 21, 1920) p1-15, ABF18] iiiii
- Annie Boylan had been on pilgrimage in October of 1908. [WMSH60]
.
- 1925-05-10 —
A Muslim Court in Egypt pronounced the Faith to be an independent religion. [BBRSM173; BW2:31;BW3:49]
- For text of the judgement see BW3:48–50.
- This was 'the first charter of liberty emancipating the Bahá'í Faith from the fetters of orthodox Islam'. [BA100-1, 120-123; BW3:110–11; GPBXII, 302, 365; CB306; PP319–20; UD65 WOB99, LoF57, SETPE1p102-104]
"an attack which, viewed in the perspective of history, will be acclaimed by future generations as a landmark not only in the Formative Period of the Faith but in the history of the first Bahá'í century. Indeed, the sequel to this assault may be said to have opened a new chapter in the evolution of the Faith itself, an evolution which, carrying it through the successive stages of repression, of emancipation, of recognition as an independent Revelation, and as a state religion, must lead to the establishment of the Bahá'í state and culminate in the emergence of the Bahá'í World Commonwealth. [GPB364]
- Subsequent to the court's decision...
"the presentation of a petition addressed by the national elected representatives of that community to the Egyptian Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice (supported by a similar communication addressed by the American National Spiritual Assembly to the Egyptian Government, see BW4p166), enclosing a copy of the judgment of the Court, and of their national Bahá'í constitution and by-laws, requesting them to recognize their Assembly as a body qualified to exercise the functions of an independent court and empowered to apply, in all matters affecting their personal status, the laws and ordinances revealed by the Author of their Faith--these stand out as the initial consequences of a historic pronouncement that must eventually lead to the establishment of that Faith on a basis of absolute equality with its sister religions in that land." [GPB367]
"it became a lever which the Egyptian Bahá'í community, followed later by its sister-communities, readily utilized for the purpose of asserting the independence of its Faith and of seeking for it the recognition of its government. Translated into several languages, circulated among Bahá'í communities in East and West, it gradually paved the way for the initiation of negotiations between the elected representatives of these communities and the civil authorities in Egypt, in the Holy Land, in Persia and even in the United States of America, for the purpose of securing the official recognition by these authorities of the Faith as an independent religion. " [GPB366]
Background Information
"It was in the village of Kawmu's-Sa`áyidih, in the district of Beba, of the province of Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, that, as a result of the religious fanaticism which the formation of a Bahá'í assembly had kindled in the breast of the headman of that village, and of the grave accusations made by him to both the District Police Officer and the Governor of the province--accusations which aroused the Muhammadans to such a pitch of excitement as to cause them to perpetrate shameful acts against their victims--that action was initiated by the notary of the village, in his capacity as a religious plaintiff authorized by the Ministry of Justice, against three Bahá'í residents of that village, demanding that their Muslim wives be divorced from them on the grounds that their husbands had abandoned Islám after their legal marriage as Muslims." [GPB364-365]
See message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of Egypt dated 21 December 2006.1928-04-00 — As part of a general anti-religious campaign launched under Stalin, the Soviet authorities abrogated the constitution of the Spiritual Assembly of 'Ishqábád (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) and the Assembly was dissolved.
[BW3:37-43; BW8p88; SETPE1p154; YS2]
- Bahá'í schools and libraries were closed. [BBRSM173]
- Not long after, the government ordered that all religious buildings in the Soviet Union were the property of the government and the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár locked. As soon as the doors were sealed by the authorities the friends gathered in the surrounds gardens for prayers. They came in far greater numbers that had requested the Temple. Too it was expropriated and later leased back to the Bahá'ís. [BBD122; BBR473; BBRSM161; BW3:37]
- The chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly, Jináb-i Gulpáygání, as representative for the community, was chosen to go to Moscow to appeal the case where the authorities agreed to remove the seals from the gates making the grounds accessible to the friends. [YS2]
- For the history of the persecution of the Bahá'ís in the Soviet Union see BBR473 and BW3:34–43.
- Note: PP364–5 says it was 1929.
- See The Bahá'í Community of Ashkhabad; Its Social Basis and Importance in Bahá'í History by Moojan Momen.
1934-00-04 — The government of Iran took several measures against the Bahá'ís throughout the country. [BW18p389]
- Nineteen Bahá'í schools are closed in Káshán, Qazvín, Yazd, Najafábád, Ábádih and elsewhere. [ARG109]
- Bahá'í meetings were forbidden in many towns, including Tihrán, Mashhad, Sabzivár, Qazvín and Arák.
- Bahá'ís centres in Káshán, Hamadán and Záhidán were closed by the authorities.
- Some Bahá'í government employees were dismissed.
- Some Bahá'í military personnel were stripped of their rank and imprisoned.
- Bahá'ís in many places were harassed over the filling-in of marriage certificates, census forms and other legal documents.
1934-12-06 — The Tarbíyat Bahá'í Schools in Tihrán and all other Bahá'í schools across the country were closed by order of the Minister of Education (headed by 'Ali-Asghar-i-Hikmat, a well-known Azali) when they failed to open on a holy day. [BBD221–2; BW18:389; CB312; GPB363; PP308; RoB4p313; BN No 97 January 1936 p1]
- In spite of (or because of) their high standards of education, the Bahá'í schools, which attracted ordinary people as well as a number of rich, famous and influential families to send their children as pupils, faced harsh opposition, mainly from the more traditional and conservative elements in the society, and specifically from the Shi'i clerics. This was hardly surprising, given the strong animosity towards the Bahá'ís in Shi'i Iran. According to Shoghi Effendi, while the 'ulama' headed the opposition to the Bábis and Bahá'ís, it was the Qajar kings and governors who willingly became the means through which this opposition was translated into action, as a way to obtain the clerics' support and backing for their own policies. But as far as Nasir al-Din Shah was concerned, he had his own reasons for persecuting Bábis and Bahá'ís (between whom he did not appear to differentiate) . In 1852 an inept attempt had been made on his life. [The Forgotten Schools: The Baha'is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934 p97]
- For Western accounts of the episode see BBR475–9.
1935-00-02 — The persecution against the Bahá'ís in Iran continued. [BW18p389]
- Meetings in the Bahá'í Centre in Tihrán were banned.
- A number of Bahá'ís in Bandar Sháh were arrested and imprisoned.
- The secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Arák was arrested.
- Bahá'ís in Qazvín were arrested and harassed.
- A Bahá'í in Záhidán was arrested.
1936-06-00 — The persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran continued. [BW18p389]
- All Bahá'í meetings were banned throughout Iran.
- Several local Bahá'í centres were attacked or closed down.
- Bahá'ís in Bandar Sháh were interrogated by the police for closing their shops on Bahá'í holy days.
1937-00-00 — The persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran continued throughout the country. [BW18p389]
- Many Bahá'ís employed in the police force, army and government departments were dismissed.
- Six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Ahváz were arrested.
- Bahá'ís who closed their shops on Bahá'í holy days in Bandar Sháh were arrested.
- All Bahá'í meetings in Kirmánsháh, Bírjand, Arák and other towns were prohibited by police order.
- Five Bahá'í families were attacked in their homes in Cham-tang, near Hindíyán. They were severely beaten and forced to leave the village.
1937-05-21 — All Bahá'í activities and institutions were banned in Germany by a special order of the Reichsführer SS and the Gestapo Chief of Staff Heinrich Himmler when he banned the Bahá'í Faith in Germany. He blamed it on the religion's "international and pacifist tendencies." The Nazi government increasingly targeted the Bahá'ís after Himmler's edict, first by tearing down the public memorial to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Bad Mergntheim and then, in 1939, making mass arrests of the former members of the National Spiritual Assembly. Bahá'ís went to jail, some for very long periods, without charges. In 1942, more mass arrests occurred. Many of the Bahá'ís from Germany and the surrounding countries disappeared in the Nazi concentration camp system.
[BBRSM185; Bahá'í Teachings; German Bahá'í website archives; The German Baha'i Community under National Socialism p19]]
- See talk by David Langness entitled Nazi Germany: The Untold Story of the Bahá'ís.
- See Shoghi Effendi's letter of 11 February 1934 where he says in part:
The wave of nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects, which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh. The actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being in the direction of the Bahá'í teachings. The world is drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally defective civilization. [LDG1p55]
- See letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi 10 November 1938 regarding the German community's efforts to have the government rescind the ban. [Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux countries pp38-40]
1938-00-00 — Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran continued throughout the country. [BW18p389]
- Bahá'ís marrying without a Muslim ceremony were investigated, including several hundred in Tihrán alone. Most were imprisoned pending trial and were imprisoned for six to eight months afterwards and fined.
- Bahá'í meetings in Kirmánsháh, Záhidán, Mashhad and other towns were harassed by the police.
1938-02-05 — Bahá'ís in the Soviet Union were persecuted by the authorities. [BBR473, BW8p87-90, 179-81, BW14p479-481, SETPE1p155; YS6]
- Five hundred Bahá'í men were imprisoned in Turkistán. [Bw8p89]
- Many Persian Bahá'ís living in various cities of the Soviet Union were arrested, some are sent to Siberia, others to Pavladar in northern Kazakhstan and yet others to Iran. [BW8p87, 179, 184]
- Six hundred Bahá'í refugees-women, girls, children and a few old men, went to Iran, most to Mashhad. [BW8p89]
- The Bahá'í Temple in Ishqábád (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) was confiscated and turned into an art gallery. [BDD122, BW8p89]
- The Bahá'í schools were ordered closed. [BW8p89]
- Spiritual Assemblies and all other administrative institutions in the Caucasus were ordered dissolved. [BW8p89]
- Shoghi Effendi included all these territories in his Ten Year Plan, unveiled in 1953, as follows:
- The National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria was made responsible for opening Albania, Estonia, Finno—Karelia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia (Moldova), Romania and White Russia (Belarus) and for consolidating Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (S.F.S.R.), and Yugoslavia.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of lran was made responsible for opening Kirgizia (later named Kyrgyzstan), Mongolia, Tajikistan (Tadzhikistan) and Uzbekistan, and for consolidating Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkmenistan.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was responsible for opening Kazakhstan, Sakhalin, and the Ukraine. [BW20p196-197]
1939-04-21 — The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Budapest was elected. There were about 14 believers in the community, mostly of Jewish ancestry. This caused difficulty for the community in the Nazi persecutions that followed. [Rebirth: Memoirs of Renée Szanto-Felbermann p108]
According to the description of Renée Szántó-Felbermann, they could not even meet in Budapest: „It was at their (the Sugárs) house in Alag (today part of Budakeszi) that we elected the first Spiritual Assembly in the history of Hungary, Ridvan 1939. When we boarded the train for Alag, in order to avoid suspicion, we Bahá'ís did not remain together, but went by twos and threes. The same procedure was repeated on our arrival to Alag. It was a memorable, unforgettable evening, that Feast of Ridván in the small house at Alag fragrant with spring flowers. We were all deeply moved. And our dear Bertha Matthiesen was radiant. … Jenő Sugár was elected chairman, Mária Kleinberger became treasurer and I continued as secretary." [www.bahai.hu]
- See www.bahai.hu for a list of community members.
- Ms Bertha Matthiesen spent a lot of time in Hungary between 1937 and 1939 when most declarations took place and the first spiritual assembly was formed.
[www.bahai.hu]
- Mr Emeric Sala (Imre Szalavetz) a Canadian Bahá'í who was born in Hungary visited Budapest in 1933 and in 1937.
[www.bahai.hu]
- Canadian travel teacher Ms Lorol Schopflocher visited Budapest in March-April 1937.
[www.bahai.hu]
1941-09-16 — In Iran, Ridá Sháh abdicated and Muhammad-Ridá Sháh ascended to the throne. His rule was to last until 1979. [BBR482]
- Ridá Sháh was overthrown by the British and Russians. [BBRSM173]
- His reign can be described in three phases:
-
The first phase, from 1941 through 1955, was a period characterized by physical danger, during which Bahá'ís were scapegoated in the interactions among the government, the clerics and the people, and experienced several bloody incidents, the culmination of which was the 1955 anti-Bahá'í campaign and its aftermaths.
The second phase, from the late 1950s to around 1977, marked almost two decades of relative respite from physical attacks, during which Bahá'ís enjoyed more security than before, without ever being officially recognized as a religious community and while their existence as Bahá'ís was essentially ignored or denied.
The last two years of the reign of the Shah comprised the third phase, the revival of a bloody period. [Towards a History of Iran's Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani]
1944-08-08 — 1944-09-00 — Following the murder of Bahá'ís at Sháhrúd, Iran, and the widespread publicity on the outcome of the trial, there was an upsurge in persecution of Bahá'ís throughout Iran. [BW18p389]
- At Ábádih Bahá'ís were beaten and their houses were sacked. [BW18:389]
- The Bahá'í centre at Bandar Jaz was attacked. [BW18:389]
- Two Bahá'ís were knifed at Bandar Sháh. The attackers were set free and attacked a further three Bahá'ís, leaving one an invalid. [BW18:390]
- Bahá'ís, including women and children, were attacked and beaten at Bushrúyih, their homes and shops looted and burned and the Bahá'í cemetery desecrated. [BW18:390]
- Bahá'í houses were attacked and looted at Fárán, Káshán and Ná'in. [BW13:390]
- Bahá'í houses were set on fire in Gulpáygán and Zábul. [BW18:390]
- Bahá'ís were driven from town in Bujnúrd, Gunábád and Tabas. [BW18:390]
- The Bahá'í cemetery at Mahmúdábád was desecrated.
- Bahá'ís were beaten at Miyán-du-áb, Rafsanján, Sangsar and Sírján. [BW18:390]
- Bahá'ís were stoned at Qasr-i-Shírín. [BW18:390]
1945-08-14 — The German Bahá'ís, 80 per cent of whom lived in the American sector of occupied Germany, obtained permission to re-organize. [BBRSM185]
- A US soldier stationed in occupied post-war Germany, John Eichenauer, helped during the first days of the reconvening of the community. The American Bahá'ís sent money, food and literature, and aided them in rebuilding the administrative structures. [BWNS390]
- Brief mention of this event is made in this film on Vimeo.
1950-00-00 — In Iran, the Hujjatiyya Society was started by Shaykh Mahmúd Halabí to persecute and harass the Bahá'ís. [S1296]
- During the Pahlaví era it confined itself to this end and was called the Anti-Bahá'í Society. [SI296]
- See The Anti-Bahá'í Society
by Mehdi Abedi and Michael M.J. Fischer.
1951-00-04 — Throughout Iran, the government introduced repressive measures against Bahá'ís. [BW18:390]
- Bahá'ís were dismissed from government positions. [BW18:390]
- Fifty Bahá'í employees of the public hospital in Mashhad were dismissed. [BW18:390]
1953-00-00 — Anjoman-e Hojjatieh ("Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation"), also called the Hojjatieh Society was founded specifically as an anti-Bahá'í organization by a charismatic Shiite Muslim cleric, Shaikh Mahmoud Halabi in the aftermath of the coup d'état of 1953. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s a great number of the future elite of the Islamic revolution were trained by Hujjatieh. During the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Society was to play an important role in stirring animosity against Bahá'ís. However, in part because of differences in theology—among other things the Hojjatieh believe a truly Islamic state cannot be established until the return of the 12th Imam—the Society fell into disfavour and was banned by the regime in 1984. [Hojjatieh Society, Wiki]1954-12-08 — Bahá'ís in Ádharbáyján were dismissed from their employment in the Ministries of Health and Public Highways. [BW18p390]1955-00-06 — Twenty–two African Bahá'ís were expelled from the Belgian Congo.1955-02-04 — Bahá'í women in Hisár, Khurásán, Iran, were assaulted. [BW18:390]1955-05-00 — Persecutions against the Bahá'ís continued throughout Iran. [BW18p391]
- Many Bahá'ís were beaten, including women and children.
- Bahá'í houses and shops were looted and burned.
- Bahá'ís employed in government service were dismissed.
- Bodies of dead Bahá'ís were disinterred and mutilated.
- Young Bahá'í women were abducted and forced to marry Muslims.
- Several Bahá'í women were publicly stripped and/or raped.
- Crops and orchards belonging to Bahá'ís were looted and destroyed.
- Bahá'í children were expelled from schools.
- The House of the Báb in Shíráz was damaged and almost destroyed by an anti-Bahá'í mob.
1955-05-02 — The police locked the doors of the National Bahá'í Centre in Tihrán thus preventing the holding of the final day of the National Bahá'í Convention. [BW18:390]1955-05-07 — The Iranian army occupied the National Bahá'í Centre in Tihrán. [BW18:390]1955-05-08 — Bahá'ís were beaten at Dámghán, Khurásán, Iran. [BW18:390]1955-05-08 — The Bahá'í centre at Rasht, Iran, was attacked and taken over. [BW18:390]1955-05-09 — Bahá'í houses were attacked and looted at Shíráz, Iran. [BW18:390]1955-05-09 — The Bahá'í centre at Ahváz, Iran, was taken over. [BW18:390]1955-05-16 — The Bahá'í centre at Isfahán, Iran, was taken over. [BW18:390]1955-05-17 — The Iranian Minister of the Interior announced in parliament that the Government had issued orders for the suppression of the 'Bahá'í sect' and the liquidation of the Bahá'í centres. [BBRSM174; BW18p391]1955-05-22 — The dome of the National Bahá'í Centre in Tihrán was demolished with the personal participation of several high-ranking army officers. The Haziratu'l-Quds had been taken over on the 7th of May. The publication of the pictures of the demolition encouraged a widespread outburst of persecution of Bahá'ís throughout Iran. [BW18:391; Archives of Bahá'í Persecution in Iran]
- After the coup in 1953 the Shah was indebted to the clergy for their support and so they were given a greater latitude to persecute the Bahá'ís. In an attempt to show his gratitude the Shah sent a high ranking officer to ask if they had any special requests and they called for the Bahá'í Centre in Tehran to be destroyed. The army occupied the Centre and high-ranking officers and clerics jointly demolished the dome. [Towards a History of Iran's Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
- For pictures see BW13:293–4.
- Photo.
1955-05-24 — The Bahá'í centre at Karaj, Iran, was taken over. [BW18p391]1955-05-30 — Bahá'ís were attacked and wounded and their houses attacked at Ábádih, Iran. [BW18p391]1955-06-01 — The House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tákur, Mázandarán, Iran, was taken over. [BW18p391]1955-08-00 — Appeals were made by National Spiritual Assemblies around the world through the Bahá'í International Community to the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to ask the Iranian government to halt the attacks on the Bahá'ís. [BW13:789–91; BW16:329; MBW88–9; PP304, 311; CBN No 81 October 1956 p1]
- The intervention of the Secretary-General of the UN, along with the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, brought an end to the physical persecution of the Bahá'ís, although their human rights are still denied. [BW13:790; BW16:329]
- This marked the first time the Faith was able to defend itself with its newly born administrative agencies. An "Aid the Persecuted Fund" was established.
- Historian Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi noted that the 1955 anti-Bahá'í campaign was both the apogee and the point of separation of the state-clergy co-operation. The Shah succumbing to international pressure to provide human rights, withdrew support. The result was that the period from the late fifties until 1977-1978 was a period of relative safety. [Towards a History of Iran's Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
1955-09-00 — Bahá'ís in Iran continued to be dismissed from their employment. Bahá'í students were expelled from Shíráz University. [BW18p391]1957-00-00 — Bahá'í activity in Czechoslovakia was banned by the authorities, several members of the Prague community were arrested and Vuk Echtner was imprisoned for two years. [BW20p196]1961-00-00 — The military government in Indonesia issued instructions to local authorities to ban all Bahá'í activities and to confiscate all Bahá'í property. [MoC329]1961-12-07 — An article appeared in the nationally prominent Moroccan newspaper Al Alam lamenting the decline of Islám and attacking the Bahá'í Faith. [MoC17]
- This gave rise to persecution of the Bahá'ís in ensuing months.
1962-00-01 — Bahá'í homes in Morocco were searched by the police and Bahá'í literature seized. [MoC17]1962-00-03 — The administrative institutions of the Faith were banned in Indonesia by President Sukarno. [BW19:41]
- BW15:174 says this was in 1964, other indications are that it was around the time of the International Convention.
[Servants of the Glory page 30]
1962-01-25 — A Bahá'í Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Tetuan, Morocco, Faouzi Zine Al Abidine, was dismissed from his post and warned to have no association with other Bahá'ís. [MoC17]1962-04-10 — Four Bahá'ís were arrested in Nador, Morocco. [BW13:289; BW14:97]
- Eventually 14 Bahá'ís in total were arrested: 7 in Nador, 2 in Fez and 5 in Tetuan. [MoC17]
- For an outline of the situation as it developed over 20 months see MC16–19.
1962-08-22 — The Custodians ask the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to make representations to the diplomatic missions of Morocco in Washington and at the United Nations concerning the 14 Bahá'ís imprisoned in Morocco. [MoC368–9]1962-09-23 — The Custodians ask the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to obtain an interview with the personal representative of the King of Morocco who heads that country's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in connection with the Bahá'ís imprisoned in Morocco. [MoC373–4]1962-12-17 — The Custodians asked the Bahá'í International Community to issue press releases deploring Morocco's persecution of religious minorities and pointing out its failure to adhere to the UN charter condemning religious intolerance. [MoC397]1962-12-21 — Telegrams were sent by the Bahá'í International Community to Secretary-General U Thant and 35 United Nations delegations appealing for help under the Genocide Convention for the Bahá'ís sentenced to death and imprisoned for life in Morocco. [BW13:794]1962-12-23 — The Custodians asked national spiritual assemblies to cable Secretary General of the United Nations U Thant requesting his intervention on behalf of the Bahá'ís under sentence of death and imprisoned for life in Morocco. [BW13:794; MoC397–8]1962-12-27 — The Custodians asked national and local spiritual assemblies to write to the Moroccan ambassador in their respective countries pleading for justice and religious freedom. [MoC398–9]1963-00-01 — 15 years after the establishment of Israel and during the course of the unrest that swept through Iran in response to a set of far-reaching reforms launched by Muhammad-Ridá Sháh, Ayatollah Khomeini and the Association of Iranian Clerics, in two separate declarations, denounced Bahá'ís as agents and representatives of Israel, and demanded their severe repression.
During the 1960s and 70s almost everything that troubled Iranian clerics was seen as evidence of a Bahá'í-Israeli plot against Islam. The Shah, who was harshly rebuked by the 'ulama for his regime's strong ties with Israel, was accused of being a Bahá'í because of some of the reforms he had introduced, notably his giving voting rights to women, and providing blue-collar industrial workers with a share of the profits earned by their companies. Various cultural events launched by the administration, some of which had clear Western tones, were seen as Bahá'í plots to undermine the Islamic identity of Iranians. Iranian ministers and courtiers were almost collectively accused of being Bahá'ís. Even Iran's notorious intelligence agency, SAVAK, whose strong anti-leftist agenda had naturally led to its inclination to recruit people with Islamic ties, and which had obvious connections with the Hujjatieh society – the self-professed arch-enemies of the Bahá'ís – was seen as nothing more than a Bahá'í puppet. Consequently, the 1979 Islamic Revolution came about not just as an uprising against the Shah, but supposedly as a reaction to an Israeli-Bahá'í threat.
[Iran Press Watch 1407]1963-01-01 — The Custodians ask all national and local spiritual assemblies to cable the King of Morocco appealing for justice for the Bahá'ís under sentence of death and imprisoned for life in his country. [BW14:97; MoC19]1963-01-31 — Roger Baldwin, Chairman of the International League for the Rights of Man, appeared before the UN sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and stated that, as far they know; the Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco were the only example in recent history where members of a religion had been condemned to death solely for holding and expressing religious views regarded as heretical. [MoC415–16]1963-03-31 — King Hassan II of Morocco stated in a televised interview in the United States that the Bahá'í Faith was not a religion and was 'against good order and also morals'. [MoC415]1963-04-02 — King Hassan II of Morocco made a public statement promising that if the Supreme Court upheld the decision condemning three Bahá'í prisoners to death, he would grant them a royal pardon. [MoC416]1963-04-04 — The Custodians issued a statement of information to the national spiritual assemblies of the United States and Europe regarding the Bahá'ís imprisoned in Morocco and under threat of death, reminding them that clemency or a pardon are not sufficient, as the condemned Bahá'ís cannot be pardoned for a crime they did not commit. [MoC414]
- For text of statement see MC414–20.
1963-06-05 — Throughout Iran, advantage is taken of the general anti-government disorder to launch attacks on Bahá'ís in several localities under the cover of these disturbances. [BW18p391]
- The Bahá'í cemetery in Tihrán was attacked, its buildings burnt and graves desecrated. [BW18:391]
- Bahá'í houses were attacked and burned at Árán and the local Bahá'í centre was attacked. [BW18:391]
- The Bahá'í centre at Isfahán was attacked. [BW18:391]
- Several Bahá'í homes and businesses were attacked in Shíráz. BW18:391]
- An attack on the House of the Báb in Shíráz was attempted. BW18:391]
- Bahá'ís were dismissed from government employment. [BW18:391]
1963-11-23 — At the request of the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'ís around the world prayed at the Feast of Qawl for favourable action to be taken in the case of the Bahá'ís under threat of death and imprisoned in Morocco. [BW14:98]
- Shortly after the Feast the Moroccan Supreme Court heard the appeals, reversed the decision of the trial court and ordered the release of the prisoners. [BW14:98]
1963-12-13 — The Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco were released on order of the Supreme Court. [BW14:98; MoC19]
- For a picture of the release of the Moroccan Bahá'í prisoners see BW14:97.
1966-12-00 — A campaign was launched against the Bahá'ís of Saysán, Ádharbáyján, by Mullá Mihdí Sultánpúr. [BW18:391]1968-00-00 — Throughout Iran, pressure on Bahá'ís intensified. [BW18p391]
- Applications for government employment were refused. [BW18:391]
- Bahá'ís were refused admission to colleges and universities. [BW18:391]
- Bahá'í centres were closed. [BW18:391]<
- Individual Bahá'ís were attacked. [BW18:391]
1968-11-04 — Following the participation of Algerian Bahá'ís in the first Oceanic Conference in Palermo, Sicily, and subsequent international news coverage, foreign Bahá'ís in Algeria were summoned by the police and interrogated. [BW15:172]1968-11-07 — 1969-04-01 — 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]
1970-05-00 — The 'Iráqi Government issued a decree disbanding all Bahá'í institutions and all activities. For nearly three years, although the authorities carefully watched the conduct of the Bahá'ís, nothing apparently gave cause for interference in their personal lives and there were no additional impositions. [BW15p137]1975-00-00 — Following the creation of the Rastákhíz political party by the Sháh of Iran and the refusal of the Bahá'ís to join it, although membership in it is compulsory, Bahá'ís throughout Iran are put under pressure. [BW18p391]
- Many Bahá'ís lost their jobs. [BW18:391]
1975-02-03 — The Arab Boycott Office, at its meeting in Cairo, announced that the Bahá'í Faith had been placed on its blacklist.
The decision had been taken through a misunderstanding as to the true nature and purpose of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and was subsequently modified to state that only the businesses of individual Bahá'ís and companies owned by them would be boycotted.
[BW17:78]
See the statement released by the Bahá'í Community in New York on the 25th of February 1975. 1977-12-03 — Properties confiscated by the Iraqi government belonging to individual Bahá'ís were returned; properties and funds belonging to the Faith were turned over to the Ministry of the Interior for disposal. [BW17:80]1978-00-00 — In Iran, many local Bahá'í centres were seized by armed men of the revolutionary committees, along with files and membership lists. [BW17:79–80]1978-10-01 — Three hundred Bahá'í homes near Shíráz were burned or destroyed and in another 200 homes the Bahá'ís were driven from them, property was stolen and many Bahá'ís were beaten. [BW17:79; BW19:42]
- At one point 700 Bahá'ís were homeless and their means of livelihood destroyed. [BW17:79; BN136 April 1979 p2-3]
1978-12-03 — Bahá'í homes in Andarún, Iran, were besieged; one Bahá'í was badly beaten. [BW18:275–6]1978-12-15 — A cabled message was sent to 93 national spiritual assemblies stating that the Bahá'ís in Iran and the Holy Places in Tihrán and Shíráz were in peril. [BW17:79]1979-00-00 — The Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán and the houses of Quddús and Hujjat were seized and occupied by members of the revolutionary committees. [BW17:79–80]1979-00-00 — Bahá'í cemeteries across Iran were confiscated, including the cemetery in Tihrán, which contains the graves of several Hands of the Cause and other distinguished Bahá'ís as well as several thousand other graves of Bahá'ís.
- Many graves were desecrated and the gravestones smashed.
1979-00-00 — The House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tihrán was confiscated by the revolutionary government of Iran. [BW17:79]1979-00-00 — The National Spiritual Assembly of Afghanistan was disbanded owing to persecution of the Bahá'ís and the political instability of the country.1979-01-12 — Bahá'í members of the Sádát-Mahmúdí clan of the Buyr-Ahmad tribe of central Iran were driven from their homes by other clan members. [BW18:271]
- For the report of this incident and its aftermath see BW18:271–4.
- For a picture see BW18:272.
1979-02-00 — In Iran, Bahá'í representatives met with high-ranking clergy in Shíráz, Qum and Mashhad to combat the widespread accusation that the Bahá'ís of Iran had supported the regime of the Sháh. [BW18:252]1979-02-03 — Revolutionary Guards raided the offices of Nawnahálán, a Bahá'í investment company, and the Umaná' Corporation, a foundation for the purchase and maintenance of Bahá'í properties, and impoundeded the keys. [BW18:252]
- In the weeks following, the offices were occupied by the Revolutionary Guards and the staff were dismissed. [BW18:252]
1979-02-15 — The National Hazíratu'l-Quds of Iran was seized by the Revolutionary Guards. [BW18:250]
- All the records of the National Spiritual Assembly, including a membership list of all the Bahá'ís in Iran, were confiscated by the government. [BW19:43]
1979-03-30 — The House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tákur, Iran, was confiscated by the Revolutionary Government. [BW18:289]1979-04-03 — Revolutionary Guards in Iran occupied the House of the Báb in Shíráz and neighbouring Bahá'í properties, explaining that it was a temporary measure intended to protect the building. [BW17:79]
1979-06-21 — In Iran, the offices of Nawnahálán and the Umaná' Corporation were taken over by Revolutionary Guards. [BW18:252]
The Bahá'í Children's Savings Company, known in Iran as Shirkat-i Nawnahalan, began as a savings bank for Bahá'í children in 1917. As successive generations of Bahá'í children grew up, they kept their savings–primarily intended for their future educations–with the company, and local and national Bahá'í institutions also placed their deposit funds there. The Iranian government raided and took over the offices of this company in early June of 1979, freezing and then confiscating all of its assets, estimated at $5 million—literally stealing money from children. [Bahá'í Teachings 4 Oct 2012] 1979-09-01 — Revolutionary committees in Shahsavár, 'Ábádán and Tabríz, Iran, ordered the arrest of Bahá'ís. [BW18:255]
- Among those arrested were members of local spiritual assemblies. [BW18:255]
- Bahá'í homes in Tabríz were raided and literature seized. [BW18:255]
1979-10-01 — In Iran, Bahá'ís in the ministries of education, health and social administration were dismissed from their jobs. [BW18:255]1979-11-00 — Bahá'í meetings were prohibited in Shasavár, Iran. [BW18:255]1980-09-00 — The European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities adopted resolutions on the plight of the Bahá'ís in Iran. [BW19:38]1982-00-01 — One of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Vietnam sent to a 're-education' camp was released owing to ill health; the other remained in detention. [BW18:96]1982-05-25 — The Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives heard the testimony of six witnesses concerning the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran. [BW18:172]
- See A Congressional resolution: Protesting Iran's Bigotry. [World Order, Series 2, Volume_17 Issue 1 p9-14]
- See as well [World Order, Series 2, Volume_16 Issue 3]
1983-00-06 — During its first decade in power, the Islamic regime openly persecuted and killed Bahá'ís. These persecutions, however, caused reaction in the international community. In response to the international calls for the persecutions to be stopped, Siyyid Husayn Musawi, then the attorney general of Iran, declared that the Bahá'ís were not being harassed for their religious beliefs but because they were Israel spies. This was despite the fact that by that time it had become plainly obvious that the attorney general's so-called "spies" could avoid maltreatment and persecution by openly denouncing their faith. The Bahá'í community forcefully denied the charges and challenged the attorney general to produce evidence to back his allegations. [Iran Press Watch 1407]1983-08-23 — Seyyed Hussein Musavi Tabrizi, the Attorney General of Iran, declared all Bahá'í administrative activities illegal, thus requiring the dissolution of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, along with some 400 Local Assemblies which operated under its jurisdiction. [Iran Press Watch]1985-07-01 — Three Bahá'í youths in Mentawai were imprisoned for having married according to Bahá'í law. [BW19:42]1985-10-22 — The 14th Muzakarah (Conference) of the Fatwa Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia discussed the Bahá'í doctrine and decided that the Bahá'í doctrine was not part of Islam. Muslims involved in this teaching were deemed as apostates. Therefore, Muslims are prohibited from following this teaching and anyone involved in it must denounce it at once and repent. [Fatwa]1985-12-13 — For the first time, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran which contained specific references to the Bahá'ís. [BW19:38; VV55]1986-00-00 — Iran's hugely unsuccessful attempt to convince the international community that Bahá'ís were indeed spies was probably one of the reasons that convinced Iranian officials to review Iran's contemporary history. The aim of this review was in no way to reconsider age-old beliefs and assumptions, but to generate so-called "objective" facts and data which would ultimately serve to justify those assumptions. It was in light of this conviction that, the Institute for Cultural Research and Studies was founded "with a mandate to maintain, organize and catalogue valuable historical documents acquired during and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In 1996, it was replaced by the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies (IICHS), a professional research centre devoted to the study of contemporary Iranian history. Its objective is to undertake various research projects regarding social, political, economic and cultural aspects of post-eighteenth-century Iran, using its collection of primary sources."
Another such organization, the Political Studies and Research Institute, was founded in 1988.
[Iran Press Watch 1407; the institute's website]1988-12-08 — The plenary session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution concerning human rights in Iran which specifically mentions the suffering of the Bahá'ís. [BINS189:2]1989-03-09 — The Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution expressing grave concern at human rights violations in Iran, mentioning the Bahá'ís three times. [BINS195:1]1989-04-04 — The Universal House of Justice announced a vast majority of prisoners that had been held by authorities in Irán had been released. [AWH62]1990-05-00 — The US Senate unanimously adopted a concurrent resolution condemning Irán's continued repression of the Bahá'ís calling for their complete emancipation. This was the fourth congressional appeal. [VV60]1991-02-25 — In Iran, a secret government memorandum (known as the Golpaygani Memorandum) was drawn up by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, which provided a blueprint of the policies and actions to which the Bahá'í community of Iran was to be subjugated. The memorandum demanded a shift in Iran's stance towards Bahá'ís from overt persecution to a more covert policy aimed at depleting the Iranian Bahá'í community's economic and cultural resources. This was a change in the policy for the Islamic regime which had openly persecuted and killed Bahá'ís during its first decade in power and had accused them of being spies for various foreign powers. The document also called for "countering and destroying their [Bahá'ís] cultural roots abroad." [Iran Press Watch 1407]
Signed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the memorandum established a subtle government policy aimed at essentially grinding the community into nonexistence by:
- forcing Bahá'í children to have a strong Islamic education,
- pushing Bahá'í adults into the economic periphery and forcing them from all positions of power or influence, and
- requiring that Bahá'í youth "be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once it becomes known that they are Bahá'ís." [One Country; Iran Press Watch 1578]
- The memorandum can be found here, here and here.
- This document might have remained secret had it not been divulged to Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, the Salvadoran diplomat who served as the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran between 1986 and 1995. Professor Pohl disclosed the document in 1993 during a session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (now replaced by the Human Rights Council). [BWNS575]
1993-01-00 — Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, the United Nations' special representative in charge of monitoring the human rights situation in Iran, revealed a secret document written by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council providing evidence that the Iranian Government had formulated a plan to oppress and persecute the Bahá'í community both in Iran and abroad. [BW92–3:139; BW93–4:154; BWNS879]1993-06-00 — The bodies of Bahá'ís buried in the Bahá'í section of a Tihrán cemetery were exhumed and taken by lorry to unknown destinations. [BW93–4:153]2003-06-01 — A fatwa was issued by the Mufti of Sabah State Government that declared that the Bahá'í teachings were deviant teachings and that Muslims were forbidden all involvement including the practice of the Faith and the holding of any literature or other material.
[Fatwa]2004-00-01 — The 2004 Circular 49/2004 issued by the Ministry of the Interior specifically instructed officials to refrain from providing cards to anyone other than Muslims, Christians and Jews. In particular, it effectively forced practicing Bahá'ís into a limbo when registering for personal documents. As Egyptian citizens are required to include their religious affiliation and the Bahá'í faith was not officially recognized, unlike Islam, Christianity and Judaism, practicing Bahá'ís were not able to secure official status.
[Minority Right website]2006-04-04 — In late 2004 or early 2005 the government of Egypt introduced a computerized identity card system that locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Bahá's were unable to get ID cards and other documents essential to day-to-day life. Thus began an epic struggle for Bahá'í appellants to win the right to have their religious affiliation properly identified on government documents.
- The issuance of birth certificates was at the heart of the first case, which concerned 14-year-old twins Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi. Their father, Rauf Hindi, obtained birth certificates that recognized their Bahá'í affiliation when they were born but new policies required computer generated certificates and the computer system locked out any religious affiliation but the three officially recognized religions. Without birth certificates, the children were unable to enroll in school in Egypt.
- A lower administrative court ruled that the couple should be identified as Bahá'ís on official documents, a decision that, if upheld, would essentially overturn the government's policy of forcing citizen to choose from only the three officially recognized religions on state documents. The lower court's ruling provoked an outcry among the fundamentalist elements in Egyptian society, particularly Al Azhar University and the Muslim Brotherhood who objected to any kind of recognition of the Bahá'í Faith as a religious belief. The case gained international attention in the news media and from human rights groups and sparked a wholesale debate in newspapers and blogs throughout the Arab world over the right to freedom of religion and belief. [BWNS454, Minority Right website]
2006-05-02 — Letter, from the Trades, Production, and Technical Services Society of Kermanshah to the Iranian Union of Battery Manufacturers, asked the Union to provide a list of members of the Bahá'í sect in their membership. [BWNS488]
English translation of the letter.2006-05-15 — In Egypt the government appealed the lower court's ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court and the hearing focused on procedural issues concerning the case. The emotions stirred by the case were evident at the initial hearing. Lawyers and other individuals seated in the courthouse interrupted and heckled the defense counsel each time they tried to address the court. They yelled insults at them, calling them 'infidels' and threatening them with physical violence during the hearing. Because the Court was unable to impose order in the courtroom, the Court briefly adjourned the hearing before resuming the proceedings in camera. When the hearing was adjourned the courthouse security officers refused to protect the defense lawyers who were surrounded by members of the crowd, verbally threatening, pushing, shoving and not allowing them to walk away from the area.
-
After the government's appeal of the lower court's ruling a court hearing was set for 19 June, however, the Court commissioner's advisory report was not submitted in time and the hearing was further postponed until the 16th of September. [BWNS454, BWNS456]
2006-08-19 — Iran's Ministry of Interior ordered officials throughout the country to step up the surveillance of Iranian Bahá'ís focusing in particular on their community activities.
In a letter the Ministry requested provincial officials to complete a detailed questionnaire about the circumstances and activities of local Bahá'ís, including their "financial status," "social interactions," and "association with foreign assemblies," among other things.
[BWNS488]
- English translation of the letter.
2006-09-16 — In Egypt the Supreme Administrative Court again postponed its hearing on the government appeal of a lower court's ruling upholding the right of a Bahá'í couple to have their religion properly identified on government documents. In a brief hearing the Court postponed the case until 20 November in order to await the completion of an advisory report from the State Commissioner's Authority on the case. [BWNS480]
2006-11-20 — In Egypt lawyers representing a Bahá'í couple seeking to have their religious affiliation properly identified on state documents, presented arguments at a full hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court. The hearing was short and the court adjourned until 16 December when a judgment in the case was expected. [BWNS492]2006-12-16 — Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court ruled against the right of Bahá'ís to be properly identified on government documents. There were now two cases related to this issue; the first involved a lawsuit by the father of twin children, who was seeking to obtain proper birth certificates for them and the second concerned a college student who needed a national identity card to re-enroll in university.
- The decision upheld government policy in place at the time,, a policy which forced the Bahá'ís either to lie about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards. The policy effectively deprived Egyptian Bahá'ís and others of access to most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care. [BWNS492]
2006-12-21 — A message was sent from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of Egypt regarding the recent Supreme Administrative Court decision with respect to their right to hold identification cards. [BWNS499]
- For a the full text of the message from the Universal House of Justice 21 December, 2006 in English.
2007-00-00 — This increase in the activities of the Yaran-e Iran mandated the addition of more members; as a result, the number of members reached seven. Behrooz Tavakoli, Afif Naimi, Jamaluddin Khanjani, Saeid Rezaie, Fariba Kamal Abadi, Vahid Tizfahm and Mahvash Sabet were the last leaders of the Bahá'í community of Iran. After their arrest, the responsibility of leading the community was put on the shoulders of all Bahá'ís as individuals. [Iran Press Watch 10561]2007-11-12 — Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights released a report that stated that Egypt should end discriminatory practices that prevented Bahá'ís and others from listing their true religion on government documents.
- The 98-page report, titled Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom, focused on problems that have emerged from Egypt's practice of requiring citizens to state their religious identity on government documents but then restricting the choice to Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. "These policies and practices violate the right of many Egyptians to religious freedom," states the report. [BWNS587]
- See HRW.org for the full text of the report.
2007-12-20 — The two Egyptian Human Rights cases, the first by the father of twin children who was seeking to obtain proper birth certificates for them and the second by a college student who needed a national identity card to re-enroll in university, were set for "final judgment" by the Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo but the hearings were unexpectedly postponed until 22 January 2008. The court indicated it was still deliberating on the cases. On 22 January it was announced that the cases had been continued until 29 January.
[BWNS597]2008-01-29 — In Egypt a victory for religious freedom, a lower administrative court ruled in favour of two lawsuits that sought to resolve the government's contradictory policy on religious affiliation and identification papers. The Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo upheld arguments made in two cases concerning Bahá'ís who had sought to restore their full citizenship rights by asking that they be allowed to leave the religious affiliation field blank on official documents. A lower court again ruled in their favour. Two Muslim lawyers filed an appeal. [BWNS600]
2008-05-14 — Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri issued a fatwa stating that, since (Bahá'ís) were the citizens of Iran, they had the rights of a citizen and the right to live in the country. Furthermore, they must benefit from the Islamic compassion which is stressed in Quran and by the religious authorities. [The National (UAE)]
- Statement: English Translation
2008-09-00 — After enduring 3.5 months of solitary confinement, the imprisoned members of the Yaran were transferred to a regular prison cell where they could interact with other prisoners, still at the notorious Evin Prison .
- A month later, they were separated from other prisoners; the five men were kept in one cell and the two women in another, isolated from others. Their status was still noted as "temporary detention". [Iran Press Watch 1505]
2008-10-31 — The Universal House of Justice sent a message of encouragement to the besieged Bahá'í Community of Iran. In the message they noted that:
- "a
growing portion of the populace praises your courage, audacity, patience and steadfastness before the rising tide of tribulations."
- They praised "the resolve shown by the vast majority of believers, preferring to live with hardship than to seek refuge in other countries," (something which has been)..."seen by many as a sign of their love for their homeland, has earned great respect."
- They dispelled the notion of Bahá'ís being agents of the state of Israel.
- They reiterated that the Bahá'ís have no feelings of malevolence against Islam. On the contrary, Bahá'u'lláh has shown reverence for both Muhammad and Imam Ali, even revealing a tablet of visitation for him.
- They encouraged the continued unity of the community and faith in the constructive powers of the Faith and on an individual level, "a virtuous life and a goodly behaviour". "...the light of truth will dispel the darkness of deceit".
2009-02-03 — The publication of "We are Ashamed," an open letter from a group of academics, writers, artists, journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world to the Bahá'í community. This letter had been signed by a large number of the most prominent Iranian intellectuals. [Iran Press Watch 998, Text of Letter in pdf]
2009-03-16 — In Egypt the Supreme Administrative Court removed any grounds for preventing Bahá'ís from receiving proper official identity documents by dismissing an appeal by two Muslim lawyers thus clearing the way for an end to years of deprivation for Egyptian Bahá'ís and opening the door to a new level of respect for religious privacy in Egypt. The appeal sought to prevent the implementation of a lower court ruling last year that said Bahá'ís could leave blank the religious classification field on official documents, including all-important identity cards and birth certificates. [BWNS703]
2009-04-17 — With respect to the Supreme Administrative Court decision of 16 March 2009, the decree, dated 19 March, 2009 is signed by General Habib al-Adly, Egypt's Interior Minister, and published on 14 April in the official gazette. According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which represented Bahá'ís in many of the recent court cases concerning religious affiliation on government documents, the decree amended the Implementing Statutes of Egypt's Civil Status Law of 1994. It specifically instructed officials to place a dash (--) before the line reserved for religion in the official documents of citizens who could show that they, or their ancestors, were followers of a religious belief other than the three recognized by the state. [BWNS707]
2009-08-08 — Two young Egyptian Bahá'ís, Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi, received the new identity cards. They had been at the centre of a court case over religious identification on government documents. Their new computerized ID cards show a dash instead of their religion. They were the first such cards to be issued following a ruling by the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court of 16 March, 2009 that cleared the way for the government to issue documents without reference to religious identity. For nearly five years, since the government began introducing a computerized identity card system that locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Bahá'ís have been unable to get ID cards and other documents essential to day-to-day life in Egypt. [BWNS707, BWNS726, BWNS499, BWNS495, BWNS492, BWNS480]
- The Bahá'ís secured the right to an identification card, however, legislation still refused to recognize the validity of the Bahá'í faith and maintained their secondary status within Egypt. Marriage and Bahá'í personal law were still not acknowledged by the state: married Bahá'ís who refused to be issued documentation that listed them incorrectly as 'single' still reportedly faced difficulties in setting up a bank account and other basic freedoms. This official 'invisibility' had also had a profound impact on their ability to participate in civil and political life. Bahá'ís were also the target of hostility towards the end of Mubarak's regime and in the wake of his resignation, including the torching of several Bahá'í homes where the perpetrators remain unpunished. {Minority Rights website]
2010-05-10 — New information was obtained regarding the conditions in which the seven Bahá'í prisoners were being held-two small rancid-smelling cells. They had not been given beds or bedding. There was no natural light in their cells so when the light was turned off during the day they are held in darkness. [Video "The Story of the Bahá'í Seven" 13 May 2016 BIC]2011-01-25 — January 25th marked the beginning of the revolution in Egypt where millions of protesters from all socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The security of the Bahá'ís during this period of unrest remained an issue. In February 2011, Bahá'í homes in Shouraneya were again set on fire, with some reports alleging the involvement of state security officers in the attack. Salafi leaders (an ultra-conservative reform branch within Sunni Islam) also continued to agitate against Bahá'ís as a threat to national stability.2011-05-20 — Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet were returned to Evin Prison in Tehran. They had spent a brief time in the appalling conditions at Qarchak prison, (from 3 May) some 45 kilometers from Tehran. [BIC Evin; BWNS826]
- The five men were still being held under close scrutiny in a wing of Gohardasht prison, reserved for political prisoners.
[BIC Report]
2012-02-24 — The inaugural screening of Iranian Taboo by Dutch-Iranian filmmaker Reza Allamehzadeh in Los Angeles. [Iranian Taboo, BWNS890]2012-05-11 — The Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá'ís of Iran near the four-year anniversary of the illegal arrest and imprisonment of the former members of the Yárán and the more recent injustice meted out against the co-workers of the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). [BWNS823, Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 11 May, 2012, In Farsi]
2012-06-00 — After the January 25th revolution against Mubarak and a period of rule by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Egypt through a series of popular elections with Egyptians electing Islamist Mohamed Morsi to the presidency in June 2012.
On 3 July 2013, Morsi was deposed by a coup d'état led by the minister of defense General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The situation of Egypt's Bahá'í community remained uncertain. The prescriptions of the 1960 Presidential Decree, despite the revolution, had yet to be annulled. This meant that despite the 2009 lifting of the restrictions on identification documents, the Bahá'í Faith still had not received actual recognition as a religion and Bahá'í were frequently subjected to public vilification. It was a period of extreme unrest. It is estimated that between Sisi's overthrow of Morsi and the 2014 presidential elections, an estimated 20,000 activists and dissidents were arrested by the police under the interim government. El-Sisi went on to become Egypt's president by popular election in 2014.
2012-10-29 — The Bahá'í International Community published a special report on The Baha'is of Semnan: A Case Study in Religious Hatred. (Video) This video report highlighted the effect on one community of the Iranian government's methodical and organized campaign to incite hatred against the Bahá'ís and eliminate them as a viable social entity.
- The Bahá'ís of Semnan had been the focus in recent years of intensifying persecution, facing an array of economic, physical, and psychological attacks. While these types of attacks on Bahá'ís were not confined to Semnan, the situation there was noteworthy for its particular intensity and the mobilization and coordination of official and semi-official elements -- including the police, the courts, local officials, and the clergy. [BWNS]
- The report was also made availalble in hard copy. (PDF).
2013-03-00 — The publication of the report entitled Violence with Impunity: Acts of Aggression Against Iran's Bahá'í Community published by the Bahá'í International Community. The report documents a rising tide of violence directed against the Iranian Bahá'í community - and the degree to which attackers enjoy complete impunity from prosecution or punishment.
- From 2005 through 2012, for example, there were 52 cases where Bahá'ís have been held in solitary confinement, and another 52 incidents where Bahá'ís have been physically assaulted. Some 49 incidents of arson against Bahá'í homes and shops, more than 30 cases of vandalism, and at least 42 incidents of cemetery desecration were also documented. [BWNS972]
- Report in English.
- Report in Farsi.
2013-05-14 — The Bahá'í International Community launched the Five Years Too Many campaign to protest the 20-year prison sentences given to the Bahá'í leaders in Iran, the longest sentence given to prisoners of conscience under the current regime. The harshness of the sentences reflected the Government's resolve to completely oppress the Iranian Bahá'í community, which faced a systematic, "cradle-to-grave" persecution that was among the most serious examples of state-sponsored religious persecution in the world.
[Five Years Too Many, BWNS954]2013-10-28 — The release of the video Violence with Impunity: Acts of Aggression Against Iran's Bahá'í Community based on the report of the same name. [BWNS972]
- Engish
- Farsi
2014-11-00 — Fariba Kamalabadi, after having her fourth request to join her daughter Taraneh for her wedding denied, wrote her a letter from Evin Prison. [Iran Press Watch]
See Iran Press Watch 11274 for Taraneh's story of how she grew up without her mother.2015-05-14 — A global campaign called "Seven Days in Remembrance of Seven Years in Prison for the Seven Bahá'í Leaders" to call attention to the long and unjust imprisonment of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders was launched on the seventh anniversary of their arrest. Each day of the week-long campaign, starting 14 May 2015, was dedicated to one member of the seven: Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm.
[7 Days]2015-12-21 — Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, a senior Muslim cleric in Iran, had courageously called on his nation's people to uphold a higher standard of justice and dignity for all of their countrymen and women. In an article on his website, he dedicated a new piece of calligraphy—a passage from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh—to the Bahá'ís who were arrested on baseless charges in November 2015. [BWNS1089, BWNS987]
2016-04-29 — In observance of the eighth anniversary of the arrest and incarceration of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders, the Bahá'í International Community was launched a global campaign calling for their immediate release.
Taking the theme "Enough! Release the Bahá'í Seven," the campaign emphasized the fact that, under Iran's own national penal code, the seven were now overdue for conditional release.
[Enough!]
-
A special campaign page was established with information about their current legal situation and other resources. [Enough! Release the Bahá'í Seven].
- The campaign included an account on FaceBook.
- and a Twitter handle. The hashtag for the campaign was: #ReleaseBahai7Now.
2016-05-12 — In commemoration of the incarceration of the Yaran in Iran in 2008 the International Bahá'í Community (BIC) released a video entitled Enough! Release the Baha'i Seven Now.2016-05-13 — Fariba Kamalabadi, while on a five-day furlough from Evin Prison, met with former Tehran MP Faezeh Hashemi. It was the first temporary leave she had been granted during her eight years of imprisonment.
- Faezeh Hashemi was the activist daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and she previously shared a prison cell with Kamalabadi in Evin Prison. Hashemi was strongly condemned by politicians and religious leaders for meeting with Mrs Kamalabadi. A high-ranking member of the Iranian Judiciary vowed that action would be taken against her. Despite the widespread criticism she received from powerful quarters in Iran, Faezeh Hashemi publicly defended her decision to meet with Kamalabadi. [Iran Press Watch, from NY Times, BWNS1108]
2016-10-26 — The report from the offices of the Bahá'í International Community entitled The Bahá'í Question Revisited: Persecution and Resilience in Iran was formally released.
- The full report can be read on-line here.
- A list of resolutions by the United Nations and United Nations bodies that referenced the situation of Bahá'ís in Iran since 1980 can be found
at this location.
- An annex to The Bahá'í Question Revisited is the report called "Inciting Hatred". It is an analysis of approximately 400 anti-Bahá'í articles, broadcasts, and webpages from late December 2009 through May 2011 and can be found here.
- A list of the 222 Bahá'ís who have been killed in Iran since 1978 can be read here.
2016-11-24 — From her cell in Evin prison, In a open letter to her six-month old granddaughter, Bajar, Fariba Kamalabadi one of the members of the imprisoned Yaran of Iran, wrote about the suffering of the Bahá'í citizens and of her dreams for humanity. [Iran Press Watch 16140]2017-04-25 — The formation of the human rights organization, "The Yemeni Initiative for Defending Bahá'í Rights". [Facebook page]2017-04-28 — Amnesty International sent a Joint Public Statement to the Huthi-Saleh authorities in Yemen calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Hamid Haydara. The document can be downloaded from the Amnesty International site.2017-05-12 — The Bahá'í International Community launched a global campaign calling for the immediate release of the seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders, unjustly imprisoned for nine years as of the 14th of May.
- The theme of the campaign, "Not Another Year," was intended to raise awareness about the seven women and men unjustly arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for their religious beliefs. This sentence was reduced to 10 years in 2015 after the overdue application of a new Iranian Penal Code.
[BWNS1167]
- The official video of the Bahá'í International Community to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders - Not Another Year.
2017-05-15 — Hundreds of Yemenis gathered in front of the Criminal Prosecution building in the capital city of Sana'a. They were denouncing the arrest of Yemeni citizens of the Bahá'í faith and calling for their release. The demonstrations were not led by the usual human rights crew but by tribal leaders of some of the most influential tribes in the country, prominently that of the Bani Mattar.
- What brought the tribes out was the arrest of Sheikh Walid Saleh Ayyash, who has the distinction of being both a prominent tribal figure and one of the 2,000 or so Yemenis who practice the Bahá'í faith. It was Ayyash's faith that led to his arrest on April 19, as he was driving from the city of Ibb to the port of Hudaydah. Along with another Bahá'í who was in the car, Ayyash was arrested by Houthi forces and transferred to the Hudaydah prison. A statement by the tribal leaders called Ayash "a distinguished personality among the Arab tribes … well-known for his integrity and wisdom, for his love, loyalty and devotion to his country, for his tolerance and respect for the government and the law."
- The leaders had previously met with Khalid Al-Mawari, the Houthi government's Chief of Special Criminal Prosecution. He had promised them that Ayyash would be transferred to Sana'a. When that failed to happen, they organized the demonstration. [TRACKPERSIA 25 Aug 2017]
2017-09-19 — 2017-10-18 — The Iranian Bahá'í community was targeted during the bicentenary period. Between 18 and 21 October, some 19 individuals were arrested in Kermanshah, Tehran, and Birjand, and the homes 25 Baha'is were raided. Twenty-six Bahá'í-owned shops around the country were sealed off by authorities because the owners observed the Holy Day on 21 October. These closures occurred in Shiraz, Marvdasht, Gorgan, and Gonbad. [BWNS1215]2017-10-23 — Yemeni security forces raided a Bahá'í gathering in Sana'a opening fire on the small group of people assembled to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh. The attack occurred in the family home of prominent tribal leader Walid Ayyash, who had been abducted in April and whose whereabouts were unknown. The attackers were reportedly in four cars and an armored vehicle which they used to break down the front door of the house. They arrested Mr. Ayyash's brother, Akram Ayyash.-
This event proved unequivocally the extent of Iran's role in the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Yemen, especially in Sana'a, which was under the control of Iranian-backed militias. Similar attacks occurred in Iran during the period of celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'úlláh.
[BWNS1215]
2017-10-31 — Fariba Kamalabadi, a member of the former leadership group of the Bahá'ís called the "Yaran", concluded her ten-year prison sentence. She was the second individual from among the former Yaran to be released. She, along with five others, were arrested on the 14th of May, 2008.
- Mrs. Kamalabadi had graduated from high school with honours but was barred from attending university because of her Faith. In her mid-30s, she embarked on an eight-year period of informal study and ultimately received an advanced degree in developmental psychology from the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education (BIHE), an alternative institution established by the Bahá'í community of Iran to provide higher education for its young people. She worked as a developmental psychologist before her arrest and imprisonment. She was married with three children. Along with the deprivations of imprisonment itself (she had spent 2 1/2 years of the 10-year sentence in solitary confinement), Mrs. Kamalabadi was also deprived of irreplaceable family moments, including the birth of her first grandchild and the weddings of her daughters. She was 55 years old upon her release. [BWNS1217]
- See Huffington Post for an article entitled "Iran's Bahá'í Problem" by Payam Akhavan about the visit of Ms. Faezeh Hashemi, the well-known daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who made a visit to her home while she was on leave from prison.
- Ms Hashemi, herself a former MP, was heavily criticized after she met with Ms Kamalabadi while the latter was on leave from prision. See the article in The Guardian for details.
2017-11-17 — A committee of the United Nations General Assembly condemned Iran by a vote of 83 to 30 with 68 abstentions for its continuing violations of human rights, the 30th such resolution since 1985.
- The Third Committee of the General Assembly approved a five-page resolution expressing concern over illegal practices ranging from torture, poor prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and curbs on freedom of religion or belief, to state-endorsed discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities as well as women.
- The resolution expressed specific concern over Iran's treatment of members of the Bahá'í Faith and highlighted the economic and educational discrimination against them and called on Iran to release the more than 90 Bahá'ís who were unjustly held in Iranian prisons.
- The resolution followed a strongly worded document from the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Asma Jahangir. Her 23-page report, released earlier this session, she catalogued a broad range of rights violations by Iran.
[BWNS1221]
2017-12-05 — The release of Behrooz Tavakkoli, 66, from prison after serving a 10-year term. He was the third member of the Yaran to be released. [Iran Press Watch18533; Iran Press Watch18536; BWNS1225]
- See Iran Press Watch February 1, 2009 for an interview with his son, Naeim.
- See Iran Press Watch February 5th, 2009 for an article that appeared in McLean's Magazine two days earlier.
- See Iran Press Watch 1387 for the text of a talk given by his son Naeim about his father's imprisonment on February 18, 2009 in Ottawa.
2018-01-02 — The Specialized Criminal Court of the Houthi militia in Yemen sentenced 52 year-old detainee Hammed bin Haidara to death on the basis of his Bahá'í beliefs, allegedly for collaborating with Israel and forging official documents. His execution was to be a public event. He had been tortured and ill-treated in custody since being incarcerated in December of 2013. The judgment issued by the Houthi-controlled Criminal Court in Sana'a also confiscated the funds of Hammed bin Haidara and shut all Bahá'í centres in the country. The persecution of Bahá'ís in the area controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia reflected the pattern of persecution in Iran. -
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) estimated that the number of Bahá'ís in Yemen was about 2,000 people in several Yemeni provinces. [Al Arabiya English 3 January, 2018, BIC 5 January, 2018, Amnesty International 28 April, 2017, Defending Bahá'í Rights facebook page]
- "The Yemini Initiative for Defending Bahá'í Rights", a activist group launched in April of 2017, gained tens of thousands of followers. Prominent media groups in the Arab world have publicized the case. In addition to Mr bin Haidara there were six other Bahá'ís in prison in Sana'a. [BWNS1232]
2018-02-16 — The release of Saeid Rezaie, one of the seven members of the Yaran, the former leadership group of the Bahá'ís in Iran after completing his 10-year sentence. He was the fourth person from among the Yaran to be released. [BWNS1238]2018-02-18 — In an open letter, twenty-five prominent international lawyers and human right activists appealed to Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights in Iran, to take steps to end the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran. In the letter they made reference to the new website, "Archives of the Bahá'í Persecution in Iran", stating that it "vividly demonstrates the depth and breadth of unjust, relentless, and systematic oppression against a religious minority". [BICNews10Feb2018]2018-02-20 — Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, a former member of the Yaran, was transferred from Evin Prison to a hospital as per directions of the prison doctor after experiencing heart issues. He underwent surgery and, after spending a few days in the ICU, was transferred back to prison. Mr. Khanjani suffered from old age and multiple ailments. He had been in prison since May 18, 2008. Throughout his 10-year term he had not been allowed a single day of leave. Security and Judicial authorities did not even allow him to attend his wife's funeral. His sentence was completed on March 22. [Iran Press Watch 18815]
2018-03-16 — Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, at 85 the oldest member of the Yaran to be imprisoned, was released after serving his 10-year sentence. [BWNS1244]2018-03-19 — The release of Mr. Vahid Tizfahm from the Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj after having completed his 10-year sentence. He was the sixth of the seven Bahá'í leaders to be released from prison.
- At this time the 10 year term of the remaining prisoner, Mr Afif Naeimi, had two months yet to serve. Due to a serious illness he was released to the custody of his family while receiving medical treatment under the proviso that he would return to prison when deemed medically fit. [BWNS1245, Iran Press Watch, 29 March, 2018, Iran Press Watch 30 March, 2018]
- For his personal history see Iran Watch 11557.
- According to BIC, there were 97 Bahá'ís in prison as of 1 March. [Middle East Eye Tuesday 20 March 2018 12:39 UTC]
2018-03-23 — Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badreddin Al-Houthi, the Secretary-General of Yemen's Shia political party Ansar Allah, accused the Bahá'ís of seeking to create disunity among Muslims. In a televised speech broadcast to a wide audience within and outside of Yemen, he vehemently vilified and denounced the Bahá'í Faith, further intensifying the ongoing persecution of the Bahá'ís in that country. It was reported that the Houthis had also launched a social media campaign against Bahá'ís. "The Yemeni Initiative for Defending Bahá'í Rights", a human rights organization, said in a Facebook post that Al-Houthi's incitement coincided with incitements against Ahmadis, Christians, intellectuals, scientists, and activists, as well as "a number of Islamic doctrines." [Conatus News 28 March, 2018]
- See BIC News.
2018-04-01 — The launch of a fierce campaign of hatred against members of the Bahá'í Faith, as well as other against peaceful religious minorities was proclaimed by Houthi activist Ahmad Ayed Ahmed in a public Tweet. The campaign coincided with the threats made by the leader of Ansaruallah, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, against the Bahá'ís, Ahmadis, Christians and a number of Islamic sects during his Friday speech on the occasion of Rajab Friday. This marked a clear call for a sectarian war against minorities and specifically the Bahá'í's and parallelled the already ongoing systematic attack against Bahá'ís including arbitrary arrests, persecution, and torture. This indicated a new stage in Houthi persecution, until this time they had exercised a degree of "political dissimulation" to conceal their direct involvement, however, since al-Houthi's public speech, Houthis were openly spearheading as well as escalating the systematic persecution of Bahá'ís.
[Iran Press Watch 1 April, 2018]2018-09-15 — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi authorities held a court hearing that targeted some 20 or 24 Bahá'ís, most in absentia, with a string of baseless charges which included espionage and apostasy. The charges were primarily made against individuals who held administrative roles in the Bahá'í community but extended to other Yemeni Bahá'ís including a teenage girl. In a subsequent hearing on September 29, the judge asked the prosecutor to publish the names of the accused in a newspaper and ordered their properties frozen. The judge in the case was Abdu Ismail Hassan Rajeh, the same judge who presided over Mr. Haydara's in January of 2018.
- Subsequently the governments of Australia, Canada, and Germany issued a joint statement calling for the immediate release of all Bahá'í prisoners. [Global Affairs Canada Joint Statement on the Bahá'ís in Yemen; BWNS1285]
2018-09-29 — In the second court hearing presided over by judge Abdu Ismail Hassan Rajeh, three additional Bahá'ís were sentenced to death. Five of the indicted Bahá'ís were in attendance at the court where the judge requested the prosecutor to publish the names of 19 others indicted in a newspaper, further endangering the lives of the Yemeni Bahá'í community. The judge also ordered that all of the properties belonging to the Bahá'ís indicted be frozen until the court verdict was issued. He furthermore objected to a request by the lawyer for the five to be released on bail and deferred any such decision to the next hearing to be held in a month and ten days.
- The actions undertaken by the Houthis were condemned in two recent United Nations resolutions, one of which called for the immediate release of all Bahá'ís detained in Yemen due to their religious beliefs and to cease any harassment they are subjected to.
[Iran Press Watch 4 October, 2018]
2019-01-08 — Imprisoned Bahá'í Hamed bin Haydara, 55, who had been sentenced to death, appeared in court in Sana'a for an unexpected hearing. Mr Haydara had been in Houthi detention in central Sana'a since December 2013. UN human rights representatives called for the rebels to overturn his death sentence.-
In addition to Mr Haydara, five other Bahá'ís were held by the rebels in Sana'a, two of whom had been hidden since last April, They were Waleed Ayyash, 51, and Wael Al Al Ariki, 41, a human-rights activist, Sheikh Akram Ayyas, 37, had been in Houthi detention since October 2017, Badea Senai, 66, who was an urban planning adviser for the government, had been in prison since May 2017 and Qwan Mohammad Qadri, 45, who was arrested by the Houthis in August 2016. He is of Iranian descent and was an employee of the British Council in Yemen.
-
Under a prisoner exchange deal agreed at UN-led peace talks in Sweden in December, the government had repeatedly requested the release of all Bahá'í detainees held by the Houthi rebels. Each side submitted 8,000 names of Yemeni people they believe to be detained, dead or missing for the other side to locate and release as a confidence-building measure but the Iran-backed rebels have not responded to the government's request on the Bahá'í detainees. [The National 13JAN2019]
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