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date	event	locations	tags	see also
1848 19 - 20 Jul	The Women's Rights Convention was held in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, NY. The principle organizer was Lucretia Mott, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as its driving intellect. A significant role was played by an African-American man, an abolitionist and a recently freed slave, Frederick Douglass. The convention adopted a Declaration of Rights and Sentiments that consisted of 11 resolutions including the right for women to vote. The signatories were the 68 women and 32 men in attendance. The right for women to vote became part of the United States Constitution in 1920. [The Calling: Tahirih of Persia and her American Contemporaries p114-160, "Seneca Falls First Woman's Rights Convention of 1848: The Sacred Rites of the Nation" by Bradford W. Miller (Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8.3, 1998)] This conference has been compared to the Conference of Badasht with respect to the emancipation of women and entrenched prejudices. Tahirih and Women's Suffrage written by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice in which they deal with the question of the relationship between Táhirih and women's sufferage as well as the station of Táhirih herself.	Seneca Falls; New York; United States; Badasht; Iran	Womens rights; Human rights; African Americans; Women; Gender; Equality; Conference of Badasht; Tahirih
1889. 8 Sep	Hájí Muhammad Ridáy-i-Isfahání was martyred in `Ishqábád. He had been on of the most prominent Bahá'ís and acted as the agent for the Afnan family Ishqabad. The murder had been orchestrated by the clergy who had brought ruffians from Khurasan for this purpose. They were bold, thinking that they were acting with impunity because the victim was a Bahá'í but the authorities intervened and arrested nine of the perpetrators. Some 70 fled to Iran. The plan had been to incite a general attack on the Bahá'í community. [BBRXXIX, 296–7; GPB202; The Baha'i Community Of Ashkhabad; Its Social Basis And Importance In Baha'i History by Mojan Momen p283; The Memoirs of Shamsi Sedaghat p27] "In the city of 'Ishqábád the newly established Shí'ah community, envious of the rising prestige of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh who were living in their midst, instigated two ruffians to assault the seventy-year old Hájí Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Isfáhání, whom, in broad day and in the midst of the bazaar, they stabbed in no less than thirty-two places, exposing his liver, lacerating his stomach and tearing open his breast. A military court dispatched by the Czar to 'Ishqábád established, after prolonged investigation, the guilt of the Shí'ahs, sentencing two to death and banishing six others - a sentence which neither Násir'd-Dín Sháh, nor the 'ulamás of Tihrán, of Mashad and of Tabríz, who were appealed to, could mitigate, but which the representatives of the aggrieved community, through their magnanimous intercession which greatly surprised the Russian authorities, succeeded in having commuted to a lighter punishment." [GPB202-203] Pior to this time the Shi'i and the Bahá'í had lived side by side more or less peacefully. After this incident they were more segregated. Czar Alexander III sent a military commission from St Petersburg to conduct the trial of those accused of the murder. [AB109; GPB202] Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl served as chief Bahá'í spokesman at the trial that took place in November 1890[AB109] Two were found guilty and sentenced to death, six others were ordered to be transported to Siberia. [AB109; BBR297; GPB203] Bahá'u'lláh attached importance to the action as being the first time Shí'ís received judicial punishment for an attack on Bahá'ís. [BBRSM91] The Bahá'í community interceded on behalf of the culprits and had the death sentences commuted to transportation to Siberia. [AB109; BBR297; GPB203] For Western accounts of the episode see BBR296–300. See as well The Martyrdom of Haji Muhammad-Rida by Mirza Abu’l-Fadl Gulpaygani, translated by Ahang Rabbani.	Ishqabad; Turkmenistan	Haji Muhammad Riday-i-Isfahani; Czar Alexander III; Mirza Abul-Fadl Gulpaygani; Firsts, Other; Persecution, Turkmenistan; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Court cases; Court cases; Persecution; Human rights
1901 (In the year)	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]	Washington DC; United States; Iran	William Hoar; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Ambassadors; Human rights; Firsts, Other
1906 30 Dec	The Constitution of Iran was re-established. The Bahá'ís were not included among the recognized religions. [BBR354; B114; CB57; GPB298] For the prophecies of Bahá'u'lláh about the constitution see CBM56–8.	Iran	Constitutions (general); Iranian constitution; Human rights; Prophecies
1926 (In the year)	For most of the year severe restrictions were placed on the Bahá’ís of Marághih in Ádharbáyján, the governor of the district effectively suspended all constitutional and civil rights of the Bahá’í community. [BBR472; BW18:388] For a list of deprivations see BBR473.	Maraghih; Adharbayjan	Persecution, Adharbayjan; Persecution; Human rights
1926 12 Jul (Or 16 Jul)	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada made representations to the Iranian government concerning the martyrdoms in Jahrum and asking the Sháh to intervene on behalf of the oppressed Bahá’ís. They included in their submission a list of all the places in North America were Bahá'ís resided. [BBR469; BW2:287] For text of the petition see BW2:287–300. On the 31st of July the submission that had been reprinted in booklet form was sent to some 300 newspapers. Copies were also sent to the local spiritual assemblies with instructions to deliver them to all Bahá'ís and friends of the Faith. [BN No 12 June - July 1926 p1]	United States; Jahrum; Iran	National Spiritual Assembly; Petitions; Persecution, Iran; Persecution; Human rights
1928 13 Dec	The case arising out of the newspaper persecution of the Bahá’ís of Turkey was brought before a criminal tribunal. [PP316] The Bahá’ís were able to make known the history and tenets of the Faith. [PP316–17; UD78–9]	Turkey	Persecution, Turkey; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1930. In the early 1930's	In Iran " [i]n the early years of the 1930s Bahá'í women joined the movement of discarding the veil and gradually abandoned the traditional veiling practice. This development opened new fields of service for women and made possible their fuller participation in the social and administrative activities of the communities." [BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]	Iran	Women; Human rights; Veils
1944 8 Aug	Three Bahá’ís were murdered in Sháhrúd, Iran, after three weeks of anti-Bahá’í agitation. Many Bahá’í houses were attacked and looted. [BW18:389] The murderers confessed, were put on trial and were acquitted. [BW18:389, Towards a History of Iran’s Baha’i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]	Shahrud; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; Court cases
1948. 18 Jun	The Bahá’í International Community took part in its first United Nations conference, on human rights. [BW11:43; BIC History 18 June 1948]	Geneva	Bahai International Community; BIC; United Nations; Human rights
1948. 10 Dec	The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. [United Nations] Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized freedom of religion as a central value of the post-World War II international legal order. The right was cemented in Article 18 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); also here. PDF in English. The history of the document. The Drafters. See a presentation prepared by Tony Michel February of 2020.	Paris	Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1955 Aug	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.]	New York; United States; Iran	Bahai International Community; United Nations; NSA; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
1959 10 Apr	Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community presented to the President of the Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Gunewardene of Ceylon, a statement endorsing the Genocide Convention. [BW13:791–4]	New York; United States	Human Rights; United Nations; Genocide; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements
1961 17 Jan	Following the arrest of Bahá’ís in Turkey in March 1959 and the subsequent court case, the Turkish court received the findings of three outstanding religious scholars that the Bahá’í Faith was an independent religion. [MoC308] For details of the history of the case see MoC306–8.	Turkey	Persecution, Turkey; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1961 15 Jul	The Turkish court declared the Bahá’í Faith to be a ‘Tarighat’, a sect forbidden by the law of the land.< The Bahá’ís were ‘forgiven’, released and the case against them dropped. [MoC308] The National Spiritual Assembly decided to appeal the decision to a higher court and national spiritual assemblies were asked to make representations to the Turkish ambassadors in their respective countries. [MoC308]	Turkey	Persecution, Turkey; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights; NSA
1962 22 Aug	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]	United States; Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; NSA; Custodians; United Nations
1962 23 Sep	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]	United States; Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; NSA; United Nations
1962 31 Oct	The 14 Bahá’ís imprisoned in Morocco were arraigned before the Regional Court of Nador. [BW13:289; MC18] They were charged with rebellion and disorder, attacks on public security, constituting an association of criminals and attacks on religious faith. [BW13:289; BW14:97; MoC18]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1962 10 Dec	The trial of the 14 Bahá’ís imprisoned in Morocco on charges of sedition opened. [BW13:289; BW14:97] The prosecution made no attempt to prove the charges against the accused. The only evidence presented was that they practised their faith and ignored the faith of Islám. [BW13:289; BW14:97; MoC414-418]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1962 14 Dec	The Regional Court of Nador gave its verdict in the case of the 14 Bahá’ís imprisoned in Morocco on charges of sedition: four were acquitted on the grounds that they claim to be Muslims; one was acquitted apparently through family connections; one was released on 15 years’ probation owing to his diabetes; five were committed to life imprisonment hard labour; and three were condemned to death. [BBRSM174; MoC18–19] The sentences were appealed to the Supreme Court. [BW13:289; BW14:97; MoC19]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1962 17 Dec	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]	Morocco	Custodians; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
1962 21 Dec	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]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations; Bahai International Community
1962 23 Dec	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]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Custodians; NSA; United Nations
1962 27 Dec	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]	Morocco; Worldwide	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Custodians; NSA; LSA
1963 1 Jan	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]	Morocco; Worldwide	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Custodians; National Spiritual Assembly; Local Spiritual Assembly
1963 31 Jan	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]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations
1963 2 Apr	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]	Morocco	King Hassan II; Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1963 4 Apr	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.	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Custodians; National Spiritual Assembly
1963 23 Nov	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]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights; Custodians; UHJ
1963 13 Dec	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.	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1968	Twenty years prior, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To mark this event the UN General Assembly unanimously designated the whole of this year, 1968, as International Human Rights Year. The Bahá'í Communities of North America, on the occasion of the world-wide commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the call to the world's leaders to establish universal peace through justice and unity by Bahá'u'lláh, observed 1968 as the International Year for Human Rights. At the Bahá'í Intercontinental Conference in Chicago the Bahá'ís affirmed that in accordance with the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, human rights are God given rights. See National Bahá'í Review Issue 4 April 1968 for the events associated with the commemoration. A pamphlet titled A Bahá'í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette.		Human Rights
1968 9 Oct	The widowed mother of seven children was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in Morocco for refusing to deny her faith. [BW15:172] Despite the efforts of national spiritual assemblies to secure justice for her through their embassies and cables to the King of Morocco, she was made to serve the entire sentence. [BW15:172]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1968 24 Oct	The Moroccan Bahá’í sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in January 1968 appelled and his sentence was extended to four years. [BW15:172] Despite the efforts of national spiritual assemblies to secure justice for him through their embassies and cables to the King of Morocco, he was made to serve the entire sentence. [BW15:172]	Morocco	Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1968 7 Nov	Sixteen Persian Bahá’ís in Algeria were expelled from the country and their properties confiscated; native Algerian Bahá’ís were put under restrictions and five were exiled to the Sahara and the eastern mountain regions. [BW15:172; BWIM114] Following appeals, the confiscated properties were returned and the order of banishment for the local believers was gradually relaxed. [BW15:172]	Algeria	Persecution, Algeria; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
1975 (In the year)	The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt decided that the 1960 decree of President Nasser banning all Bahá’í activities was constitutional and the application of the Bahá’ís for annulment of the decree was dismissed. [BW16:137] Though nominally they have been guaranteed equal rights and religious freedoms under the 1971 Constitution, Bahá'ís, in practice, have retained a secondary legal status due to ongoing religious discrimination. Issues pertaining to personal status in Egypt were informed by religious rather than civil law and recognition pertained only to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Aspects of religious life such as marriage, divorce and family relationships were not recognized by the state.	Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Human rights
1975 24 Jun	Iran became one of the first countries in the world to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The covenant spelled out clearly the concept of freedom of religion or belief. Article 18 states that “[e]veryone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his/her religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” The ICCPR also spells out specific rights to due process “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” These include freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention, the right to be “promptly informed” of charges, and the right to legal counsel. Article 9 of the ICCPR states that “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention.” It also states that “[a]nyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.” Article 14 spells out the right to legal counsel, stating everyone has the right “to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing. …” The Covenant was opened for signature at New York on 19 December 1966 and came into force on 23 March 1976. [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Fact Sheet]	New York; United States; Iran	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); United Nations; Human rights; United Nations; Bahai International Community
1978 (In the year)	Ten Bahá’ís were killed in Iran, seven by mobs. [BW18:291] For the response of Bahá’í institutions to the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran see BW18:337.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Mobs; Persecution; Human rights
1979. from 1979	After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the persecution of Bahá'ís significantly intensified due to their perceived beliefs and association with the previous regime. The Iranian government viewed the Bahá'ís as heretics and threats to Islam. Bahá'ís faced severe restrictions on their religious freedom, denial of basic human rights, and discriminatory laws targeting them. Persecution included but was not limited to: Arrests and imprisonment: Bahá'ís were often arrested on false charges, including espionage or propaganda against the state, and were subjected torture and to long prison sentences. Discrimination in education and employment: Bahá'ís were barred from higher education and many forms of employment within the public sector initially and then it expanded to all sectors of the economy. Their business licences were often revoked or they were prevented from starting businesses. Property confiscation: Bahá'í properties, including holy sites, cemeteries, and religious centres, were desecrated, vandalized, confiscated or destroyed by the government. Denial of citizenship rights: Bahá'ís faced difficulty in obtaining identification documents, which denied them citizenship rights and access to essential services. Hate propaganda and vilification: Bahá'ís were subjected to hate propaganda through state-controlled media and religious leaders, portraying them as morally corrupt, enemies of Islam and the state. [Iran Press Watch] Physical violence and harassment: Bahá'ís were targeted for physical violence, harassment, and intimidation by both government authorities and extremist groups. Efforts by the international community, international human rights organizations, and individuals raised awareness of the persecution faced by Bahá'ís in Iran, urging the Iranian government to respect their human rights and provide them with the freedom to practice their religion without fear of persecution. In the early years of the Revolution about 200 Bahá'ís were executed but in the face of international pressure the regime resorted to more subtile and systematic means of oppression. On the whole the regime was defiant in the face of pressure from other countries, the United Nations and other Human Rights groups. [Iran Press Watch]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Human rights; Iranian revolution; - Basic timeline, Expanded
1979 Dec	The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, from which all civil rights stem and which did not give recognition to the Bahá’í Faith, was adopted by referendum. [BI11] See Mess63-68p462. See Constitutional Coherence and the Legal Status of the Bahá’í Community of Iran by Salim A. Nakhjavani.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution; Constitutions (general); Iranian constitution; Human rights; Iranian revolution
1980 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92] Twenty–four Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW18:229–30] BW18:291–2 shows a slightly different, incorrect list. For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:293–305 and BW19:236–46. For accounts of some of the martyrdoms see BW18:275–81. Twelve Bahá’ís disappeared and were presumed dead. [BW19:235] For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6. For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:339–41, 415–17.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights
1980 Sep	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]	Iran	European Union; United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
1981 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92] Forty–six Bahá’ís were executed and two assassinated. [BW18:292–3; BW19:230–1] For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46. For accounts of some of the martyrdoms see BW18:277–8, 281–4. For excerpts from the wills of some of the martyrs see BW18:284–9. 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 BW18:341–5, 417–20. See Archives of Bahá'í Persecution in Iran for an edited video recording of the secret trial of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran at Evin Prison in Tehran. (In Farsi) During the year the Bahá'í International Community made its first appeal to the UN Commission in Human Rights to address the situation of the Bahá'í Community in Iran. [BIC History 1981]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights; NSA
1982 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92] Thirty–two Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:232] BW18:293–4 shows a slightly different, incorrect list. For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–246. For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–96 and BW19:44–46. For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:345–352, 369-379,420–424. See the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 January 1982 for a summation of the steps taken by the coordinated Bahá'í community to expose the crimes of the Iranian regime and to bring pressure to have the persecutions stop.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights
1982 25 May	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]	Washington DC; United States; Iran	Human Rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; United States government
1983 (In the year)	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.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights; Yaran; BWNS
1984 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226] Thirty Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:233-4] 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 BW19:44–6.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Human rights; Bahai International Community
1984. 19 Oct	The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) appointed Andrés Aguilar of Venezuela as its Special Representative to Iran on human rights. Iran refused to engage with him and he eventually resigned in 1986, unable to persuade Iranian officials to cooperate with him in any way. [Wikipedia; BIC site History]	New York, NY	UN; United Nations; UNHCR; Andres Aguilar; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
1985 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226] Seven Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:234] For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46. For the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community see BW19:39.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights
1985 (In the year)	The publication of Bahá’í Focus on Human Rights by Philp Hainsworth. It has been described as the first attempt at an analytic approach by an individual believer to the question of human rights. It was published in London by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust. [Collins p86, 7.1117]	London; United Kingdom	Bahai Focus on Human Rights; Philip Hainsworth
1985 Jul	Three Bahá’í youths in Mentawai were imprisoned for having married according to Bahá’í law. [BW19:42]	Mentawai Islands; Indonesia	Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
1985 13 Dec	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]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; United Nations; Human rights; Bahai International Community
1986 (In the year)	Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a prominent diplomat, and professor of law from El Salvador served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran from 1986 to 1995. He visited Iran three times between 1990 and 1992, but after his third visit, he was barred from visiting Iran. [Wikipedia] His eight years as Special Representative were particularly significant, principally for a series of reports that authoritatively documented the intense, often brutal, violations committed by Iran against its own citizens. These were critical in calling the world's attention to the brutality of the regime at the time. Prof. Pohl's 1993 report to the Commission was notable for its disclosure of the so-called "Baha'i Question" memorandum, a previously secret 1991 letter issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council that established a national policy for dealing with Iran's Bahá'ís, setting limits on their educational, economic and cultural activities. [BWNS879; BBC 1993 Jan]	New York, NY	UN; United Nations; Galindo Pohl; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
1986 (In the year)	The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226] One Bahá’í, 15-year-old Paymán Subhání, was killed. [BW19:225–6, 234] For his picture see BW19:246. For the actions taken by the Bahá’í international Community see BW19:38.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights
1986 13 Mar	The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution asking its chairman to appoint a new special representative to report to the General Assembly in November 1986 on the human rights situation in Iran, including the situation of the Bahá’ís. [BINS153:12]	Iran	United Nations Commission on Human Rights
1987 (In the year)	Faced with unrelenting religious persecution involving a wide range of human rights violations, the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was founded in response to the Iranian government's continuing campaign to deny Iranian Bahá'ís access to higher education. See BIHE Website. BIHE developed several unique features which have become its defining strengths. Courses were delivered at the outset by correspondence, soon complemented by in-person classes and tutoring. Later on, leading-edge communication and education technologies were included. In addition, an affiliated global faculty (AGF) was established that comprised of hundreds of accredited professors from universities outside Iran who assisted BIHE as researchers, teachers and consultants. The BIHE was to evolve such that it could offer 38 university-level programs across 5 faculties and continued to develop and deliver academic programs in Sciences, Engineering, Business and Management, Humanities, and Social Sciences. It provided and continues to provide its students with the necessary knowledge and skills to not only persevere and succeed in their academic and professional pursuits, but to be active agents of change for the betterment of the world. The BIHE's commitment to high academic standards, international collaboration and its innovative teaching-learning environment has been increasingly recognized as graduates excelled in post graduate studies internationally. [See list] These unique strengths of BIHE, together with the top-ranking marks of its students, have helped secure its graduates places at over 87 prestigious universities and colleges in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia (India). [Closed Doors, Chapter IV ; BIHE] See the statement The Bahá'í Institute Of Higher Education: A Creative And Peaceful Response To Religious Persecution In Iran presented by the Bahá'í International Community to the 55th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights under Agenda item 10 of the provisional agenda: "The Right to Education" in Geneva, 22 March - 30 April 1999. See Iran Wire 20 January 2023 for the notice of passing of Dr Parviz Javid, one of the three professors who are credited with founding the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education. See Iran’s Systemic Denial of Access to Higher Education by Saman Sabeti.	Iran	Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution, Iran; Persecution; Human Rights; Education; Persecution; Persecution, Education; BIC statements
1988 8 Dec	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]	Iran	United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
1988 29 Dec	The Universal House of Justice issued a letter to the Bahá’ís in the United States published as Individual Rights and Freedoms in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. [Mess86-01p60]	BWC; United States	Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Publications; Administration; Administrative Order; Authority; Bahai Faith, Evolutionary nature of; Consultation; Criticism and apologetics; Ethics; Freedom and liberty; Freedom of expression; Human rights; Individualism; Moderation; Review; Unity; Western culture
1989. 9 Feb	The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Right to Development”, to the forty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.	Geneva; Switzerland	Human rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; United Nations
1989. 15 Feb	The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Creating a Universal Culture of Human Rights”, to the fourty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.	Geneva	Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Human Rights; United Nations
1989 9 Mar	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]	Iran	United Nations; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Bahai International Community
1990 (In the year)	For the first time a representative of the United Nations was able to officially meet with a representative of the proscribed Bahá'í community in Irán. The report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resulted in a resolution being adapted on Irán in a session held in Geneva. [AWH76]	Iran; Geneva	United Nations Commission on Human Rights; Bahai International Community
1991 25 Feb	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]	Iran; United States	Golpaygani Memorandum; Ayatollah Khamenei; Ayatollahs; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations; Persecution, education; BWNS; Bahai International Community
1993 Jan	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]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations
1993 22 Feb	At the 49th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations in Geneva released a report providing evidence that the Iránian Government had established a secret plan approved by Irán's highest ranking officials including both President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ayatollah Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to oppress and persecute the Bahá'í community both in Irán and abroad. Galindo Pohl, special representative in charge of monitoring the human rights situation in Iran, highlights the contents of the secret document written by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council. [BW92–3:139; BW94–5:134] [from Bahá'í Community of Canada Department of Public Affairs press release dated 25 February, 1993]	Iran; Geneva; Switzerland	Persecution; Hashemi Rafsanjani; Ali Khamenei; Galindo Pohl; Human rights; United Nations; Iran Memorandum; United Nations; Bahai International Community
1993 10 – 25 Jun	The Bahá'í International Community and Bahá'ís from 11 countries participated in the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and the parallel meetings for non-governmental organizations. [BINS298:1–2] The representatives from the Bahá'í International Community highlighted the importance of recognizing the universal nature of human rights. A joint statement entitled Promoting Religious Tolerance was presented by the Bahá'í international Community.	Vienna; Austria	United Nations conferences; Human Rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
1995 (In the year)	Following the resignation of Galindo Pohl, the UNCHR appointed Maurice Copithorne, a Canadian lawyer, as the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. On 22 April 2002, the UNCHR voted not to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, a decision condemned by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The BIC paid tribute to him upon his passing on 14 February, 2019.	New York, NY	Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; UN; United Nations; Maurice Copithorne; Bahai International Community
1997 (In the year)	The Tahirih Justice Center was founded to address the acute need for legal services of immigrant and refugee women who have fled to the U.S. to seek protection from human rights abuses. The Center's founder, Ms. Layli Miller, created the Center after she was besieged by requests for legal assistance following her involvement in a high-profile case that set national precedent and revolutionized asylum law in the United States. The case was that of Fauziya Kassindja, a 17 year-old woman who fled Togo in fear of a forced polygamous marriage and a tribal practice known as female genital mutilation. After arriving in the U.S. and spending more than seventeen months in detention, Ms. Kassindja was granted asylum on June 13th, 1996 by the United States Board of Immigration Appeals in a decision that opened the door to gender-based persecution as a grounds for asylum. [Tahirih Justice Center] For more on the Tahirih Justice Center see article in the Religion News Service.	United States	Tahirih Justice Center; Human rights; Women; Refugees; Migration; Layli Miller-Muro
1998 29 Sep	Starting this date until October 2nd, in Iran, the government raided some 500 private homes and the arrested some 30 faculty members in efforts to close the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education, a decentralized university that aimed to give Bahá’í students access to the education they have been otherwise denied. The Institute offered Bachelor's degrees in ten subject areas: applied chemistry, biology, dental science, pharmacological science, civil engineering, computer science, psychology, law, literature, and accounting. Within these subject areas, which were administered by five "departments," the Institute was able to offer more than 200 distinct courses each term. In the beginning, courses were based on correspondence lessons developed by Indiana University, which was one of the first institutions in the West to recognize the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education. Later on, course offerings were developed internally. Teaching was done principally via correspondence, or, for specialized scientific and technical courses and in other special cases, in small-group classes that were usually held in private homes. Over time, however, the Institute was able to establish a few laboratories, operated in privately owned commercial buildings in and around Teheran, for computer science, physics, dental science, pharmacology, applied chemistry, and language study. The operations of these laboratories were kept prudently quiet, with students cautioned not to come and go in large groups that might give the authorities a reason to object. Among other significant human rights conventions, Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. Parties to this Covenant "recognize the right of everyone to education" and more specifically that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means." [“The New York Times” article dated 29 October 1998, One Country Oct-Dec 1998 Vol 10 Issue 3] On the 29th of October, 2019, IranWire featured a story on the BIHE and one of its graduates, Pedram Roushan, a physicist originally from Sari in Mazandaran province. On the 28th of August 2020 Pedram Roushan was featured in another IranWire article about his work with the Google Artificial Intelligence Quantum team. They had just published an article called Hartree-Fock on a superconducting qubit quantum computer in "Science Magazine".	Iran	Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Human Rights; Education; Pedram Roushan
1999 19 Apr	The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan sentenced Sina Hakiman (10 yrs), Farzad Khajeh Sharifabadi (7 yrs), Havivullhh Ferdosian Najafabadi (7 yrs) and Ziaullah Mirzapanah (3yrs) for crimes against national security. All four were among the thirty-six who were arrested in late September and in early October, 1998 in a concerted government crackdown against Bahá’í education in fourteen cities in Iran. It was reported that over 500 homes were raided in an attempt to crack down on the Bahá’í Open University. Files, equipment and other property used by the University were seized. From report by Human Rights Watch Academic Freedom Committee.	Isfahan; Iran	Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human Rights; Education	Find ref
1999 5 May	Firuz Kazemzadeh, Secretary for External Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, was appointed by President Clinton as a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. White House Press Release	United States	Firuz Kazemzadeh; NSA; United States government; United States Commissions; Religious freedom; Human rights	Find ref
2000 17 Feb	Iran’s Supreme Court rejected death sentences imposed upon Sirus Zabihi-Moghadam, Hadayet Kashefi-Majafabadi and Manucher Khulsi. They had been arrested in 1997 in Khorasan province accused of unspecified anti-security acts. (Chapter one, Article 498 of the Islamic Penal Code.) A flood of protest followed from Western leaders. [HRW] See message from the Universal House of Justice dated 29 September, 1998.	Khurasan; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
2000 22 - 26 May	The United Nations Millennium Forum was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It attracted 1,350 participants from more than 106 countries and many others participated remotely via Internet. The purpose was to give organizations of civil society an opportunity to formulate views and recommendations on global issues to be taken up at the subsequent Millennium Summit in September to be attended by heads of state and government. Convened by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Forum's overarching theme - "The United Nations for the 21st Century" - encompassed six main sub-themes in its declaration: 1) Peace, security and disarmament; 2) Eradication of poverty, including debt cancellation and social development; 3) Human rights; 4) Sustainable development and environment; 5) Facing the challenges of globalization: achieving equity, justice and diversity; and, 6) Strengthening and democratizing the United Nations and international organizations. The document was divided into three main areas: recommendations for governmental action; proposals for the United Nations; and actions to be undertaken by civil society itself. The Bahá’í International Community as an NGO representing a cross-section of humankind acted as a unifying agent in major discussions. Our principal representative at the United Nations, Techeste Ahderrom, was appointed to cochair a committee of non-governmental organizations. Lawrence Arturo and Diane 'Alá'í represented the Bahá'í International Community. [BW00-01p87-89, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000]	New York; United States	United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue; Techeste Ahderom; Lawrence Arturo; Diane Alai
2000 6 - 8 Sep	The General Assembly Millennium Summit was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and was attended by leaders of more than 150 nations. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented a report entitled, "We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century". In which was presented an overview of the challenges facing humankind and suggested practical solutions. Some of the key themes addressed include health, environment, human rights and other social issues, international law, peace and rejuvenating the United Nations. It is striking that called upon by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to address so historic a gathering was Mr. Techeste Ahderom, the principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations, addressed the gathering as the spokesman of civil society. He was accorded this honour because he had presided as cochair at the earlier United Nations Millennium Forum. After all the national leaders had spoken and before the Summit had adopted its declaration on 8 September, Mr. Ahderom made a speech in which he conveyed to that unprecedented assemblage a report of the Forum. The text of his speech is enclosed herewith. On the last day a declaration was unanimously adopted that began by asserting: “We, Heads of State and Government, have gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 6 to 8 September 2000, at the dawn of a new Millennium, to reaffirm our faith in the Organization and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.” [BW00-01p91-93, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000] The text of Mr. Ahderom's speech can be found on the BIC's website and at BW00-01p243-247. Millennium Declaration (in all UN working languages) The Millennium Development Goals are to: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieve universal primary education; (3) promote gender equality and empower women; (4) reduce child mortality; (5) improve maternal health; (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability; and (8) develop a global partnership for development. UN website.	New York; United States	United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; World peace (general); Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; Environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue; Techeste Ahderom
2000. 31 Oct	The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. It was the first United Nations Security Council resolution to specifically mention the impact of conflict on women. The Resolution formally acknowledged the changing nature of warfare, in which civilians are increasingly targeted, and women continue to be excluded from participation in peace processes. It specifically addressed how women and girls are disproportionally impacted by violent conflict and war and recognized the critical role that women can and were playing in peacebuilding efforts. UNSCR 1325 affirmed that peace and security efforts are more sustainable when women are equal partners in the prevention of violent conflict, the delivery of relief and recovery efforts and in the forging of lasting peace. The four pillars of the resolution were Participation, Prevention, Protection, Relief & Recovery. It was the first formal and legal document from the Security Council that required parties in a conflict to prevent violations of women's rights, to support women's participation in peace negotiations and in post-conflict reconstruction, and to protect women and girls from wartime sexual violence. Specifically, the key provisions called for: Increase of representation and participation of women in decision-making at all levels. Specific attention to gender-based violence in conflict situations. Gender perspective in post-conflict processes. Gender perspective in UN programming, reporting and in Security Council missions. Gender perspective & training in UN peace support operations. [Wikipedia] See Background Paper by Françoise Nduwimana.	New York; United States	United Nations; Women; Peace; Human rights
2001 (In the year)	The publication of Bahá’í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights edited by: Tahirih Tahririha-Danesh with contributions from Kiser Barnes, Greg Duly, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, Graham Hassall, Darren Hedley, Nazila Ghanea-Hercock, Chichi Layor, Michael L. Penn, and Martha L. Schweitz.	Hong Kong	Bahai-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights; Tahirih Tahririha-Danesh; Kiser Barnes; Greg Duly; Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims; Graham Hassall; Darren Hedley; Nazila Ghanea-Hercock; Chichi Layor; Michael L. Penn; Martha L. Schweitz
2003 16 Dec	Shirin Ebadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first Muslim woman to win the coveted distinction. For a long time she has fought for the rights of women and children in Iran and it is most fitting that she, a woman lawyer who dared to speak out against the sexist Iranian regime, be praised and recognised by the world. She was an author and also the founder of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. [Nobel Peace Prize 2003] In 2002 she founded the Defender of Human Rights Center and in 2009 she was forced to flee into exile after briefly serving as legal counsel for the imprisoned Yaran. Mrs. Ebadi was threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media after taking on their case and was not given access to their case files. [BWNS694 ]	Iran	Shirin Ebadi; Nobel Peace Prize; Human rights; Women; Firsts, Other; BWNS
2004 (In the year)	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]	Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2004 20 Dec	United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "serious concern" over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Bahá'í community there. It called on Iran to "eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds" and took note of the recent upsurge of human rights violations against the Bahá'í s of Iran. Specifically, the resolution noted the "continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the Bahá'ís, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of free worship or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational, and community-related activities, and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, and other benefits." [BWNS341]	Iran; New York; United States	United Nations, General Assembly; United Nations; Human rights; BWNS
2005. 14 -16 Sep	The 2005 World Summit was a follow-up summit meeting to the United Nations' 2000 Millennium Summit, which led to the Millennium Declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Representatives (including many leaders) of the then 191 (later 193) member states met in New York City for what the United Nations described as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations." [THE 2005 WORLD SUMMIT: AN OVERVIEW] 2005 World Summit Outcome Millennium Development Goals To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger To achieve universal primary education To promote gender equality and empower women To reduce child mortality To improve maternal health To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases To ensure environmental sustainability To develop a global partnership for development	New York; United States	United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; World peace (general); Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue
2005 29 Oct	Letter from the Iranian military headquarters to various Revolutionary Guard and police forces and security agencies instructing them to identify and monitor Bahá'ís around the country. [BWNS473] A copy of the letter can be obtained from the BIC website. This document was authored by Major General Seyyed Hassan Firuzabadi in his capacity as Chief of the Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran. His letter was addressed to a range of military and security agencies, including the Commander of the Revolutionary Guard, the Commander of Basij militia, the Commander of Law Enforcement and the Commander of the Armed Forces inter alia. The letter instructed these agencies to ‘acquire a comprehensive and complete report of all the activities of these sects (including political, economic, social and cultural) for the purpose of identifying all the individuals of these misguided sects. Therefore, we request that you convey to relevant authorities to, in a highly confidential manner, collect any and all information about the above mentioned activities of these individuals and report it to this Headquarters.’ This extended to children and students, and individual children and young people are identified by their religious beliefs and targeted for ideological harassment, exclusion from education, abuse and even physical assault on some occasions. [See: Faith and a Future]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Education; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Human rights; Faith and a Future (CSW)
2005 15 Dec	The death of Mr. Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, 59, who had been held in a government prison in Yazd under harsh physical conditions at the time of his death. First arrested in 1995, Mr. Mahrami served in the civil service but at the time of his arrest was making a living installing venetian blinds, having been summarily fired from his job like thousands of other Bahá'is in the years following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Although Iranian officials have asserted that Mr. Mahrami was guilty of spying for Israel, court records clearly indicate that he was tried and sentenced solely on charge of being an "apostate," a crime which is punishable by death under traditional Islamic law. While Mr. Mahrami had been a lifelong Baha'i, the apostasy charge apparently came about because a civil service colleague, in an effort to prevent Mr. Mahrami from losing his job, submitted an article to a newspaper stating that he had converted to Islam. When it later became clear to Iranian authorities that Mr. Mahrami remained a member of the Bahá'í community, they arrested him and charged him with apostasy for allegedly converting from Islam to the Bahá'í Faith. On 2 January 1996, he was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, a conviction that was later upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court. The death sentence against Mr. Mahrami stirred an international outcry. The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution on human rights abuses in Iran, making reference to Mr. Mahrami's case. The governments of Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States also registered objections. [BWNS415]	Yazd; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Human rights; Court cases; BWNS
2006 - 2007 (academic year)	For more than two decades young Bahá’ís had been barred from entering university through an application process that required them to deny their faith. Though a modification in the process, achieved through worldwide public pressure, enabled a few hundred to register at the start of the 2006–2007 academic year, their hopes of pursuing higher education were soon dashed because that same year a confidential letter sent from Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology instructed Iranian universities to expel any student who was discovered to be a Bahá'í. The letter refuted previous statements by Iranian officials who had said Bahá'í students in Iran faced no discrimination. [BWNS575] The English translation of the letter.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Higher education; Human rights; Bahai International Community
2006 4 Apr	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2006 15 May	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2006 16 Sep	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 ]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2006 20 Nov	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2006 Dec	The publication of A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC). The document reported that the Bahá’í community of Iran were not free to practice their religion, they suffered from economic and social exclusion, and they had been subjected to executions, arbitrary arrests and the destruction of their property - all carried out with the support of national judicial, administrative and law enforcement structures. It also stated that since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005, there was evidence to suggest a new cycle of repression may have been beginning. [A Faith Denied]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Human Rights
2006 16 Dec	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2006 21 Dec	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.	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2007 9 Apr	In a memorandum from the office of Intelligence and National Security to the commanders of police forces of the regional provincial municipalities, instructions were given to monitor the business activities of Bahá'ís, to suppress the operations of business that would yield a high income, to prohibit businesses related to culture, advertising and commerce as well as any business related to cleanliness (tahárat) such as grocery shops and ice cream parlours and any others where the handling of food or personal care was involved. [Letter from the Public Inteligence and Security Force] English translation of the letter.	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Human rights; Persecution
2007 12 Nov	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.	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2007 25 Dec	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2008 29 Jan	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2008 14 May	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	Iran	Fatwa; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri; Ayatollahs
2008	The arrest of the Bahá'í leadership took place in the context of a severely and rapidly escalating systemic campaign of attacks against the Bahá'í community that included the creation and circulation of lists of Bahá'ís with instructions that the activities of the members of the community be secretly monitored; dawn raids on Bahá'í homes and the confiscation of personal property; a dramatic increase over the previous two months in the number of Bahá'ís arrested; daily incitement to hatred of the Bahá'ís in all forms of government-sponsored mass media; the holding of anti-Bahá'í symposia and seminars organized by clerics and followed by orchestrated attacks on Bahá'í homes and properties in the cities and towns where such events were held; destruction of Bahá'í cemeteries throughout the country and demolition of Bahá'í holy places and shrines; acts of arson against Bahá'í homes and properties; debarring of Bahá'ís from access to higher education and, increasingly, vilification of Bahá'í children in their classrooms by their teachers; the designation of numerous occupations and businesses from which Bahá'ís were debarred; refusal to extend bank loans to Bahá'ís; sealing Bahá'í shops; refusing to issue or renew business licenses to Bahá'ís; harassment of landlords of Bahá'í business premises to get them to evict their tenants; and threats against Muslims who associated with Bahá'ís. [Iran Press Watch 1109]	Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution; Human rights
2006 Jun	In a show of solidarity for the imprisoned Yaran, an open letter was sent from a number of members of the judiciary, human rights organizations and other notables in India. [Iran Press Watch 1624]	Iran; India	Yaran; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Human rights
2008 Nov	Ameed Saadat sat Iran's 2008 national university entrance examination. He passed was accepted to study hotel management at Goldasht College in Kelardasht, Mazandaran, and began his studies. The college's registration form required students to identify their religion. Ameed, being honest had identified himself as a Bahá'í. The day before his first-term examinations were to begin the college director told Ameed that he was being expelled and would therefore not be allowed to sit the examinations. The following day, 26 students refused to take the end-of-term exam in protest against Ameed's expulsion. [Iran Press Watch]	Kelardasht; Mazandaran; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Human rights; Higher education
2009 3 Feb	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]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Open letters; Human rights
2009 16 Mar	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2009 17 Apr	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2009 11 May	After a year in jail without formal charges the Bahá'í leaders faced an additional accusation, 'the spreading of corruption on earth,' which goes by the term 'Mofsede fel-Arz' in Persian and carries the threat of death under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Prior to this new charge they had been accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' [BIC Report;Iran Press Watch 2709] The anticipated sham trial of the seven Baha’is leaders provoked a strong condemnation throughout the world press. In almost every language and in every country of the world, journalists, diplomats, prominent citizens and many others denounced the intentions of the Iranian government to try these innocent citizens on baseless charges of: “espionage for Israel”, “insulting religious sanctities” and “”propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” [World Press on the Trial of the Seven Bahá'í Leaders]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights; Persecution, Human rights; Press (media)
2009 8 Aug	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]	Cairo; Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2009 17 Aug	The trial of seven Bahá'í leaders imprisoned in Iran was further postponed until 18 October. [BWNS727]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights; BWNS
2009 18 Oct	Attorneys and families of the seven arrived at court in Tehran for the trial to be told that it would not take place. No new date was set. [BIC Report]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
2010 12 Jan – 14 Jun	The trial of Iran's seven Bahá'í leaders, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm began in Tehran. The seven were charged with "espionage", "propaganda activities against the Islamic order", "the establishment of an illegal administration", "cooperation with Israel", "sending secret documents outside the country", "acting against the security of the country", and "corruption on earth". [BWNS748, BWNS778] The profiles of the accused: Profiles. The trial was closed to the public. A film crew and known interrogators were permitted entry. [Video "The Story of the Bahá'í Seven" 13 May 2016 BIC]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2010 7 Feb	Seven imprisoned Bahá'í leaders appeared in court for a second session of their trial. The session was once again closed and family members were not permitted in the courtroom. The hearing lasted just over one hour but did not go beyond procedural issues. No date was given for any future sessions. [BWNS756]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2010 12 Apr	The seven imprisoned Iranian Bahá'í leaders arrived at the court for their third appearance and their families were not allowed to enter, signalling a closed hearing. Inside the courtroom, however, the prisoners saw numerous officials and interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence – along with a film crew which had already set up cameras. Concerned over the presence of non-judicial personnel in a supposedly closed hearing, the Bahá'ís – with the agreement of their attorneys – declined to be party to the proceedings. The judge adjourned the session and did not announce a date for continuing the trial. [BWNS767]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2010 10 May	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]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2010 12 Jun	The seven Bahá'í leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran made their fourth court appearance. [BIC Report]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights
2010 24 Jul	The imprisonment of seven Bahá'í leaders in Iran was extended for a further two months after the lawyers made a request for bail. At this point they had been held for more than two years under a series of successive orders for their 'temporary' detention, which by law, must not exceed two months. The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances and began on 12 January after they had been imprisoned without charge for 20 months. During this period they were allowed barely one hour's access to their legal counsel. The trial concluded on 14 June. [BIC Report]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Human rights
2010 8 Aug	The sentence of 20 years in prison was announced for members of the "Yaran-i-Iran" or "Friends of Iran" in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moqayesseh (or Moghiseh). The charges were several: "espionage", "collaborating with enemy states", "insulting the sacred", "propaganda against the state" and "forming an illegal group". The prominent civil and human rights lawyer who defended them was Mr Abdolfattah Soltani. He would later serve a 13-year sentence in the Evin Prison for engaging in his profession. Another member of their legal defense team was the attorney Hadi Esmailzadeh who died in 2016 while serving a 4-year prison term for defending human rights cases. After the sentencing the seven Bahá'í leaders were sent to Raja’i prison in the city of Karaj (Gohardasht) , about 50 kilometers west of Tehran. [BWNS789] Raja’i prison in Mashhad has frequently been criticized by human rights advocates for its unsanitary environment, lack of medical services, crowded prison cells and unfair treatment of inmates by guards. [Wikipedia; Iran Press Watch 6315]. Soon after their arrival four of the Yaran were transferred to room 17 in Section 6 of this notorious prison. Section 6 is infamous in human rights circles. It has often been the scene of bloody fighting among prisoners and it is considered extremely dangerous. It is where certain political prisoners have been sent to vanish. At first the Mafia-like gangs incarcerated in the same facility began to refer to the Yaran as “infidels”. The authorities also tried to pressure other prisoners to insult and belittle the newly-arrived Bahá'ís, but it appeared that most other prisoners refused to comply with this suggestion. In fact, it was reported that most other prisoners were showing considerable respect to the Bahá'ís and tried to be hospitable. [Iran Press Watch 667] For a profile of Judge Mohammad Moghiseh see Iran Press Watch 17764 .	Tihran; Mashhad; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Evin Prison; Gohardasht prison; Abdolfattah Soltani; Hadi Esmailzadeh; Moghiseh; Human rights; Prisons; BWNS
2010. 4 Sep	A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was detained by the authorities on charges of "acting against national security," "assembly and collusion to disrupt security," and "cooperation with the Defenders for Human Rights Center." Ms Sotoudeh has represented Iranian opposition activists and politicians, as well a prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. She was taken to Tehran's Evin prison was being held in solitary confinement. She launched a hunger strike at the end of September to protest being denied visits and phone calls from her family. Her family convinced her to end the hunger strike on the 23rd of October. This was one of two hunger strikes she staged during her first term in prison. The other was to protest against the conditions in Evin. [Web Citation] In January 2011, Iranian authorities sentenced Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison, in addition to barring her from practicing law and from leaving the country for 20 years. Later that year, an appeals court reduced her sentence to six years and her practice ban to ten years in August of 2014. [Wikipedia] Sotoudeh was released on 18 September 2013 along with ten other political prisoners, days before an address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the United Nations. The Iranian authorities have given no reason for her release and no indication of whether it is unconditional. [Amnesty International]	Tihran; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Nasrin Sotoudeh
2010 7 Dec	In an open letter to Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Larijani, the Head of the Judiciary, the Bahá'í International Community today contrasted the country's persecution of Bahá'ís with Iran's own call for Muslim minorities to be treated fairly in other countries. [BWNS801] In English: BIC Letter. In Farsi: BIC Letter (Farsi).	Iran	Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Larijani; Open letters; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS; BIC statements
2011 Mar	In March 2011, the UN Human Rights Council re-established the mandate of Special Rapporteur to Iran, which they had terminated in 2002, under the title "Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran". The Commission had stopped appointing investigators for Iran in an effort to encourage a dialogue with the country on human rights. Then, in 2005, the Commission was disbanded in favour of a new entity, the Human Rights Council, which, for a variety of reasons, was considerably more reluctant to criticize individual countries. Human rights activists believed the moral authority behind having such a UN-appointed special rapporteur was a critical step in bringing to light the severity of rights violations in Iran. [One Country] Ahmed Shaheed was appointed and his mandate lasted from 2011 to 2016 when he went on to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. An Iranian parliamentarian referred to the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed as a Zionist and CIA agent. [Islamic Republic News Agency 29 March 2014]	New York, NY	Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Ahmed Shaheed; UN; United Nations; Bahai International Community
2011 24 Mar	The UN Human Rights Council voted to create a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. [Iran Press Watch 7657]	Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; United Nations; UNHCR; Special Rapporteur
2011 24 Sep	The arrest of Abdolfattah Soltani, a senior member of the legal team (4 lawyers) representing a number of Bahá'ís in Iran awaiting trial for providing higher education to youth barred from university. Soltani is a co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, along with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi and others. The Tehran-based Centre was shut down in a police raid in December 2008. [BWNS849] In 2008 when Shirin Ebadi took the defense of seven Bahá'ís she was accused of changing her religion and her law office was attacked and faced other problems. [Iran Press Watch] U.S Bahá'í Office of Public Affairs Press Release. See interview with Mr Soltani by Iran Press Watch.	Iran	Abdolfattah Soltani; Lawyers; Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution; Human Rights; Education; BWNS; Yaran; Persecution, Education
2012 Jun	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.	Egypt	Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; History (general)
2013 Mar	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.		Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Justice; Bahai International Community; BWNS; BIC statements
2013 14 May	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]	Tihran; Iran; Worldwide	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community; BWNS; BIC statements
2013 15 Jul	Iranian filmmaker and blogger as well as a former Islamist hardliner who has become an outspoken critic of the government, Mohammad Nourizad, kissed the feet of 4 year old Artin whose parents had been arrested for participation in the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education. [Wikipedia entry; Faith and a Future p38-39] Some years later Mr Nourizad repeated this gesture, kissing the feet of a six year old boy named Bashir whose parents, Azita Rafizadeh and Peyman Kushak Baghi had been sentenced to four year prison terms for teaching at the BIHE.	Iran	Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Human Rights; Education; Mohammad Nourizad
2013 20 Sep	Deloria Bighorn, chairperson of the National Spiritual Bahá'ís of Canada, presented, on behalf of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the BC National Event held in Vancouver from September 18th to the 21st. The formal presentation followed a panel organized by the Canadian Bahá'í Community and Reconciliation Canada. The previous week 250 people listened to Chief Doug White, Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, and Dr. Paulette Regan from the Commission discussing the challenge of reconciliation. [T&R website, CBN 24 September, CBN 9 February, 2018, BWNS1248] For the text see Submission of the Bahá’í Community of Canada to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or download PDF. The Bahá'í community also produced a short film, The Path Home, which it screened in Ottawa in association with the final national gathering.	Vancouver; Canada	Native Americans; Indigenous people; Reconciliation; Human rights; Documentaries; BWNS; film; The Path Home (film)
2013 28 Oct	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		Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Justice; Bahai International Community; BWNS; film; Violence with Impunity
2014. 28 May	In the presidential election in Egypt, former Egyptian defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected with 97% of the vote according to government sources. The subsequent 2014 Constitution of the Sisi government, while guaranteeing the ‘inviolable’ right of freedom of religion, extended this only to Islam, Christianity and Judaism – meaning that Bahá’i were still prohibited from many basic freedoms, such as practicing their religious laws and constructing places of worship. Though Bahá’í representatives lobbied during the constitutional drafting processes to expand religious freedoms to their community, this did not occur. In December 2014, a public workshop was held by the Ministry of Religious Endowments to warn of the dangers of the spread of the Bahá’i faith in Egypt.	Egypt	Opposition; Persecution, Egypt; Persecution; Human rights; History (general); Constitutions (general)
2014 Nov	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.	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Evin Prison; Prisons; Human rights; Taraneh Kamalabadi; Fariba Kamalabadi
2015 14 May	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]	Tihran; Iran; New York; United States; Worldwide	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
2016 (In the year)	Asma Jilani Jahangir was selected as the Special Rapporteur in 2016. She was a human rights lawyer of Pakistani origin and a former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She suffered from cardiac arrest in Lahore on 11 February 2018 and later died at the hospital. [Wikipedia]	New York; United States	UN; United Nations; Asma Jahangir; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
2016 25 Apr	Mr. Hamed Bin Haydara, who had been imprisoned without trial since December 2013, was again brought to court for a hearing but the trial was again postponed, this time to 1 August 2017. Reports indicate that he had been sent to solitary confinement in the National Security Prison on the orders of Mr. Rajeh Zayed, the prosecutor who had caused the delays which have kept him in jail for more than three years and who had been largely responsible for the arrest and persecution of Bahá'ís in Yemen. Mr. Rajeh Zayed had stated that he planned to delay Mr. Hamed Bin Haydara’s court hearings and treatment until he “dies in jail.” He was suffering from serious health conditions that required proper medical attention. He stood accused of ‘compromising the independence of the Republic of Yemen’, including spreading the Bahá’í faith in the Republic of Yemen as well as "apostasy" (He has been a Bahá'í from birth.) and “insulting Islam” . [BIC 30 Apr 2017; BWNS1285]	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights
2016 29 Apr	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.	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
2016 12 May	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.	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
2016 13 May	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]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Evin prison; BWNS
2016 26 Oct	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.	Iran; New York; United States	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights; United Nations; BIC statements
2016 24 Nov	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]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Evin Prison; Prisons; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2017 25 Apr	The formation of the human rights organization, "The Yemeni Initiative for Defending Bahá'í Rights". [Facebook page]	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2017 28 Apr	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.	Yemen	Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Amnesty International
2017 12 May	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.	Iran	Yaran; Court cases; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; BWNS; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
2017 15 May	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]	Sanaa; Yemen	Sheikh Walid Saleh Ayyash; Khalid Al-Mawari; Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2017 Jul	The men who admitted to stabbing and killing Farhang Amiri, a 63-year-old father of four children, in September 2016 in Yazd on the street outside his home in public view were sentenced by a court in Yazd. The two brothers immediately admitted to have been motivated by religious hatred. "He was a Baha'i, we killed him to buy paradise for our seven generations". The older brother was sentenced to just 11 years in prison and two years away from home. The court justified the sentence by stating that according to the Islamic penal code, the accused and the victim are not equal for the general purpose of retributive justice. This astonishing provision clearly and deliberately deprives non-Muslims of the legal right to seek justice on equal-footing with the country's Muslim majority. The younger man was sentenced to half of his brother’s sentence for aiding in the murder. [BWNS1182]	Yazd; Iran	Farhang Amiri; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Court cases; Court cases; Human rights; BWNS
2017 19 Sep	Mahvash Sabet, one of the seven members of the former leadership group of the Bahá'ís in Iran known as the Yaran, was released after 10 years of confinement in Iran's notorious Evin and Raja'i Shahr prisons. She had been arrested in March 2008 and was now 64 years old. Mrs. Sabet distinguished herself by the loving care and kindness she extended to her fellow prisoners. As has occurred with prisoners of conscience, writers, thought-leaders, and poets who have been wrongly imprisoned throughout history, the power of Mrs. Sabet's ideas and beliefs was only amplified by her persecution. The plight of its author attracted attention to this deeply moving collection of poetry, inspiring PEN International to feature Mrs. Sabet in a campaign to defend persecuted writers. Her poems also inspired a musical composition by award-winning composer Lasse Thoresen, performed at an international music festival in Oslo earlier this year. [BWNS1198 ] See Prison Poems. For this publication she was recognized by PEN International at its 2017 International Writer of Courage. See CNN article Writing to survive: Bahá'í woman's poetry was her best friend in Iranian jail.	Karaj; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Court cases; Human rights; Evin prison; Rajai Shahr prison; Prisons; Poetry; Lasse Thoresen; BWNS
2017 Sep	Arrests of Bahá'ís in Yemen drew international censure which led to a United Nations resolution, titled “Human Rights, Technical Assistance and Capacity-building in Yemen”. It was introduced by Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group and supported by the entire UN Human Rights Council—calling for the immediate release of all Bahá'í detainees. The Council was the principal human rights body at the UN and was composed of 47 members who are elected by the General Assembly based on equitable geographic distribution. At the time of the resolution there were seven Bahá'ís in prison in Yemen, most of whom are held in undisclosed locations and one of which has been detained for nearly four years due to repeatedly postponement court-hearings. Arrest warrants had been issued for over a dozen others, while a number of families had been forced to leave their homes. Developments in Yemen indicated that the authorities’ prosecution of individuals had broadened in scope to be against the Bahá'í community in general and that efforts were being made to turn public opinion against all of the Bahá'ís under the premise that they are secretly plotting to stir unrest in Yemen. The resolution established a Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts tasked with monitoring and reporting on the situation on human rights in Yemen. It was also mandated to carry out a comprehensive examination of all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights in the country. [BIC News 3 October 2017, UN Human Rights Council – 36th Session, Agenda Item 10]	Geneva; Switzerland; Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; United Nations; Human Rights
2017 near the end of Oct	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.	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Persecution, Education; Court cases; BWNS
2017. 17 Nov	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]	New York; United States	United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS
2018 2 Jan	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]	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Court cases; Human rights; BWNS
2018. 25 Jan	Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Asma Jahangir, in her report, shared with that country on this date, listed the names of some 77 Bahá'ís imprisoned in that country. Report.	New York, NY	UN; United Nations; Asma Jahangir; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
2018 Feb	Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), an NGO working to promote the right to freedom of religion or belief of all and raising awareness about the persecution of Christians and other religious groups around the world, published a shocking report that revealed the influence of religious persecution on religious minority children. In its Faith and a Future report, CSW focused on the situation of religious minority children in educational settings in Burma, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. The report scrutinized three common acts of persecution in the educational setting specifically bias, discrimination and abuse. In Iran, bias can be seen across various educational materials in the country. School textbooks were focused on the Shi’a Muslim perspective and were silent on any other religions. This had an adverse effect on religious minorities. Children belonging to the Bahá'í religion were denied access to schools and often access to higher education. Bahá'í children that were lucky to be enrolled in schools were not free to learn or partake in their religious belief. According to the CSW report, a memorandum from the Iran government stated that Bahá'í children ‘should be enrolled in schools which have a strong and imposing religious [Shi’a] ideology.’ The situation for children partaking in higher education is no better. According to Article 3 of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council’s student qualification regulations (1991), students were to be expelled if they were found to be Bahá'í. Only Muslim or students belonging to recognized religions were allowed to take the national enrolment exam. The report further alleged that some Bahá'í children had been subjected to physical abuse at schools. [Iran Press Watch 18838]	Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Education; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Human rights; Faith and a Future (CSW)
2018 18 Feb	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]	Iran; Worldwide	Human Rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Open letters; Websites; Internet; Publications
2018. 20 Feb	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]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Court cases
2018 16 Mar	Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, at 85 the oldest member of the Yaran to be imprisoned, was released after serving his 10-year sentence. [BWNS1244]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Court cases; BWNS
2018 19 Mar	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]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; Human rights; Court cases; BWNS
2018 23 Mar	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.	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badreddin Al-Houthi,
2018 1 Apr	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]	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2018. 13 Jun	Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested on charges of collusion and propaganda against Iran’s rulers. [Al Jazeera] On 29 August 2018, Sotoudeh began a hunger strike to protest her detention and government harassment of her family and friends. On 11 March 2019 Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced in two different trials to 38.5 years in prison and 148 lashes and was denied access to a copy of the verdict against her. She was only permitted to see the text of the sentence and to note the charges of which she was convicted. One of the charges against her was “membership in an illegal group”, referring to her membership of Legam, a campaign to abolish the death penalty in Iran. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, and given the high number of charges against her, only the most severe punishment will be enforced. However, given the high number of charges against her, it is unclear how much of the sentence she will have to serve. [Front Line Defenders] On 27 July 2020, her husband, Reza Khandan, reported that his wife's bank accounts had been blocked by the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. Reza Khandan believed this to be the beginning of the seizure of the family's assets. On 10 August 2020, Nasrin Sotoudeh began a hunger strike to protest the continued imprisonment of human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience in Iran. In a letter outlining her reasons, she highlighted that COVID-19 has only served to exacerbate the already poor conditions for prisoners in Iran. In September she was hospitalised after her physical condition worsened following weeks of hunger strike. Her strike ended in late September after 46 days. On October 20, Sotoudeh was transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to Qarchak, a women’s prison outside the city that has been blacklisted under United Nations human rights sanctions. 7 November 2020. Sotoudeh was temporarily released from prison after concerns mounted over her deteriorating health. Her temporary release came weeks after she was moved to intensive care in a hospital in Tehran following a lengthy hunger strike. [Al Jazeera] 2 December 2020: Nasrin Sotoudeh was returned to Qarchak prison despite the fact that medical experts recommended the extension of her medical leave for a further two weeks. [Al Jazeera] Queen's University conferred an honorary doctorate of Law. Accepting it on her behalf was Irwin Cotler, Sotoudeh’s international legal counsel and former Minister of Justice of Canada. [Queen's Gazeette 23 January 2021]	Tihran; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Nasrin Sotoudeh
2018. 6 Jul	Mr. Javaid Rehman was appointed as the third Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran since re-establishment of the mandate. The former mandate holder, Ms. Asma Jahangir assumed the mandate from November 2016 until her sudden passing in February 2018. Mr. Rehman was a Professor of International Human Rights Law and Muslim Constitutionalism at Brunel University, London. Mr Rehman taught human rights law and Islamic law and continued to publish extensively in the subjects of international human rights law, Islamic law and constitutional practices of Muslim majority States. Several of his published works have been translated into various languages. Overview of the mandate The Human Rights Council Resolution 37/30 requested the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to submit a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Human Rights Council at its fortieth session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session and calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, to permit access to visit the country, and to provide all information necessary to allow the fulfillment of the mandate. In the discharge of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur will: a) Monitor and investigate human rights violations, transmits urgent appeals and letters to Iran on alleged violations of human rights; b) Seek to undertake country visits to Iran and to the region and engage with relevant stakeholders; c) Submit reports to the General Assembly and Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; and d) Engage publicly on issues of concern, including through press releases. [Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights]	New York, NY	Javaid Rehman; UN; United Nations; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran
2018 15 Sep	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]	Sanaa; Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Court cases; Court cases; Human rights; BWNS
2018 29 Sep	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]	Sanaa; Yemen	United Nations; Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
2018 20 Dec	The last imprisoned member of the former leadership body of the Bahá'í community in Iran was released from prison after serving a 10-year prison sentence. He was arrested on 14 May 2008 and charged with, among other false claims, espionage, propaganda against Iran, and the establishment of an illegal administration. Mr. Naeimi and the other six former members of the Yaran faced those charges more than a year after their arrest in a sham trial without any semblance of legal process. Authorities sentenced Mr. Naeimi and the other former members of the Yaran to 10 years in prison. While detained, Mr. Naeimi experienced severe health problems, often receiving inadequate treatment. Authorities made a cruel determination that the brief time Mr. Naeimi, a father of two from Tehran, spent in a hospital recovering would not be counted as part of his sentence. [BWNS1302]	Tihran; Iran	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution; Human rights
2019. 08 Jan	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]	Yemen	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Persecution, Court cases; Hamed bin Haydara
2019. 26 Sep	By a resolution of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations the international community condemned the Houthi persecution of Bahá'ís on the basis of their religion or belief. This resolution passed just two weeks after the prosecutors in a Houthi-controlled appeals court in Sana’a, Yemen who defended a previous death sentence of a Bahá'í on the basis of his beliefs, argued for the expulsion of all Bahá'ís from the country and the confiscation of their properties. [BIC News 30 September, 2019]	Sanaa; Yemen	Hamed Bin Haydara; Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Court cases; United Nations; Human Rights Council
2020. 28 Apr	The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan federal government advisory entity. The U.S. Congress created the USCIRF to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to freedom of religion. In their annual report, USCIRF 2020 Annual Report (PDF) they documented a particular uptick in the persecution of Bahá'ís and of any local government officials who supported them in 2019. Iran’s government blamed Baha’is for widespread popular protests, accusing the community of collaboration with Israel and continued to promote hatred against Bahá'ís and other religious minorities on traditional and social media channels. More specifically the USCIRF released Iran Policy Brief: Increased Persecution of Iran’s Bahá'í Community in 2019 (PDF). Referring to the continuing violations of religious freedom by the clergy-dominated Islamic Republic government, the report urged the U.S. government to impose sanctions on government institutions and officials responsible for violating religious freedoms in Iran, to freeze their assets and to ban them from entering the United States.	United States; Iran	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights; Human rights
2020. 1 Oct	The release of the documentary film Nasrin, about the Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, in the USA. [IMDB; Wikipedia] The American screenwriter, director and producer Jeff Kaufman and his co-producer, Marcia S. Ross, were unable to get visas to travel to Iran themselves. They relied on their on-the-ground film crew as well as calls with Sotoudeh and her husband Khandan. The film took four years to make and is essential viewing. Everyone involved, including Sotoudeh, put themselves in jeopardy by agreeing to participate in the project, but clearly, for them, the importance of its message outweighed the risk of arrest. The project also had to forego crowdfunding or fundraising of any kind in order to keep the film secret and protect those involved. Sotoudeh has been called “the Nelson Mandela of Iran.” [Forbes] , The film was released for VOD on the 26th of January 2012. See an interview with the director, Jeff Kaufman and the producer, Marcia Ross in Awards Daily 26 January 2021.	United States; Iran	Documentaries; Film; Nasrin; Nasrin Sotoudeh; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Human rights

from the chronology of Canada

date	event	locations	tags	see also
2013 20 Sep	Deloria Bighorn, chairperson of the National Spiritual Bahá'ís of Canada, presented, on behalf of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the BC National Event held in Vancouver from September 18th to the 21st. The formal presentation followed a panel organized by the Canadian Bahá'í Community and Reconciliation Canada. The previous week 250 people listened to Chief Doug White, Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, and Dr. Paulette Regan from the Commission discussing the challenge of reconciliation. [T&R website, CBN 24 September, CBN 9 February, 2018, BWNS1248] For the text see Submission of the Bahá’í Community of Canada to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or download PDF. The Bahá'í community also produced a short film, The Path Home, which it screened in Ottawa in association with the final national gathering.	Vancouver, BC	Native Americans; Indigenous people; Reconciliation; Cultural diversity; Human rights; Documentaries; film; The Path Home

from the main catalogue

1970-1995: Newspaper articles archive (1970-1995). Collection of newspaper articles from 1970-1995. [about]
60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-02-06). Bahá'í International Community’s Statement on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights [about]
Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck, in The Bahá'í Faith and African American History, chapter 3 (2018). Locke was cynical about the prospect of real progress in race relations within Christianity itself, but he saw potential in Bahá'í efforts to promote race amity and making democracy more egalitarian in terms of the rights of minorities. [about]
American Dream, The: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation, by Dan Rather, in The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation (2001). Commentary on Bahá'í persecutions, by a famous TV news anchor. [about]
Amnesty International, by Universal House of Justice (1993-02-14). Bahá'ís may work with but should not hold membership in Amnesty International. [about]
Anti-Secular Regulation of Religious Difference in Egypt, The, by Meriam Wagdy Azmi (2021). Religious minorities lack recognition by the government. Secularism could remedy this, but some argue that it actually leads to religious tension. Egypt's problem is the way it espouses Islam and Shari'a as its identity and the basis for public order. [about]
August Forel Defends the Persecuted Persian Bahá'ís: 1925-1927, by John Paul Vader, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983) (1986). History of Forel's involvement with the Faith. Includes correspondence from Shoghi Effendi. [about]
Báb on the Rights of Women, The, by Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam, in Religions, 14:6 (2023-06). Statements of the Báb on issues such as mutʿah and tahlíl marriages, polygyny, bridal consent, divorce and spousal relations, and their significance for the rights of women in Muslim juridical opinions and social customs. Link to article (offsite). [about]
Bahá'í Approach to Non-Involvement in Partisan Political Activity, by Shoghi Effendi and Universal House of Justice (2022-10). Resource for individual and group study, in light of the current civil and political unrest in the U.S., Iran, and the world; reasons for the Bahá’í stance against partisan activity and its approach to social change; Bahá'í use of social media. [about]
Bahá'í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights, A, by Bahá'í International Community (1947-02). The source of human rights is the endowment of qualities, virtues and powers which God has bestowed upon humankind without discrimination of sex, race, creed or nation; an ordered society can only be maintained by moral beings. [about]
Bahá'í Faith and the Equality, Rights, and Advancement of Women, The: A Survey of Principles, Praxis, and Discourse, by Wendi Momen, in Religions, 14:4 (2023). Equality of women and men; education, advancement, and rights of women and girls; their application within the Bahá’í community; Bahá'í individual and institutional efforts to influence the international discourse on women. Link to article (offsite). [about]
Baha'i Institute Of Higher Education, The: A Creative And Peaceful Response To Religious Persecution In Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (1999-04-01). Overview of the history and architecture of BIHE, the independent, full-fledged, yet completely decentralized, university system run by Bahá'ís in Iran. [about]
Bahá'í Question, The: Cultural Cleansing in Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-09). [about]
Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). Articles by Kiser Barnes, Greg Duly, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, Graham Hassall, Darren Hedley, Nazila Ghanea-Hercock, Chichi Layor, Michael Penn, Martha Schweitz, and Albert Lincoln. [about]
Bahá'u'lláh and Liberation Theology, by Juan Cole, in Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions vol. 8 (1997). The idea of liberation and equality is central to Bahá'í theology; the poor in the 19th century Middle East; Bahá'u'lláh and the poor; Tablet to the Kings on wealth and peace; laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Huququ'lláh; state social welfare. [about]
Brain Drain from Iran to the United States, The, by Akbar E. Torbat, in Middle East Journal, 56:2 (2002 Spring). Excerpt from article mentioning the exodus of Bahá'í intelligentsia from Iran in 1979, and the Bahá'ís' attempt at underground education. [about]
Bringing Rights Home: Human Rights and the Institution of the Family, by Chichi Layor, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). The role of family rights in contemporary human rights discourse, Bahá’í principles relating to family rights, and relevant provisions in present-day human rights legal instruments. [about]
Calling, The: Tahirih of Persia and Her American Contemporaries, by Hussein Ahdieh and Hillary Chapman (2017). Simultaneous, powerful spiritual movements swept across both Iran and the U.S in the mid-1800s. On the life and martyrdom of Tahirih; the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and the conference of Badasht; spiritualism and suffrage. [about]
Capital Punishment and Amnesty International (n.d.). Letter from the House to Amnesty International on the death penalty. [about]
Cases of Dhabihu'llah Mahrami and Musa Talibi, The, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Amnesty International (1998-04). In June 1994 and January 1996, two Bahá'ís in Iran were arrested and later sentenced to death for the crime of apostasy from Islam. These 9 documents and articles are about their case. [about]
Cold Winter in North Africa, A: The Case of the Bahá'ís in Egypt, by Naseem Kourosh, in International Law News, 41:3 (2012-08). Contemporary history of the Egyptian government's refusal to issue identification cards to Bahá'ís. [about]
Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu'l-Baha's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East, by Kamran Ekbal (2014). Abdu'l-Bahá was opposed to the cultural and political colonialism of foreign powers and their militaries. In spite of the Bahá'í principle of abstaining from politics, exceptions can be made in the face of tyranny and injustice. [about]
Constitutional Coherence and the Legal Status of the Bahá'í Community of Iran, by Salim A. Nakhjavani, in FICHL Policy Brief Series, No. 70 (2016-11). Constitutional coherence as a process norm; unfulfilled constitutional promises; aspects of the Iranian constitution and the lived experience of the Bahá'í community. [about]
Constructive Resilience, by Firaydoun Javaheri, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 28:4 (2018). How the perseverance of the Bahá'ís in Iran has resulted in the generality of the Iranian people beginning to admire and, in some cases, arising to assist the Bahá'ís. [about]
Continuities and Discontinuities in Islamic Perspectives on Cultural Diversity, by Sulayman S. Nyang (1999-02). Contains only brief mention of Bahá'ís, but discusses the Iranian Revolution and related topics. [about]
Declaración bahá'í sobre obligaciones y derechos humanos, 1947, by Bahá'í International Community (1947-02). Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í ante la Conferencia Internacional de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Relación Entre el Desarme y el Desarrollo, Wilmette, Illinois, Febrero de 1947. [about]
Disinvestment: Is It a Bahá'í Issue?, by Marjan Nirou, in dialogue magazine, 1:1 (1986). Economic sanctions as a response to apartheid, the background of South Africa, Bahá'í approaches to preventing racism, and imprisoned children. Includes replies by Steven Scholl, Jihmye Collins, Paul Caprez, Lawrence Miller, and Drew Remignanti. [about]
Egypt, Bahá'í Community of, and Religious Identity, by Universal House of Justice (2006-12-21). Message to the Bahá'ís of Egypt in the wake of a Supreme Administrative Court decision in Cairo that upheld a discriminatory government policy regarding Bahá'ís and their identification cards. In both English and Arabic. [about]
Examination of the Cultural Relativity of Human Rights, An, by Jonathan Patrick, in Associate, 36 (2001 Autumn). On the discourse between proponents of the universality of human rights, and those of their cultural and religious relativity. Are human rights inherent in the individual, or imposed by a neo-imperialist West? [about]
Eyes of the Children, The, by Sheila Banani, in dialogue magazine, 1:2 (1986). One poem inspired by female infanticide in China. [about]
Faith Denied, A: The Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran, by Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (2006-12). The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center's account of persecutions of Bahá'ís of Iran (2006). [about]
Family Law in Iran, by Sen McGlinn (2001). Detailed overview of 20th-century Iranian laws regarding marriage, divorce, marriage rights and duties, dowry, and inheritance. Contains passing mentions of the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
First Obligation, The: Lady Blomfield and the Save the Children Fund, by Robert Weinberg (1998). Bio prepared for the UK Bahá'í Centenary (1998-99). [about]
Foreigner: From an Iranian Village to New York City and the Lights That Led the Way, by Hussein Ahdieh and Hillary Chapman (2019). Biography of a young boy in Nayriz, Iran in the mid 20th-century, his reflection on the sad society; his experience as a immigrant in the United States, struggle to make the American dream, and helped the innovative Harlem Prep, a Bahá'í inspired School. [about]
From Outsider to Outsider: A Study of Iranian Bahá'ís' Identity in Iran and the United States, by Naghme Naseri Morlock, in Journal of Hate Studies, 18:1 (2023). The denial of a national identity of Bahá'ís in Iran; their experiences in the U.S.; cultural differences between immigrant and American Bahá'ís; the importance of religious identity; how religious, national, and cultural identities are negotiated. [about]
Homosexuality and Civil Rights, by Universal House of Justice (2010-10-27). Although sexual relations are to be restricted to marriage between a man and woman and Bahá’ís are not to take a position on issues such as civil marriage, Bahá'ís can defend homosexuals from discrimination. [about]
Homosexuality and Civil Rights, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (2011-01-03). Brief comments on the apparent contradiction between eliminating all prejudice, including against homosexuals, vs. the Bahá'í stance on marriage as being only between a man and a woman. [about]
Hora Decisiva para todas las Naciones, by Bahá'í International Community (1995-10). Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í con motivo del 50 aniversario de Naciones Unidas Octubre 1995 [about]
Human Rights: Reflections from a Bahá'í Viewpoint, by Michael Curtotti, in Human Rights, Faith, and Culture (2001). Born in modern times, the Bahá’í Faith addresses human rights in the language of modernity but also in traditional religious terminology; journey of the soul; duties of rulers; the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. [about]
Human Rights and Multiculturalism, by Kiser Barnes, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights, Tahereh Tahririha-Danesh (2001). The concept of human rights must be enriched by spiritual principles. They rest on universal principles of morality and justice, and are a philosophical source for political and social reform. [about]
Human Rights and Religious Faith, by Amnesty International, in dialogue magazine, 1:1 (1986). A statement from Amnesty International/USA, published by request. [about]
Human Rights and the Rights of the Child: Implications for Children's Participation in the Bahá'í Community, by Greg Duly, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). Are human rights universal? Do rights have spiritual or religious influences? What is the relevance of child rights and prospects of children’s participation in the Bahá’í community? [about]
Human Rights in the Bahá'í Writings (2001-01-14). Brief compilation on human rights from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. [about]
Human Rights Watch on Persecution of Baha'is in Iran, by Reuters (1997-09-24). Two articles covering a report by Human Rights Watch on the treatment of the Bahá'ís and other minorities in Iran. [about]
Humanitarian Responses to Global Conflicts, by Universal House of Justice (2015-01-13). A letter to and response from the House about why Bahá'ís do not condemn the 2014 attacks on Gaza, and principles to consider when addressing conflicts. [about]
In the Face of Oppression, by Geoffrey Cameron, in The Mark News (2011-07-29). The Bahá'ís in Iran have long been persecuted, but stand strong in their pursuit of a just society. [about]
Indigenous Messengers of God, by Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke (2021). PowerPoint for Zoom presentation “Divine Teachers of the Americas” by Kevin Locke, hosted by Green Acre Baha’i School, October 2021. [about]
Indigenous rights and women's rights in the Samoan Bahá'í community, by Maureen Sier, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 9 (1999). [about]
Individual Rights and Freedoms, by Universal House of Justice (1988-12-29). An important and often-quoted letter about rights and freedom of expression in the Bahá'í community, as contrasted with those in American civil society. [about]
International Criminal Court: A Bahá'í Perspective, by Dan Wheatley, in Associate, 33-34 (2001 Winter/Spring). Brief history of the ICC, and Bahá'í support of it. [about]
Interreligious and Intercultural Cooperation, by Bahá'í International Community (2007-10). Statement to the United Nations on best practices and strategies for interreligious and intercultural cooperation. [about]
Iran: Suppression of religious freedom and persecution of religious minorities: case studies, by Thomas Schirrmacher, in International Journal of Religious Freedom, 2:1 (2009). The legal status of non-Shiite Muslims, Bahá'ís, and various Christian confessions in Iran. [about]
Iran since the Revolution, by Sepehr Zabih (1982). Discussion of the Iranian constitution, with one passing mention of Bahá'ís not being recognized. [about]
Iran's Systemic Denial of Access to Higher Education, by Saman Sabeti, in FICHL Policy Brief Series, No. 84 (2017). Discrimination as embedded in the Iranian Constitution and in higher education since 1979; dismissal and expulsion; exclusion by application form; exclusion by process; how the victims have responded. [about]
Iranian Refugees: The Many Faces of Persecution, by Allen K. Jones (1984-12). A paper detailing the persecution and displacement of Iranian refugees (including Bahá'ís) due to religious, ethnic, and political reasons following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, emphasizing their global spread and challenges in asylum and resettlement. [about]
Islam and Minorities: The Case of the Baha'is, by Christopher Buck, in Studies in Contemporary Islam, 5.1–2 (2003-06). "The Bahá'í question" is really a test case for whether Islam can legitimately claim to respect human rights today. Includes a Persian translation of the original article. [about]
Language and Universalization: A 'Linguistic Ecology' Reading of Bahá'í Writings, by Gregory Paul P. Meyjes, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 9:1 (1999). How the promotion of linguistic minority rights may coincide with promotion of an International Auxiliary Language, opposing trends toward increased globalization and growing nationalism, and the unregulated global spread of English. [about]
Letter on responding to attitude changes on homosexuality, by Universal House of Justice (2014-05-09). Challenges centrality of sexuality to life; confronts dichotomy of condemnatory and accepting attitudes against homosexuality; dissuades Bahá’ís from debating or coercing non-Bahá’ís and mentions occasions for standing up against oppression of homosexuals [about]
Letter to the Friends, Throughout the East and the West, through the Spiritual Assemblies, by Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Haifa (1938-02). 3-page report by Z. N. Zeine on questions directed at a Dr. 'Abdu'llah Jawid in Khorasan "as a result of recording himself as a Bahá'í on his military identity card" and his subsequent demotion after declining to stop promoting the Faith. [about]
Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: Third Epoch of the Formative Age, by Universal House of Justice (1996). [about]
Millennium Forum, by Universal House of Justice (2000-09-24). [about]
More Constructive Encounter, A: A Bahá’í View of Religion and Human Rights, by Barney Leith, in Does God Believe in Human Rights? Essays on Religion and Human Rights, ed. Nazila Ghanea et al. (2007). Relationship between religion and human rights, and the work of the Bahá’í community in wholeheartedly supporting the theory and practice of universal rights. [about]
Muhammad Musaddiq and the Bahá'ís, by Bahram Choubine (2010). Two essays: "Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Baha’is" (2009) and "Suppression of the Baha’is of Iran in 1955" (2008). [about]
Native American Vision and the Teachings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, by Paula Bidwell (2011). Presentation addressing issues of concern to Native Americans, cast in the light of statements of Abdu'l-Bahá from his 1912 visit to the United States. [about]
Nature of the Persecution against the Bahá'ís in Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (2010-02). The situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran in 2010; historical and legal context; denial of individual and communal rights; incitement to hatred based on religion or belief. [about]
'Never Again': Kevin Gover's Apology for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, by Christopher Buck, in Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies, 21.1 (2006). This article does not mention the Bahá'í Faith, but was published in a social justice and human rights journal and written by a Bahá'í. [about]
Next Stage, The, by Douglas Martin, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 23:1-4 (2013). Bahá'í scholars find themselves at a stage in the Faith’s development where they must construct a discourse that is free of "haughty intellectualism." The Association for Bahá’í Studies can help promote the Bahá'í cause to institutions of higher learning. [about]
Nonpartisan Engagement in Public Affairs: A Critical Analysis of the Bahá'í Approach to Dialogue, Democracy, and Diplomatic Relations, by Bui Tyril (2009-10). How to address the dilemma of protesting human rights abuses in Iran while remaining non-partisan. Link to thesis (offsite). [about]
Papel de la Juventud en los Derechos Humanos, El, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-02). [about]
Persecution of the Baha'is in Iran: 1979-1986: A 7-year campaign to eliminate a religious minority, by Bahá'í International Community (1986). Overview of activities and propaganda against Bahá'ís in Iran, and the responses of the United Nations. [about]
Philosophical and Religious Contributions to the Emergence of Human Rights: The Bahá'í Perspective, by Dan Wheatley (2012-12). While some forms of religious extremism are contemptuous of human rights, and human rights are sometimes considered a contemporary secular religion, Bahá'ís believe that religious faith and human rights are more synergistic. [about]
Post-Quranic Religion Between Apostasy and Public Order, A: Egyptian Muftis and Courts on the Legal Status of the Baha'i Faith, by Johanna Pink, in Islamic Law and Society, 10:3 (2003). On how Egypt has adapted and responded to the Bahá'í Faith; legal issues for Muslim jurists and the courts; personal and employment status of Bahá'ís in Egypt; issues raised by a post-Quranic religious minority. [about]
Prevención de Discriminaciones y Protección a las Minorías, 1988, by Bahá'í International Community (1988-08). [about]
Prevención de Discriminaciones y Protección a las Minorías, 1989, by Bahá'í International Community (1989-12). [about]
Protecting the Human Family: Humanitarian Intervention, International Law, and Bahá'í Principles, by Brian D. Lepard, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 13:1-4 (2003). The moral and legal problems raised by the use of military force to aid human rights victims. Relevant Bahá’í ethical principles and how these might assist us to reform existing international law to better protect all members of the human family. [about]
Pursuit of Social Justice, The, by Michael Karlberg, in Bahá'í World (2022-08-03). An interdisciplinary examination of prevailing conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change, and their implications for the pursuit of peace and justice. [about]
Reason and the Bahá'í Writings: The Use and Misuse of Logic and Persuasion, by Ian Kluge (2001-09-02). How to study the Bahá'í Writings through the use of logic. [about]
Reconsidering the Civil Rights Era in the Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by June Thomas, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 31:4 (2022-09). On principles of racial prejudice and 1960s South Carolina, including the fallacy of racial prejudice, the need to judge people by their moral character rather than their race, and the responsibilities of different races toward each other. [about]
References to the Bahá'í Faith in the U.S. State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, by United States Department of State (1991-2001). Excerpts from the State Department's annual compilation of Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on discrimination against the Bahá'í Faith and persecution of its adherents in twenty countries. [about]
Reflections on Human Rights, Moral Development, and the Global Campaign to Eradicate Gender-Based Violence, by Michael L. Penn, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). A review some of the most significant developments in human rights law designed to contribute to the advancement of women and the eradication of gender-based violence; insufficient attention has been given to the psycho-spiritual dimensions. [about]
Reis naar het Hart van de Qur'án: Het Heilige Boek van de islam voor hen die nadenken (door een niet-moslim), by David Russell Garcia (2022). Een overzicht van de Koran en zijn thema's: islam versus het christendom; wetten, geestelijke en sociale principes; heilige oorlog en vechten; redenen achter de reputatie van de islam als een oorlogsreligie; apocalypse. [about]
Releasing the Captive from His Chains, by Steven Scholl, in dialogue magazine, 1:1 (1986). Bahá'í activism for human rights, and involvement with Amnesty International. Includes response by Drew Remignanti. [about]
Religious Freedom in the Asia Pacific: The Experience of the Bahá'í Community, by Graham Hassall, in Human Rights, Faith, and Culture (1998-11). Some aspects of the Bahá'í Community's approach to one human rights initiative, the "Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief." [about]
Religious Minority Rights, by Christopher Buck, in Islamic World, ed. Andrew Rippin (2008). Discussion of three minority religions within Islamic states that have experienced persecution and hardships which attracted the attention of the international community: the Alevis, the Ahmadiyya, and Bahá'ís. [about]
Religious Persecution and Oppression: A Study of Iranian Baha'ís' Strategies of Survival, by Naghme Naseri Morlock, in Journal of Hate Studies, 17:2 (2021). Research based on extensive interviews exploring three ways that members of the Bahá'í community responded to diaspora and persecution: passing as Muslim, religious constancy in the face of danger, and alternating "passing" with open displays. [about]
Report on Citizenship Law: Egypt, by Dalia Maleck (2021-07). Section on the Bahá'í minority and statelessness, and al-Azhar's fatwa denouncing Egyptian Bahá'ís as apostates. [about]
Return of the Dreamtime, by Pym Trueman, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). Brief history of Christianity and missionary work in Samoa and Australia, and how native Samoan customs and beliefs were changed or lost. [about]
Revolution without Rights?, A: Women, Kurds and Baha'is searching for equality in Iran, by Geoffrey Cameron and Tahirih Danesh (2008-11). Discussion from the Foreign Policy Centre in London on the religious, legal, and social obstacles to equality faced by women, Bahá'ís, and Kurds in Iran; comparing the experiences of these groups; evaluating actions of the Iranian government (91 pages) [about]
Right to Education, The: The Case of the Bahá'ís in Iran, by Tahirih Tahririha-Danesh, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). On the ongoing harassment of Bahá’í students and educators resulting from the state-sponsored religious intolerance of the post-revolution government in Iran. [about]
Rights to Human and Social Development: A Survey of the Activities of the Bahá'í International Community, by Graham Hassall, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). BIC contributions to thinking about human rights and social development have centered on 6 themes: a global complex systems approach, oneness of humanity, role of religious belief, primacy of education, values-based approach, and effectiveness of the U.N. [about]
Rising to the Challenge of Reconciliation, by Roshan Danesh and Douglas White III, in Bahá'í World (2023-01-08). Analyzing the legacy of colonialism and racism in Canada and examining the profound, multifaceted process of social transformation that genuine reconciliation implies. [about]
Seneca Falls First Woman's Rights Convention of 1848: The Sacred Rites of the Nation, by Bradford W. Miller, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8:3 (1998). Explores parallels between the Seneca Fails First Woman’s Rights Convention in the USA and the Badasht Conference in Iran, both in July 1848, in terms of the emancipation of women. [about]
Shirin Ebadi: A collection of newspaper articles (2003-10). Articles about the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize who has championed the rights of the Bahá'í community. [about]
Shoghi Effendi and Social Justice, by Jack McLean, in Berkshire Encyclopedia of Religion and Social Justice (2007-03). The term "social justice” has been used by many engaged groups as a rhetorical tool to obtain more equitable transformations of the social order. To the Guardian and the later Bahá'í Administration, it is a Divine justice at heart. [about]
Situation of the Bahá'ís in Egypt, by Bahá'í International Community (2007-09-24). Oral Statement of the Bahá’í International Community to the Human Rights Council (6th Session of the Human Rights Council), Geneva, Switzerland. [about]
Social Action, Public Discourse, and Non-involvement in Political Affairs, by Universal House of Justice (2017-04-27). Alternative courses of action to civil disobedience, circumscribed roles for protest, and the freedom that Bahá’ís have to engage in social action and public discourse, particularly in relation to the principle of non-involvement in political affairs. [about]
Specter of Ideological Genocide, The: The Bahá'ís of Iran, by Friedrich W. Affolter, in War Crimes, Genocide & Crimes against Humanity, volume 1 (2005-01). History of the persecution and suppression of the Bahá'ís in Iran, through the lens of genocide studies. (Link to document, off-site.) [about]
Spiritual Foundation of Human Rights, The: A Bahá'í Perspective, by Suheil Badi Bushrui (1997-11-15). [about]
Striving for Human Rights in an Age of Religious Extremism, by Nazil Ghanea, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 26:1-2 (2016). Bahá'í perspectives on global human rights law, community duties, religion as a pillar of justice, and the oneness of humanity. [about]
Television Address of Iranian President Khatami, by Universal House of Justice and Bahá'í International Community (1998-07). Questions and answers about a historically unique television interview of Iranian President Khatami, given on CNN Wednesday, Jan 7, 1998. [about]
Threatening Agenda, A: Iran's Shameful Denial of Education to its Bahá'í Community, by Geoffrey Cameron, in Cherwell (2008-06-06). Iranian government hardliners promote a coordinated and threatening agenda aimed at suffocating the Bahá'í community; Iran’s actions to block an entire community from education indicate sinister intentions that should not be ignored. [about]
Top Court Appointee a Model of Diversity, by Mahmud Jamal, in National Post (2021/06/18). Brief bio of Mahmud Jamal, the judge "poised to be the first person of colour on the Supreme Court of Canada." [about]
Trial of The Yaran ("Friends in Iran"): Six Essays, by Christopher Buck, in Iran Press Watch (2009-2010). Six essays by Buck from a legal perspective about the extended imprisonment of seven Bahá'í leaders in Tehran. [about]
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Bahá'í Scriptures, The, by Juan Cole, in Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Bahá'í Studies, 3:2 (1999-04). The conception of human rights arose as part of the project of modernity, and has been problematic for many religious traditions, but Bahá'u'lláh and the religion's subsequent holy figures all had a strong commitment to human rights. [about]
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Cultural Relativism and the Persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran, The, by Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). Are the Human Rights of the Universal Declaration universal: a comparison of Western and Islamic notions of human rights; the religious justifications provided by the Islamic regime for the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran. [about]
Views on Homosexuality, by Universal House of Justice (2013-04-22). On the need to overcome material nature including homosexuality; Bahá’ís not to judge or impose values and to treat those with a homosexual orientation sympathetically; no possibility for House to change Bahá’í marriage as between man and woman [about]
Violence Against Women and Children, by Universal House of Justice, in American Bahá'í (1993-11-23). Bahá’í principles on violence, sexual abuse, family dynamics, gender equality, consultation, child discipline, and community protection. [about]
Voyage to the Heart of the Koran: The Holy Book of Islám for Thinking Minds (By a Non-Muslim), by David Russell Garcia (2003-10). A lengthy overview of the Qur'án and its themes for a Bahá'í audience; holy war and fighting; reasons behind Islám's reputation as a war-like religion; theology of Islám vs. Christianity; laws and admonitions; spiritual and social principles; apocalypse. [about]

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