


UPDATE:  
Situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran
February 2005



This update presents the most recent developments in the situation of the Bahá'ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran (since September 2004), along with a review of the human rights violations to which they have been subjected for over two decades.  The abuses concern not only civil and political rights, but also a wide range of social, economic and cultural rights.

Contents
Recent developments…………………………………………………………...
2
Review of human rights violations – historical and legal context……….….
4
Executions, death sentences and imprisonment……………………….…….
4
Denial of the right to organize as a peaceful religious community…………
6
Denial of access to education………………………………………………….
8
Confiscation and destruction of community properties………………………
11
Confiscation of properties belonging to individual Bahá’ís…………….……
12
Denial of employment, pensions and other benefits…………………………
13
Denial of civil rights and liberties……………………………………………….
15
Iranian government claims……………………………………….…………….
16
Summary conclusion…………………………………………………………….
17




Bahá'í International Community, 
United Nations Office


Situation of the Bahá'ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Recent developments

In December 2004 two Iranian Bahá'ís were arrested, imprisoned and held without charge for several weeks before being released.  

It should be recalled that the authorities in Iran have recently intensified their pressure on the Bahá’ís.  On 15 November, a group of Iranian Bahá'ís transmitted a formal appeal in writing on behalf of the entire community to Mr. Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic.  They also distributed copies of this appeal to governmental and non-governmental authorities and agencies throughout the country.  Most of the recipients reacted favourably and with sympathy for the plight of the community.  However, some of the Bahá’ís who distributed the message were arrested.  All but two were detained for only a short period of time and then released, as the authorities recognized that submitting an appeal of this nature did not constitute a crime.  

Intelligence officials arrested Mr. Bahram Mashhadi on 1 December, when he was arriving to present the appeal to the Eastern Tehran Assembly of Jurists.  After spending the night in a local police station, he was transferred to the Prosecutor's Office of the Revolution, where he was interrogated.  Then he was brought back to his home to collect the personal effects required for a longer period of detention and taken to Evin prison.  His relatives went to the prison several times, trying to visit him, but the authorities disclaimed having any knowledge of his being incarcerated there.  Finally, on 12 December, prison officials acknowledged that they were holding Mr. Mashhadi.  No charge had been filed against him.

Mr. Sa'id Purja'far was arrested when he presented a copy of the appeal to the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.  Mr. Purja'far, a resident of Karaj, was taken to Gohardasht prison in Tehran, where he was held without charge.  

The Bahá'í International Community greatly appreciated the fact that representatives of several governments rapidly gave attention to this matter.  The two young men were released without bail on 22 December 2004.

We have also received documentation regarding other matters of serious concern.  In a recent court case, twelve plaintiffs filed a petition against a man accused of murdering their relative, who was a Bahá'í.  The court's verdict recognised the crime as a "quasi-intentional" murder and convicted the man as charged.  But he was sentenced, without payment of blood money, to only four months imprisonment, suspended as time already served.  Calling Bahá’ís a “perverse sect” and “infidels”, the court concluded that they should receive neither requital nor blood money in cases of murder.  This verdict is alarming, as it could incite Muslims to believe that they are free to take the lives of Bahá’ís in Iran with impunity.

Moreover, during the past few months the Iranian authorities have again acted in accordance with their long-standing policy of confiscating Bahá'í homes.  In October 2004, we were informed that the homes of six Bahá'í families in the village of Kata (in the Buyir-Ahmad region of Iran) had been confiscated by order of the prosecutor of the city of Shiraz, with the assistance of the local police.  This act, which deprives the rural families of their only means of livelihood, was perpetrated solely because of their adherence to the Bahá’í Faith.  We have reason to fear that the properties of all the other Bahá’ís still residing in Kata – some 35 families – are also in danger of being confiscated.  Further details on these cases are given in the relevant sections, below.

Finally, recent events have shown that the Iranian authorities have once again blocked access to university for Bahá'ís.  After having permitted Bahá’í students to take the university entrance examination for the first time in over 20 years, officials recorded as Muslims some 800 Bahá'ís who had passed the exam.  Each Bahá'í student concerned immediately wrote a letter of protest.  In reply, many of them received personal calls from officials who said that a new form had been created without reference to religion and that they should come to sign it.  A small group of students, assigned to meet with the relevant organisation, reviewed the new forms and submitted their names for placement in universities.  They received assurances that all the Bahá’ís who had passed the exam would be able to follow the same procedure.  Facilitated placement submissions were handed in before the deadline for all of these (800 or so) Bahá'í students.  On 12 September, however, only ten of their names appeared in the published list of those who had been accepted. 

The students protested again but, as the placement deadline passed, it became clear that the authorities had no intention of admitting any more Bahá'ís to university this year.  Out of solidarity with their brothers and sisters who had once again been deprived of their right to higher education, the ten admitted students declined to register in the universities to which they had been accepted.  Other official documents later provided evidence that no measures had been taken to allow Bahá’ís – after having passed the entrance exam – to apply for placement in a university without having to declare their adherence to one of the four religions recognised in the Iranian Constitution.  For more information, see the relevant section, below.

Over the past year, Iranian officials generated hope that Bahá’ís would finally be able to attend universities in their homeland without having to renounce their religion.  Not only did this give the impression that the authorities were acting with new liberality, but allowing the students to pass the exam and then blocking their admission at the placement stage may also have served other purposes.  It demoralized the students, creating a frustration that officials may believe will induce Bahá’í youth to leave the country.  Moreover, it achieved an objective that the authorities have long sought to attain:  identifying by name the young Iranian Bahá'ís who demonstrate outstanding ability and who will no doubt play a significant role in their community in the future.

Given the deteriorating situation, the Bahá'í International Community was grateful when (on 20 December) the Plenary of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution expressing “serious concern” about the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The text specifically referred to the Bahá’ís in two operative paragraphs.  Details can be found in the concluding section, below.


Review of human rights violations – historical and legal context

Since 1979, Bahá’ís in Iran have been subjected to attack, intimidation and discrimination solely on account of their religious beliefs, and have repeatedly been offered relief from persecution if they were prepared to recant their Faith.  The extent and systematic nature of the persecution – and the fact that it constitutes deliberate government policy – have been documented in reports issued by the UN Special Representatives.  The Commission on Human Rights suspended its monitoring in 2002, but the civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of Iranian Bahá'ís are still being systematically violated, and official pressure against members of the community has recently intensified.

An Iranian government document, obtained and published by the Commission on Human Rights in 1993, has served as a blueprint for the quiet elimination of the Bahá'í community.  Produced by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and approved by the Supreme Leader, this document sets down guidelines for dealing with "the Bahá’í question" so that Bahá’í "progress and development shall be blocked."  The documents that we receive from Iran prove that this policy is still in effect today.

As we have stated in previous years, the Bahá'í community poses no threat to the authorities in Iran.  It is not aligned with any other government, ideology or opposition movement.  The principles of the Faith require Bahá’ís to be obedient to their government and to avoid partisan political involvement, subversive activity and all forms of violence.  Iranian Bahá'ís seek no special privileges but ask only for their rights under the International Bill of Human Rights (to which Iran is party), in particular the right to life, the right to profess and practice their religion, the right to liberty and security of person, and the right to education and work. 

The Iranian Constitution stipulates (in Article 13) that Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are the only recognized religious minorities.  The country’s largest religious minority remains “unrecognized”, and therefore some 300,000 Bahá'ís cannot benefit from government initiatives in favour of minorities or from the “blood money” legislation.  The Islamic regime refers to the Bahá’í Faith as a heresy and a conspiracy.  Classified as "unprotected infidels", Iranian Bahá’ís have no legal recourse. 

Executions, death sentences and imprisonment

Since 1979, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed, and 15 others have disappeared and are presumed dead.  The last Bahá'í to be executed was Mr. Ruhu’llah Rawhani, who was hanged in 1998 after having served nine months in solitary confinement.  There is no evidence that Mr. Rawhani was accorded any legal process or access to a lawyer, and no sentence was announced prior to his execution.

During the past few years, all of the Bahá'ís previously sentenced to death have either been released or had their sentences reduced.  

Mr. Manuchihr Khulusi was conditionally released in December 2003.  First arrested in 1999 and imprisoned in Mashhad, he had been held in solitary confinement, interrogated and beaten.  After his trial, a death sentence was announced in February 2000.  Appeals were denied, but his wife was able to submit a statement to the Revolutionary Court and sent a copy to the Supreme Court.  Later that year, he was released but not informed about the status of the verdict.  In December 2002, the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad abrogated the suspension and sentenced him to four years imprisonment, stating that his membership in the Bahá'í community and his continued Bahá'í activities were against the internal security of the country.  Mr. Khulusi presented himself to the prison authorities in March 2003 and was incarcerated again for nine months. His case has not been resolved, however:  having posted bail, he was only released on condition that he would be summoned to appear before the appeals court at a future, unspecified date.  

Mr. Musa Talibi was freed from prison in May 2003, following the visit to Iran by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in February.  Mr. Talibi had been arrested in 1994, sentenced to death for apostasy in 1996 and incarcerated in Tehran.  After appeal and initial confirmation of this sentence by the Supreme Court, we were unofficially informed in 1999 that his death sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment.  He has been given no written document verifying his status.  

Mr. Ramadan-Ali Dhulfaqari was imprisoned in Rafsanjan in 1993 and condemned to death for apostasy.  Although he was released in 1994, the apostasy charge has never been resolved. 

Mr. Bihnam Mithaqi and Mr. Kayvan Khalajabadi were imprisoned from 1989 to 2004 on charges arising solely from membership in the Bahá’í Faith.  They were sentenced to death in 1991, sentences reconfirmed on appeal up to and including the Supreme Court (in 1996).  In 2001, the chief of the judicial branch reduced their sentences to 15 years in prison for "association with Bahá'í institutions" and set February 2004 for their release.  They were both released on 7 February, having served out their full sentences.

As of February 2005, one Bahá’í was still being detained in an Iranian prison because of his religious beliefs: 



  Name
Date of Arrest
Charge
Sentence
  Mr. Dhabihu’llah Mahrami
6 September 1995
Apostasy
Life

Mr. Dhabihu’llah Mahrami is being held in a general prison in Yazd.  He was first called before the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Yazd in 1995 and questioned about his adherence to the Bahá’í Faith.  Several meetings were held in an effort to persuade him to renounce his beliefs; he refused and was charged with apostasy.  In 1996 he was sentenced to death.  Since his heirs are not Muslims but Bahá’ís, his properties and assets were confiscated.  After his lawyer had appealed to the Supreme Court, Iranian officials announced that the Court had rejected the verdict of the Revolutionary Court and referred the case to a civil court.  However, in 1997 we received the news (conveyed orally to his relatives) that the Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentence.  Finally, in 1999, we were unofficially informed that a Presidential amnesty had commuted Mr. Mahrami's death sentence to life imprisonment. 


The government now uses arbitrary arrest, interrogation and short-term imprisonment to harass and intimidate Bahá'ís.  No documents are provided to the victims, making this practice very difficult to monitor.  

In December 2004 two Bahá'ís were arrested, imprisoned and held without charge for several weeks before being released.  The events leading up to these arrests can be summarised as follows.

On 15 November, a group of Iranian Bahá'ís transmitted an appeal in writing, on behalf of the entire community, to Mr. Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic.  They also widely distributed copies of their appeal to governmental and non-governmental authorities and agencies throughout the country.  The great majority reacted favourably and with sympathy for the plight of the community.  However, some of the Bahá’ís who distributed copies of the message were arrested.  Most of these individuals were detained for a short period of time and then released, as the authorities concerned recognized that submitting an appeal of this nature did not constitute a crime.

Intelligence officials arrested Mr. Bahram Mashhadi on 1 December, when he was arriving to present the appeal to the Eastern Tehran Assembly of Jurists.  He was taken to the local police station, where he spent the night.  The next day, 2 December, Mr. Mashhadi was transferred to the headquarters of the Prosecutor's Office of the Revolution, where he was interrogated.  Accompanied by a guard, he was subsequently brought back to his home to collect the personal effects required for a longer period of detention and then taken to Evin prison in Tehran.  

His relatives went to Evin prison on several occasions, trying to visit him.  Each time, the prison authorities disclaimed having any knowledge of his being incarcerated there.  Finally, on 12 December, prison officials acknowledged that they were holding Mr. Mashhadi.  They demanded that, to secure his release, he had to post bail in the amount of 30 million Iranian rials (equivalent to about US$ 3,400).  Mr. Mashhadi did not wish to take this course of action because past experience has led to credible concern that such payments contribute to establishing a system of extortion from citizens, such as Bahá'ís, who have no constitutional protection.  No charge was filed against him.

Mr. Sa'id Purja'far was arrested when he presented a copy of the appeal to the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.  Mr. Purja'far, a resident of Karaj, was taken to Gohardasht prison in Tehran, where he was held without charge.  

The Bahá'í International Community greatly appreciated the fact that representatives of several governments rapidly gave attention to this matter.  The two young men were released without bail on 22 December 2004.

During the year 2003, we had already received information about 23 Bahá'í residents of 18 different localities, who had been subjected to arbitrary arrest and short-term detention.  The authorities summoned these people because they were Bahá'ís, questioned them with indignity and humiliation about their beliefs, and then released them.  Reports indicate that officials in many different places continue to use this means of intimidation.  

Denial of the right to organize as a peaceful religious community

Since 1983, the Bahá’í community in Iran has been denied both the right to assemble officially and the right to maintain its sacred institutions.  In other countries, these democratically elected governing bodies organize and administer the religious activities of the community.  The Bahá’í Faith has no clergy; its institutions perform many of the functions reserved to clergy in other religions and are the foundational element of Bahá’í community life, but in Iran they continue to be banned.

Iranian Bahá’ís gradually made arrangements to worship in small groups, conduct classes for children and take care of other community needs in private homes.  Authorities continued to harass the community by disrupting meetings, occasionally arresting teachers of children's or "family life" classes and giving Bahá'ís suspended sentences, to be carried out should they again commit the "crime" of attending religious instruction in a private home.  

Now it seems that the government is attempting to prevent all Iranian Bahá'ís from participating in monthly religious gatherings as well as all other forms of community or group activity.  In August 2004, we learned that the Iranian authorities had further intensified their pressure on the Bahá’í community in ways that include threatening individual believers, as well as ordering the Bahá’ís to suspend all social, educational and community-related activities.  The Iranian Bahá’ís had, for all intents and purposes, been instructed to suspend any and all activities that go beyond observance of religious obligations at the level of the individual.

Moreover, the Bahá’ís were very clearly informed that they must ban all of their collective activities or face the Iranian government's withdrawal of protection.  The officials stated that the most compassionate act of the Islamic Republic had been to establish laws that protect the Bahá’ís from the people of Iran, who might otherwise take the law into their own hands and “follow the dictates of their Islamic sentiments”.  The implication was that, unless the Bahá’ís follow these instructions, they could be subjected to mob attacks without any protection from the government.

We received documentation in August concerning one such case, which can serve as an example.  The previous month, a Bahá’í optician in Hamedan had been kidnapped and brutally attacked on more than one occasion by individuals he did not know.  

Details are given below:
• On 21 July 2004, five unidentified men surrounded the Bahá'í in an alleyway, took him to an unknown location and started beating him.  He was released over four hours later, at noon, after he had been severely beaten and threatened with death if he did not recant his Faith and become a Muslim.  The assailants warned him that there was no power stronger than theirs.
• He immediately went to the police station to document the incident.  The police form requested that he undergo a medical examination, and the medical examiner’s report stated that he had suffered extensive bruising from being hit numerous times with a hard object (both documents are dated 21 July 2004).
• The officer in charge at the police station referred him to the Revolutionary Court, Branch 14.  However, the court investigator became agitated upon seeing the documents attesting to the attack, angrily rebuked three of his colleagues and the soldier who had presented the case, and demanded that the documents be returned to the police station.  Moreover, he ordered that the officer in charge be told not to create documentation in such cases, as it would be used by the Bahá’ís to demand their rights and to complain to the international authorities.
• On 25 July, the victim made a second attempt to file an official complaint and (with persistence) persuaded another official at the police station to send his documents back to the same court.  This time the judge addressing his case spoke more softly, advising him to withdraw his complaint and end the matter or “it would cost him dearly”.  He responded that he did not feel safe and wanted the complaint filed so that, if he were killed the next day, there would be documentation that he had previously been attacked because of his adherence to the Bahá’í Faith.  The judge asked him again to end the matter or “it would cost him dearly”; the request was repeated four times, but he refused to comply.  Finally, the judge allowed him to sign the official complaint.  
• He was then taken to the “information division”, where three individuals interrogated him about his beliefs and religious obligations.  He was strongly advised to convert to Islam and warned that he should remember what had happened to another Bahá’í in Hamedan – who had been killed under mysterious circumstances a month before.  The optician responded that he had known this other man, and that he was making an official complaint to obtain protection from the government and avoid suffering the same fate.  

The Bahá’ís in Iran are looking more fully into the death of the first victim.  

According to the international conventions on human rights, even if elements of the Iranian population do hold animosity towards the Bahá’ís, it is the obligation of the government of Iran to protect the life and safety of all its citizens.  However, it should also be stated that – although the authorities tend to repeat that the Iranian people consider Bahá’ís as infidels and wish to attack them – it has been the experience of the Iranian Bahá’í community that many of their fellow countrymen respect and admire Bahá’ís for their ideals, good character and steadfastness.  Negative attitudes towards the Bahá’ís are much more often expressed and fostered by government officials.  

For example, in The Irish Times (dated 20 May 2004), a report on the new website of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i, quotes the following passage from the question and answer section:
Q. “We have Baahi [Bahá’í] neighbours,” writes one, referring to Iran’s largest religious minority that is routinely persecuted by the authorities. “Our neighbours are good people and we have excellent relations with them. What should we do?”
A. “These people are harem (forbidden, unlawful) and are the enemy of our religion and beliefs,” replies Khamenei. “You should end your relationship with them.”

Denial of access to education

We have received documented evidence regarding the most recent events in the ongoing effort by Bahá'í students to obtain access to higher education in Iran.  These documents show that, despite their claims to the contrary, the Iranian authorities have once again blocked access to university for the Bahá'ís.

It should be recalled that, for the first time in over 20 years, Iranian Bahá’í students were able to take the national university entrance examination in 2004.  About 1,000 Bahá'ís took the exam and over 800 passed, many with very high scores.  However, when they received their results in August 2004, they saw that they had been falsely recorded as Muslims.  The students reported the mistake but were told that the "incorrect religion would not be corrected".  Moreover, there were reports of officials saying, after the Bahá'ís had taken the exam, that this amounted to a de facto declaration of faith in Islam.  For decades the government had maintained, as a requirement for entrance to university, that Bahá'í students renounce their Faith.  The authorities were well aware that Bahá’ís would not do so, as a matter of principle.  

Each student immediately wrote a letter of protest to the Educational Measurement and Evaluation Organization (EMEO), objecting to having been designated as Muslims after previously having been promised that they could apply for university without disclosing their religion.  As a result of the collective protest, many students received personal calls from officials who said that a new results form had been created without reference to religion, and that they and the other Bahá’ís concerned should come to sign it.  

A small group of Bahá’í students was assigned to meet with EMEO officials on 5 September 2004 to review the new forms, choose their field of study and submit their names for placement in universities.  The reference to religion had been omitted from the new form, and the small group received assurances that all Bahá’í students would be able to follow the same procedure in a timely fashion.  They also found out, however, that the deadline for submitting the new forms would be 7 September – only two days later.  EMEO was to complete the processing of all forms and announce university placement results on 12 September 2004.

Under the tight deadline, EMEO staff at first allowed these few dedicated students to facilitate the issuance of new results forms for many other Bahá’ís.  Placement applicants whose new forms could not be prepared and signed in the next two days were to select their field of study on another form designed for this purpose.  It was agreed that this would be attached to their letter of protest and mailed back to them along with their new results form.  As of 7 September, facilitated placement submissions had been handed in to EMEO for all of the (approximately) 800 Bahá'í students who had passed the exam.  This should have made it possible for them to be included in the announcement published in newspapers and available on the Internet.  On 12 September, however, only ten of the Bahá'í students’ names appeared in the list of those accepted, published in the EMEO bulletin, Peykesanjesh.  

The same group of students returned to EMEO to ask why all the other Bahá’ís had been excluded.  The official (who had assisted them a week before) refused to explain, stating only that “the organisation had done its duty” and objections should be directed to the Public Relations Office.  The students enquired about the remaining submissions, which had been left for the organisation to prepare and mail.  The response was that EMEO personnel were too busy and all its office printers were being used for other purposes – none could be employed to print out the new results forms.  

When the group went to the Public Relations Office, the person in charge repeated that EMEO had done its job and any objection should be written on a special form and submitted.  The students followed this procedure and were told that they would have to wait for a while before receiving a reply.  The group took copies of their objection letters to the EMEO Secretariat, as well.  Again, they were told that preparing a response would take some time (no specific date was given).

As the deadline passed, it became clear that the authorities had no intention of admitting any more Bahá'í students to university in that placement round.  Out of solidarity with their brothers and sisters who had once again been deprived of their right to higher education, the ten admitted students declined to register in the universities to which they had been accepted.  

It should be noted that in Iran, all students who pass the university entrance exam are given a ranking number according to their scores, from highest (ranked #1) to lowest.  Placement in university is competitive, with fields of study and specific universities available to students on a “first ranked, first served” basis.  

Even among the Bahá'ís who met with EMEO officials on 5 September, some students with very high rankings – which should have guaranteed success – were not admitted to any university during the first round of placements.  Comparable cases show a clear pattern of discrimination, as Bahá’ís with high ranking were not accepted in the fields and universities of their choice, while non-Bahá'ís with a much lower ranking obtained a slot.  For example, one non-Bahá’í female student ranked 6,975 was accepted in Payam-e-Nur University in the field of humanities, while a Bahá’í female student ranked 689 – i.e. ten times higher in ranking – was not accepted at the same university in the same field of study.  We have received documented evidence for this and several other similar cases.

A second round of placements was opened through an official EMEO announcement entitled Filling the Quota, dated 18 October 2004.  In this published notice, Iranian students were informed that placements were still available in certain fields already dealt with in the first round, as well as in some fields that had not been previously included.  Students who had passed the entrance exam could now apply for these placements.  Given their high scores, many Bahá’í students should have been among the first to obtain placements in the second round.  However, the list of requirements (published with the announcement) clearly stated that all applicants had to believe in and actively adhere to Islam or one of the three recognized minority religions specified in the Iranian Constitution.  Thus Bahá’í students were once again not permitted to apply for placement in a university unless they were willing to renounce their religion.

Applications are also available on the EMEO website for the Advanced English Language Examination.  The stated purpose of this exam is "to create an environment conducive to learning languages and to provide the mechanism by which language capabilities of students and other applicants may be assessed".  The website suggests that success on the exam could help students carry out their assignments and assist individuals in finding employment.  The registration form requires applicants to state their religion and restricts the choice to the four officially recognized religions in Iran, excluding the Bahá’í Faith.

Barring Bahá’í students from access to higher education has been a long-standing policy of the Islamic Republic.  The 1991 memorandum from the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Council (published by the former UN Special Representative) stated, "They [Bahá’ís] must 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".  A statement currently posted on Ayatollah Safi's official website in Iran also refers to this policy.  In response to a question about registering Bahá’ís in educational institutions, the Ayatollah responds:  "Their registration as Bahá’ís, which is an anti-Islamic intelligence organization, is not allowed and is contrary to the interests of Islam and the principles and values of the Islamic Revolution."


After an entire generation of Bahá’ís had been barred from higher education in legally recognized institutions, the Iranian Bahá’ís finally set up their own programme in 1987, and by 1996 several hundred students were enrolled and eleven had graduated with the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. 

In August 2004, we learned that the Iranian authorities had ordered the Bahá’ís to suspend all educational activities and to close the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) and Advanced Bahá’í Studies Institute.  Officials have attempted before to block or to disrupt the work of the BIHE.  In 1998, officers of the Ministry of Information arrested faculty members in cities across the country and seized textbooks, papers, records, computers, and furniture.  In July 2002, Revolutionary Guards interfered with eight of the district exams being held by the BIHE; confiscating exam papers and, in some cases, videotaping proceedings or interviewing students. 

The Bahá’í Faith places a high value on education.  Being denied access to university-level studies is demoralizing, and any erosion in educational levels inevitably leads to impoverishment.  The Bahá'í International Community has placed particular emphasis on this point over the past few years, with strong support from the international community.  

During 2004, Iranian officials generated hope that Bahá’í students would finally be able to attend universities in their homeland without having to renounce their religion.  Not only did this give the impression that the authorities were acting with new liberality, but allowing the students to pass the exam and then blocking their admission at the placement stage may also have served other purposes.  Clearly, it demoralized the students, creating a frustration that officials may believe will induce Bahá’í youth to leave the country.  Moreover, it achieved an objective that the authorities have long sought to attain:  identifying by name the young Iranian Bahá'ís who demonstrate outstanding ability and will no doubt play a significant role in their community in the future.

Confiscation and destruction of community properties

Bahá’í cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centres and other assets were seized shortly after the 1979 revolution.  No community properties have been returned, and many have been destroyed.  Seizure of cemeteries throughout Iran has had particularly painful consequences, as Bahá’ís are permitted access only to areas of wasteland designated by the government for this purpose and are not allowed to mark the graves of their loved ones.

In January 2004, individuals in the city of Babul began destroying a sacred site with great religious significance to all Bahá’ís throughout the world, as it is the resting place of Mulla Muhammad-'Ali Barfurushi, known as Quddus (the most holy).1  These acts were carried out with the full cooperation of local and religious authorities.  Upon appeal to national officials and intervention by local Bahá’ís, the demolition was temporarily halted twice, but in April we learned that the house-like structure that had stood over the grave had been levelled to the ground.  Despite attempts to protect the site, demolition of the rest of the structure continued gradually, with the full knowledge of the national authorities.  On 22 April, the Bahá'í International Community issued a press release about this event.  The Bahá’ís in Babul were subsequently prevented from retrieving the sacred remains of Quddus.  

On 28 April 2004, the Kayhan newspaper (one of the official organs of the Iranian government) published an article entitled Mulla Quddus thrown from one grave to another – a derogatory Persian expression implying that the person concerned has been cast into hell.  Its author called the Bahá'í Faith “a hegemonic sect”, and reported on international efforts to intervene in the following terms:  
“…the international agencies purporting to defend human rights and the United States government have, in fact, organized political pressure and propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran in support of the perverse Bahá'í sect.”

Despite several appeals from international authorities, local and national officials pursued their plans to desecrate the sacred resting place.  Beginning on 25 May 2004, excavations took place at the site, in and around the area where it was understood that the remains were interred.  This occurred contrary to the assurance the Bahá’ís had received that the sacred remains would not be disturbed and that the site would be covered with a green lawn.  The Bahá’ís of Babul appealed to the Imam-Jum'ih of the city, but to no avail.

The most recent development has aroused alarm that government authorities may be implementing a systematic plan to destroy Bahá'í historic and holy sites in Iran.  In June 2004, another site sacred to the Bahá’ís was demolished:  the house in Tehran that had belonged to Mirza Buzurg-e-Nuri, the father of Bahá'u'lláh.  An article published by the Iranian newspaper Etemaad on 1 July 2004 decries the act as a loss in terms of cultural heritage.  Of far greater significance to us, however, is the fact that the residence was a holy place associated with an important period in the history of the Bahá'í Faith.  Bahá’u’lláh spent the interval preceding His banishment to Baghdad in this house, which at the time was the residence of His half-brother.

It was learned that the instruction to tear down the building had been issued by Ayatollah Kani (the director of the Marvi School and the Endowments Office) on 8 April 2004, ostensibly for the purpose of creating an Islamic seminary.  Demolition had begun on 20 June 2004 in the presence of Ayatollah Kani’s sons and officials of the Ministry of Information.  Photographs taken on 29 June show that about 70 percent of the structure had been destroyed by that date.

When they heard about this destruction, the Bahá’ís set out to investigate its legality – visiting the mayor responsible for the region where the residence was situated and demanding to see the demolition permit.  The mayor informed them that his office had received written instructions not to interfere with events pertaining to that building, and he suggested that they stop pursuing the matter, as the order had been issued by Ayatollah Kani.  The Bahá’ís presented this news to a few reporters, who discovered (through a computer search) that the demolition of the house of Mirza Buzurg was included in the list of topics about which they were not permitted to report.  Thus it was clear that the destruction had been planned well in advance and cloaked in secrecy.

Unlike the gradual demolition of the resting place of Quddus, the destruction of the house of Mirza Buzurg took place openly and quickly.  This seems to indicate that the authorities have become emboldened in their intent to destroy sites that are sacred to the Bahá’ís.  It is a matter of grave concern, as the pattern – if left unchecked – would deprive the Bahá’ís of many more holy places associated with the early history of the Faith, which have been confiscated by officials over the years.  

Confiscation of properties belonging to individual Bahá’ís

During the past few months, the Iranian authorities have again acted in accordance with their long-standing policy of confiscating Bahá'í homes.  

In October 2004, we were informed that the homes of six Bahá'í families in the village of Kata (in the Buyir-Ahmad region of Iran) had been confiscated by order of the prosecutor of the city of Shiraz, with the assistance of the local police.  This act, which deprives these rural families of their only means of livelihood, was perpetrated solely because of their adherence to the Bahá’í Faith.  

The Bahá’ís of Kata have been subjected to mob attacks, shootings, burning of property and pressure to force their conversion to Islam since the early days of the Islamic revolution.  Many families fled their homes and took refuge in Isfahan, where local Bahá’ís cared for the injured and the children.  On 18 October 2000, the Ministry of the Execution of the Decrees of the Imam informed the Ministry of Justice of the province of Buyir-Ahmad that the "possessions of the fleeing Bahá’ís situated in the village of Kata... were confiscated".  The province Ministry was then provided with a list of properties belonging to Bahá’ís from Kata, instructed to confiscate them and (with assistance from the Maymand police department) to transfer any rents to the officer of the Islamic Council of the village.  

The directives were later published in the 21 October 2003 issue of the 'Asr newspaper, along with an even more complete list of properties.  This published “Announcement of the Judgement” declared the verdict to confiscate the properties definite and executable.  The same list and text appeared the next day in the Khabar newspaper in Shiraz.

The confiscation of six Bahá’í homes in October 2004 was executed on the basis of the judgement in 2000.  It is therefore feared that the properties of all the Bahá’ís still residing in Kata – some 35 families – are also in danger of being confiscated.  

The property rights of individual Bahá’ís are generally disregarded.  Since 1979, officials have arbitrarily confiscated a large number of private and business properties, homes and farms.  In recent years, this has occurred in particular in Rafsanjan, Kerman, Marv-Dasht, and Yazd, as well as in Tehran (where one of the homes had been owned by the same Bahá'í for 60 years), in the above-mentioned village of Kata and in the village of Matneq. 

These judgements demonstrate that the Iranian authorities continue to consider the Bahá'í Faith as an illegal movement and legitimise, through the courts, violations against the rights of Iranian citizens who are members of the community.  

Denial of employment, pensions and other benefits

Confiscating homes and property is not the only means that the authorities use to weaken the economic base of the Bahá’í community.  In the 1980s, over 10,000 Bahá’ís were dismissed from positions in government and educational institutions.  Many remain unemployed and receive no unemployment benefits.  The pensions of Bahá’ís dismissed on religious grounds were terminated, and some have even been required to return salaries paid to them before they were dismissed.

We received documents pertaining to the cases of four Bahá’ís who are being deprived of their rightfully earned pensions by the Iranian authorities:
1. In a letter dated 30 May 2003, the Office of Beneficiary Affairs of a bank instructed its General Office to discontinue the disbursement of a Bahá'í’s pension to his heirs because he was a member of the Bahá'í “sect”.  In a letter dated 25 November 2003, the head of the Office of Legal and Parliament Affairs confirmed this decision, stating that the judicial decree of Imam Khomeini and the letter of the National Retirement Bureau (dated 3 November 2003) must be implemented in such cases.   
2. The director-general of the Personnel Office of Tehran University sent a letter (dated 29 September 2003) to his staff, instructing that necessary action be taken to terminate a pension to the heirs of a Bahá'í because of his association with "the perverse Bahá'í sect". 
3. In a letter dated 28 October 2003, the director-general of technical affairs at the National Retirement Bureau informed a Bahá'í that her father's retirement income had been discontinued owing to his association with "the perverse Baha'i sect". 
4. The General Office of Finance transmitted a letter dated 17 December 2003 to the director of the Retirement Bureau of the Province of Azerbaijan-e-Sharqi, stating that a Bahá'í’s employment had been terminated due to his belief in "the perverse Baha'i sect", and hence there was no authorization to return or transfer his retirement deductions.  

A recent document related to another such case illustrates the policies of national officials in perpetrating these injustices.  An Iranian citizen, who is now nearly 70 years old, was deprived of his pension after over 20 years of service in the Ministry of Agriculture solely because of his adherence to the Bahá'í Faith.  This long-standing government employee (with an unblemished work record) sold items on the street to help support his family and persistently appealed for the restoration of his pension.  Finally, an Administrative Court of Justice decided "to uphold the plaintiff's claim ... [to declare] the dismissal order null and void, [and to refer the case] to the board in charge of Investigation of Administrative Offences". 

However, the Ministry vehemently objected to the verdict in a letter (dated 27 January 2003) sent to the head of the Administrative Court.  The letter states that "the implementation of this verdict and the referring of the case to the Primary Board ... not only create a variety of problems for the ministry, but also allow such individuals, who openly confess to being followers of the perverse Baha'i sect, to claim civil rights".  The Ministry’s blatant written statement serves as further evidence that, contrary to their claims, national government officials sanction and pursue persecution against Bahá'ís, even when solutions are proposed at individual and/or local level.

Earlier documents involved decisions in four more cases, dating from July 2001 to November 2002, where Iranian Bahá'ís were denied access to their own, rightfully earned pensions.  The documents explicitly state:  “payment of pension to those individuals connected with the baha’i sect is illegal” [or an “unlawful act”].

Limitations on employment opportunities continue to be imposed on Bahá'ís in various sectors of the economy, as well.  Even when Bahá'ís find employment in the private sector, government officials often intervene and force the owners of the companies to fire them.  And when Bahá'ís start a private business, the authorities attempt to block their activities.  Two recent cases provide evidence of how the government attempts to stifle the community by depriving its members of economic means:  
• In the first case, a court verdict (dated 29 September 2003), issued against a Bahá'í in Tehran, rejected his appeal against an injunction that required him to cease his business operations, and also rejected his petition to obtain a business license.  The tribunal cited the information it had received “about the plaintiff's being associated with the perverse Baha'i sect”, as well as his alleged past record of ill-motivated political activities and alleged spying for Israel in 1983.
• In a second, similar case, an administrative injunction was issued to impede a Bahá'í-owned company in Isfahan from doing business.  The company is owned and directed by a Bahá'í engineer and employs some 120 staff – most of whom are Bahá’ís.  An official letter states that “the link between the… company… and the perverse Baha'i sect is established to be true; therefore it is advisable to adopt measures to prevent any collaboration with the above-mentioned company".

Moreover, there have been what we believe to be attempts to scare Bahá'ís away from their land.  Some Bahá'ís who were engaged in agriculture in the southern part of Iran were arrested in 2002; one of them was put in jail for several days and later freed after paying a sum of money. 

The intergovernmental body most concerned with the right to employment is the International Labour Organization (ILO), which has repeatedly made reference to the ongoing discrimination against the Bahá'ís in Iran at its Conference on Conventions and Recommendations, held in Geneva in June each year.

The ILO Global Report specifically treated the theme of discrimination in 2003.  Its section on religious discrimination addressed the situation in Iran and stated: “the situation of members of the Baha’i faith, an unrecognized religious minority, continues to be a source of concern.  The barriers that these people face in access to higher education and to employment in public institutions are still high (para. 102).”  The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) continued to address the issue in its report, as well, reiterating its concern about “the treatment in education and employment of members of unrecognized religions, in particular the members of the Baha’i faith”.  

Denial of civil rights and liberties

Under Iranian law, Bahá’ís have no legal protection and thus their rights can be ignored with impunity.  Harassment continues unabated in a number of communities.  One common practice is summoning Bahá’ís to security offices on various specious pretexts, then insulting and belittling them, to create fear and weaken spirit.  

The application of some laws has been modified.  Measures taken by the government in 2000 enabled married Bahá’í couples to register as husband and wife and to register their children, but the relevant law has not been changed; Bahá’í marriages and divorces are still not legally recognized.  The right of Bahá’ís to inherit is also denied.  

The freedom of Bahá’ís to travel outside or inside the country is often impeded by Iranian authorities and sometimes denied.  Although more Iranian Bahá’ís have been given passports in recent years, it is not clear that there has been a change of government policy on this issue.  Bahá’ís applying abroad to renew passports or obtain visas to return to Iran have also frequently found Iranian embassy officials uncooperative.  In some countries, Iranian embassies do not require applicants to state their religious affiliation, and Bahá’ís thus find it easier to obtain visas or renew passports.  Requiring applicants to declare their affiliation with a “recognized religion” on passport application forms has been used to pressure Bahá’ís to recant their religious beliefs.  

Iranian government claims

Iranian officials quote Articles 142 and 203 of the Iranian Constitution to prove that all citizens of the country are equal before the law and “enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights”.  However, the patterns of persecution described above are clear evidence that these provisions are not enforced in cases involving Bahá'ís.  Moreover, they are restricted by Article 13, which specifically defines the three recognized religious minorities.

Although the Iranian government claims to have taken steps to promote the rights of religious minorities, we have seen nothing to indicate that these measures apply to the Bahá’ís.  In January 2003, the parliament approved a bill granting equal compensation in “blood money” to the recognized religious minorities.  Yet because the Bahá'í Faith is not recognized, the legislation does not benefit the members of the community. 

In the question and answer section of Ayatollah Safi's official website in Iran, one of the questions concerns this matter and reads as follows:
Q 471.  Many of the Baha’is residing in the Islamic Republic [of Iran] express that “we are obedient to all the laws of Iran and have not committed any crime; however, we are subject to the violation of our rights.”  Are Baha’is, fundamentally, and the Baha’i community residing in Iran, particularly, considered people of Dhimmih [recognized minorities] or not?  And is payment of blood money to the relatives of a murdered Baha'i necessary or not?

Ayatollah Safi’s answer is posted as given below:
A.  Bahai’s are not considered as people of Dhimmih and cannot benefit from blood money.  The people of Dhimmih are the recognized religious minorities that consist of Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, as long as they observe the religious laws pertaining to the people of Dhimmih.

Iranian Bahá'ís nonetheless pursue such cases through the courts.  A recent case involves twelve plaintiffs who filed a petition against a man accused of murdering their relative by running him down with his automobile.  Their relative was a Baha'i.  

The court's verdict recognised the crime as a "quasi-intentional" murder – based on testimony by the accused – and convicted the man as charged, but sentenced him to only four months of imprisonment, without the payment of blood money.  The sentence was suspended as time already served (allowing for immediate release).

The reasons presented by the court for this decision were purely theological, elaborated in detail and with reference to the decrees (fatwas) issued by various Ayatollahs.  The verdict declared that the Bahá'í Faith had abrogated Islam and referred to Bahá’ís as a “perverse sect” and as “infidels”, based on a decree issued by Ayatollah Allameh Amini, with reference to another decree by Seyyed Muhammad Sadeq Rohani, similar statements made by Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khoi, and quoting from a book by Seyyed Ahmad Khansari.  The court concluded that Bahá’ís should neither receive requital nor blood money in cases of murder.  This verdict is alarming because the theological basis on which the court made its decision paves the way for Muslims to believe that they are free to take the lives of Bahá’ís in Iran with impunity.


In August 2003, the Islamic Republic of Iran presented its report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the treaty monitoring body that reviews implementation by States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.  In its Concluding Observations, the Committee took note “with concern of the reported discrimination faced by certain minorities, including the Bahá’ís, who are deprived of certain rights”, and also noted that certain provisions of Iran’s legislation “appear to be discriminatory on both ethnic and religious grounds”.  


Summary conclusion

The current situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran reflects the nature of the persecution against the community and its historical context.  Factions struggling for political ascendancy in Iran have repeatedly used the Bahá’ís as a scapegoat, based on hostility and prejudice generated by ecclesiastical propaganda.  For over 150 years, from the pulpit, press, radio, television, and even from scholarly publications, the Iranian public has received a grossly false image of the Bahá'ís and their beliefs that incites hatred and contempt.  The Bahá'ís have never been allowed to communicate the facts that would expose the lies and calumnies, which have come from those to whom the people of Iran look for guidance in spiritual matters.  

Nevertheless, the organized campaign to destroy the community has failed.  The Iranian Bahá'ís have steadfastly refused to compromise their Faith.  The persecution against them has become an established issue in the ongoing indictment by the international community – the United Nations, intergovernmental bodies, and civil society – of the Iranian government for its violation of universally accepted standards in human rights.

Once again, on 20 December 2004 at its 59th session, the Plenary of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, by a vote of 71 in favour and 54 against, with 55 abstentions.  The text specifically referred to the Bahá’ís in two operative paragraphs, as follows:
The General Assembly (…)
2. Expresses its serious concern at:
(…)
h.  	The continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Christians, Jews and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the Baha'is, 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;
3. Calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
(…)
g. 	To eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds or against persons belonging to minorities, including the Baha'is, Christians, Jews and Sunnis, and to address this matter in an open manner, with the full participation of the minorities themselves, and to ensure respect for the freedom of religion or belief of all persons …

The Iranian Bahá'ís love their homeland, despite the suffering they have endured under successive regimes.  They only ask to benefit from the rights accorded to all Iranian citizens, and they look forward to the day when they may be accepted as a respected and valuable part of the Iranian people.  
1 In 1849, Islamic religious leaders killed Quddus, the foremost apostle of the Prophet-Herald of the Faith, for refusing to recant his beliefs.  His resting place was among the many historic and holy places confiscated from the Bahá’ís by the Iranian authorities during the Islamic Revolution.  
2 Article 14 reads as follows:  “In accordance with the sacred verse "God does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with those who have not fought against you because of your religion and who have not expelled you from your homes" [60:8], the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all Muslims are duty-bound to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity, and to respect their human rights. This principle applies to all who refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran.” 
3 Article 20:  “All citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria.”
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