Systematic Oppression of the Baha'is of Iran (Episode-1)

The following several posts will expose the actions of the government of Iran in its efforts to systematically harass and oppress the Baha'i population of Iran.

These incidents are presented here in a chronological order, and are classified under several main headings, such as "ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS", "COURT JUDGMENTS HANDED DOWN", "AMASSING OF INFORMATION ON THE BAHA’IS", "CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY" etc....

Because the material presented is quite extensive, each category, mentioned above, will be separately posted over several episodes, beginning with the summer of 2007 until the present time.

A) ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS

• In Shiraz, on 4 September 2007, officials from the Intelligence Ministry went to the home of Mr. Mas‘úd Muhibbpúr [Masoud Mohebbpour] with a warrant to search his house and an order for his detention, and they confiscated models of the House of the Báb in Shiraz and the barrack square in Tabriz.

• On 20 October 2007, fourteen Bahá’í youth from a region of Tehran Province were arrested and detained by officers from the Ministry of Intelligence in a mountain-climbing area. Three young women in the group were released on bail; the remaining individuals were released the next day.

• On 11 November 2007, Mr. Mohammad-Ismá‘íl Furúzán [Mohammad Ismael Forouzan] from Abadeh, who had been arrested in May 2007 and questioned extensively about the institute process while he was in prison at that time, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and ten years’ exile from Abadeh for spreading propaganda against the regime for the benefit of foreign governments. Mr. Furúzán undertook strenuous efforts to secure an attorney to represent him but was unsuccessful in obtaining legal counsel. He was given notice only a day and a half before his appeal hearing, and, when he raised this with the judge, his request for additional time was denied. His sentence was conveyed to him orally; despite his request, he was not permitted to see or receive a copy of the court order.

• On 13 November 2007, Mr.‘Ináyatu’lláh Haqíqatjú [Enayatollah Haghighatjou] was arrested and imprisoned in Shiraz. No further details are known at this time regarding the circumstances of his arrest.

• In Shiraz, Mr. Díyánat Haqíqat [Diyanat Haghighat], who was taking steps to have the expulsion of his child from high school nullified, was arrested on 13 November 2007. Mr. Haqíqat’s child had been one of several Bahá’ís expelled from school, and he had served as the spokesperson for the Bahá’í parents in their efforts to follow up the matter with the school authorities so that their children could be reinstated. Later that day, an official from the Intelligence Ministry came to Mr. Haqíqat’s home and searched it for three hours. All books, booklets, and papers related to the Bahá’í community were collected, and Mr. Haqíqat was arrested. Before his interrogation at the Intelligence Ministry’s detention centre, he was physically assaulted. He was questioned three times. In each session, the questions focused mainly on the teaching activities of the Bahá’ís. On the third occasion, he was requested to state on film, his name and family name, religion, occupation, the Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, the reason for his child’s expulsion from school, the meaning of teaching the Bahá’í Faith, and his expectation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He provided detailed responses on each of these points. With respect to the final point, he expressed his expectation of the Islamic Republic of Iran as follows: “I, as a Bahá’í, have only one expectation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this, based on the law, as a citizen, to have the right of freedom of speech about my belief.” He was then interrogated twice by the assistant to the public prosecutor general of the Revolutionary Court of Justice, along the same lines as the questioning he had faced by Intelligence Ministry officials. He was told that he was accused of spreading propaganda on behalf of anti-regime groups and threatening the security of the country. Mr. Haqíqat was freed on 27 November 2007. No further information is available at this time regarding the terms of his release.

[UPDATE on Mr. Haqíqat]

On 13 November 2007, Mr. Díyánat Haqíqat [Diyanat Haghighat] of Shiraz had been arrested in conjunction with his efforts to obtain redress on behalf of seven Bahá’í students, including his daughter Nasím, who had been expelled from their school for having spoken out in defence of the Faith. Mr. Haqíqat was released on 27 November. It has now been learned that at that same time, Nasím and another student, Názanín Farvardín [Nazanin Farvardin], were charged with having insulted the beliefs of Islam. On 4 March 2008, Miss Haqíqat and her father attended an investigative meeting at the Assistant Prosecutor’s Office, where they were informed formally of the accusation, which Nasím denied. She was permitted to remain free on the basis of a business licence having been given as surety for her release. At this time there is no information available regarding the disposition of the case against Miss Farvardín.

TO BE CONTINUED....