Archives chronicle decades of Baha'i persecution in Iran

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to growing interest in the persecution of the Baha'is of Iran, a website was launched yesterday by the Baha'i International Community, revealing documentary evidence of years of relentless oppression. The website, entitled Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran (iranbahaipersecution.bic.org), makes available for the first time thousands of official documents, reports, testimonials, and audio-visual material.

The archives chronicle continuous, pervasive, state-sponsored persecution against the Baha'is of Iran, demonstrating the falsity of claims made by Iranian authorities that Baha'is are not discriminated against.

The archives show the breadth of the persecution against the Baha'is, including cases of imprisonment and execution, acts of violence, kidnapping, the burning and destruction of homes, confiscation of properties, and the spreading of hateful propaganda through the state media.

"The compelling accounts and documents on the website," explains Diane Ala'i, Representative of the Baha'i International Community in Geneva, "provide proof of the decades of systematic implementation of policies designed to suffocate an entire community."

Most documents in the archives are related to the years following the Islamic revolution in 1979, during which the Baha'is became subject to a new wave of intense persecution. Over 200 Baha'is were executed or disappeared without a trace.

Baha'is continue to be denied access to university education, excluded from employment in the public sector as well as numerous professions in the private sector, and denied benefits in the pension system. They are unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to years in prison after trials lacking due process of law.

For more information about religious persecution and the rights of the Baha'is in Iran, please contact the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs at 202-833-8990, or visit publicaffairs.bahai.us.

PR Contact:
Danyelle Simpkins
Phone: (310) 454-3080
Email: [email protected]

Media Contact:
James Samimi Farr
Phone: (202) 833-8990
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Bahá'ís of the United States