Persecution

Toronto, Ontario, 16 May 2008 (CBNS) — Following the early morning arrests of Baha'i leaders in Iran two days ago, several human rights organizations and government representatives have spoken out strongly against the arrests. The State Department of the United States issued a statement late Thursday 15 May, and Amnesty International has issued an “urgent action” notice (MDE 13/068/2008) about the arrests which have deeply distressed Baha'is in Canada and around the world because of the resemblance to the “disappearance” and jailing that preceded executions of Baha’is in the early 1980s.

All seven Bahá'ís who have been arrested, six of them in early-morning raids on 14 May 2008. Seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.Toronto, Ontario, 15 May 2008 (CBNS) — Six Baha'i leaders were arrested and taken to Evin prison yesterday in a coordinated series of arrests similar to episodes in the 1980s that included executions and disappearances.

“Canadian Baha’is are deeply concerned,” said Karen McKye, Secretary General of the Baha'i Community of Canada, this morning on learning of the arrests in Iran yesterday morning. “These actions are reminiscent of the pattern of events in 1980 and 1981 when members of the national governing council in Iran were executed by the Iranian regime, as were those who replaced them in service.”

A small group discussion at the University of Alberta symposium in October.Toronto, Ontario, 15 April 2008 (CBNS) — Canadian Campus Associations for Baha'i Studies (CABS) chapters have responded vigorously to the refusal of Iranian authorities to allow Baha’is to attend universities and colleges. The 2007-2008 school year has seen a number of initiatives designed to raise awareness of the way in which Baha'i students in Iran continue to be denied their right to higher education.