Persecution

Toronto, Ontario, 17 February 2009 (CBNS) — In the wake of the announcement out of Iran that the seven Baha'i members of the coordinating group that leads the Baha'i Community of Iran are being put on trial this week (see our previous story and read about it on the Baha'i World News Service) the Baha'is of Canada have been gratified by the positive support they are receiving from the Canadian Government, its Department of Foreign Affairs, and Members of Parliament across the country. There was also an article posted on the websites of the CanWest newspaper chain on 11 February, and a further article published in the Ottawa Citizen among other papers.

Toronto, Ontario, 12 February 2009 (CBNS) — Canadian relatives of some of the 40 Iranian Baha'is now in prison for their beliefs have more reason to fear today as news comes out of Iran that seven Baha’i leaders are to be put on trial for “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” The reports cite Tehran’s deputy public prosecutor Hassan Haddad that the seven Baha'i leaders, imprisoned since last spring, have had their case referred to the Revolutionary Court. This step appears to mark a new and dangerous phase in Iran’s ongoing persecution of Baha’is.

Toronto, Ontario, 19 December 2008 (CBNS) — The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution expressing "deep concern at serious human rights violations" in Iran on Thursday 18 December 2008. The resolution, initially tabled by Canada and passed by a UN committee four weeks ago, was approved by the full General Assembly late yesterday.

United Nations — The Baha’i International Community praised the United Nations General Assembly for today rejecting a so-called “no-action motion” on human rights in Iran. Read the full story on the Baha’i World News Service »

The confidential report came to light on 23 October 2008 when it was published on the website of the Human Rights Activists of Iran.Toronto, Ontario, 24 October 2008 (CBNS) — An Iranian official has confirmed in a confidential report dated June 2008 the innocence of a group of young Bahá’ís in Shiraz who had been arrested in 2006. Fifty-three Bahá’ís had been convicted in mid-2007, after their arrest 19 May 2006, on spurious charges of “indirect” teaching of the Bahá’í Faith, considered illegal in Iran despite international law upholding freedom of religion.