Dorsa Sobhani’s father threatened, interrogated, beaten and reviled to force him to hand over his daughter

Dorsa Sobhani

[Editor: On the 2nd of March, 6 security officers showed up at Dorsa's home. They searched her home and confiscated her personal belongings but fortunately she was not home and therefore the officers were unable to detain her. Dorsa was denied her education in the city of Sari solely for her belief in the Baha'i Faith. She was active in the One Million Signature Campaign for women's right. Now the Iranian authorities are threatening her father to deliver her precious daughter to men bereft of understanding and justice! Her father is facing harm to his wife and his other younger daughter and losing his house.

Dear Dorsa and Mr. Sobhani: You have captured the hearts and minds of so many people in Vancouver, Canada. In these special days of Fast for the Baha'is of the world, dawn prayers will be dedicated to you and we'll pray to God to give you strength and courage for you are the source of strength and courage to all of us. May God open the eyes of your oppressors and enlighten their heart. As `Abd'ul-Baha teaches us:

"I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content." (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 29)

I invite other Baha'is to dedicate dawn prayers in this period of Fast to Dorsa.

With much love and rememberance,

The Editor, Iran Press Watch. ]

March 4, 2010

Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRC): According to reports received by CHRC, today, March 4, 2010, Dorsa Sobhani’s father was physically and verbally assaulted by six security officials as he left his house. Handcuffed and blindfolded, he was interrogated and threatened for four hours.

Security officials warned that if he does not hand his daughter, Dorsa Sobhani, over to the Intelligence Ministry by Saturday, he and his wife and younger daughter will be placed under arrest and their home will be sequestered.

This incident comes on the heels of a raid by six security officials who entered their home in the middle of the night on March 2, 2010 and confiscated their personal belongings.

Dorsa Sobhani is an activist in the One Million Signatures campaign and an advocate of the right to higher education. She herself has been denied the right to enter university due to her belief in the Baha’i Faith.

Source: http://www.schrr.net/spip.php?article8731
Also see: http://www.hra-news.org/news/13529.aspx

Also see:   Iran Press News: http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/073771.htm

Iqan Shahidi and Sama Noorani, two Baha’i university students deprived of the right to enroll at University, arrested; and the home of Dorsa Sobhan, a Women’s Rights activist, attacked.

Sent by Web Blog Writers Against Execution

Left to Right: Iqan Shahidi, Dorsa Sobhan, Sama Noorani

Committee on Human Rights reporters – Last night Iqan Shahidi, a Baha’i who had been denied his right to enroll at university, and this afternoon (the 12th of Esfand/3rd of March) Sama Noorani, another disenrolled student, from Sahand University in Tabriz, were arrested respectively in Kermanshah and Shiraz.

Read Full Story

ENQUIRE, Issue 3, June 2009

Resistance, Resilience and the Role of Narrative: Lessons from the Experiences of Iranian Bahá’í Women Prisoners

Donna Hakimian
Women and Gender Studies
Institute University of Toronto
donnahakimian@gmail.com

Abstract
This paper is a study of Iranian Bahá’í women who experienced imprisonment in the Islamic Republic of Iran following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Aspects of individual resistance and resilience are explored through life history interviews. Through the examination of those histories I was better able to understand and explore the narratives the research participants provided. The intersections between the principles of the Bahá’í Faith and the way they have been enacted in the context of Iran in that period provided the broader picture within which the narratives are set.

Read Full Story

3 March 2010
Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) – Student and civil activist Navid Khanjani was arrested at his home in Isfahan on March 2, 2010.

Navid Khanjani

Navid Khanjani close to Nikbakht Court as he bids farewell to his family and being taken to Evin Prison (Wed 3 Mar. 2010)

According to reports, around 11:30pm, six security forces searched his home and confiscated his personal belongings, including his computer. Security forces had brought Navid’s sentence from the Revolutionary Court along with them.

Read Full Story

[Editor: Yet another action against the Baha'is in the obscure city of Semnan. See the recent article about Semnan]

Baha’i arrested in Semnan

A Baha’i who had been recently sentenced to 3 years in prison has been called before the Revolutionary Court, arrested and transferred to Semnan prison.

Harana News service — In order to carry out the sentence, Manijeh Monzavian has been called before the Revolutionary Court and was arrested.

Read Full Story

Several Baha’is arrested after Ashura are released

Three imprisoned Baha’is have been freed on bail from Evin prison.

Harana News service – Ibrahim Shadmehr, Zavosh Shadmehr and Farid Rohani have been freed on bail from Evin prison.

Read Full Story