Iran Press Watch » women

Iran must stop persecuting minority religions

editor — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:49:48 +0000

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is facing the death penalty for apostasy.

Roxana Saberi

[CNN By Roxana Saberi, Special to CNN] Editor’s note: Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, is the author of “Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran.”
(CNN) — In March 2009, when I was detained in Evin Prison in Iran, two evangelical Christians were arrested. I never met them but spotted them a few times through the barred window of my cell as they walked back and forth to the bathroom down the hall.
I would later learn that Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh had converted from Islam to Christianity and faced charges of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, insulting religious sanctities, and committing apostasy. They resisted severe pressure to renounce their faith, and in November 2009, after an international outcry, the two women went free.
News headlines are now highlighting the plight of another Iranian Christian accused of apostasy, or abandoning one’s religion. When Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was 19, he converted from Islam to Christianity. In 2010, a provincial court sentenced him to death. This year, Iran’s Supreme Court ruled that the case should be reviewed and the sentence overturned if he recants his faith — a step Nadarkhani, 34, has so far refused to take.
Now, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Iran’s judiciary has ordered the verdict to be delayed, possibly for one year. But Nadarkhani’s supporters hope sustained worldwide pressure will lead to his just and immediate release.
As international criticism has mounted, an Iranian official has alleged that Nadarkhani is being prosecuted not for his faith but for crimes including rape and extortion. Nadarkhani’s attorney, however, says the only charge the pastor has faced is apostasy, and court documents support this assertion.
Although Iran’s penal code does not include a specific provision for apostasy, judges are given a fairly wide degree of latitude to issue rulings based on their own interpretation of Islamic law. In the past this has led to punishments ranging from imprisonment to death. The last person officially executed in Iran for apostasy was Hossein Soodmand, a Pentecostal minister who converted from Islam before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and was hanged in 1990.
Iranian officials often say their country’s recognized religious minorities (Christians, Jews, and adherents of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism) enjoy freedoms equal to their Muslim counterparts. Iran’s constitution gives these three religious minorities certain rights, such as five seats in the 290-member parliament and the freedom to perform their religious rituals.
The constitution’s articles, however, are all set within the boundaries of Islam, and Islamic codes grant superior legal status to male Muslims.
Many non-Shiites in Iran have also complained of limits on education, work, and exercising their faith. Critics accuse the Islamic regime of having monitored, harassed, abducted, detained, tortured, and killed citizens based upon their religion. Since 1999, the U.S. State Department has designated Iran a “country of particular concern” because of religious repression. The State Department has focused on the treatment of Sufi and Sunni Muslims, Protestant evangelical Christians, Jews, Shiites who don’t share the government’s official views, and Baha’is, whose faith is not recognized by Iran’s regime.
Christian leaders in Iran have usually blunted their criticism of the regime, in part to avoid tensions. When I attended Christmas Eve Mass in Iran four years ago, I saw a few dozen worshipers, but I also heard that they had to get government permission to hold the service and were not allowed to proselytize. They had a Christian school, but it had to have a Muslim principal. They could print Christian texts but only with the authorities’ approval.
A number of Iranian Christians who recently left Iran have told me that since the country’s 2009 disputed presidential election, pressure on their communities has intensified, prompting many more Christians to emigrate. In April, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported a rise in Iranian authorities raiding church services and harassing worshipers.
Evangelicals and other Protestants have been particularly targeted. Unlike Iran’s traditionally recognized Christian minorities, such as Armenians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, evangelical churches hold their services in the Farsi language. Iranian authorities accuse them of spreading Christian writings in Farsi to convert Muslims.
“They are tough on us because we educate others,” a former pastor of an underground evangelical church in Iran told me on condition of anonymity. “They call it proselytizing, but we don’t proselytize. We discuss the realities that Jesus Christ talks about in the Bible, and we never speak about the Islamic Republic.”
Shortly after their release from prison, Maryam and Marzieh, the two Christian converts detained down the corridor from me, left Iran. If they stayed, they may have shared the tragic fate of the Rev. Mehdi Dibaj.
Dibaj, a Christian convert from Islam, was jailed for a decade and released in 1994 after international appeals. Soon afterward, he went missing. The authorities reported the discovery of his corpse in a wooded area west of Tehran. Iran’s government blamed an anti-regime group for the murder.
If the Iranian regime wants to tout religious freedom, it should respect its citizens’ right to decide one of life’s most personal choices: their spiritual path. A regime that claims to observe human rights and base its actions on the peaceful nature of Islam should also explain how peace would be attained by executing a man whose only crime is his faith.
By releasing Youcef Nadarkhani before Christmas, Tehran would take an important step toward respect for human rights and would give his wife and children an unforgettable gift.
Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.
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Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/21/opinion/saberi-iran-religion/index.html

Baha’i Citizen Parisa Babaei Arrested

editor — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:30:15 +0000

[RAHANA, 6 Nov. 2011] She was arrested following a summons order to the Intelligence Ministry.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, the security forces appeared at her house and informed her that she has been summoned to Ghaemshahr Intelligence Ministry. She was detained and transferred to the Sari Intelligence Ministry.

He house had also been searched before her arrest.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=12198

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/45724

Arrest, Search and Interrogation of Baha’i Citizens in Northern Iran

editor — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:19:23 +0000

[RAHANA 23 Oct. 2011] The authorities searched the residences of many Baha’i citizens, interrogated and detained several of them.

The security forces searched the homes and workplaces of many Baha’i citizens and arrested several of them.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, the Baha’i citizens were searched and interrogated and several of them including Nadia Asadian, Shiva Kashaninejad and Sousan Badavam were detained.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=12113

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/45469

Shohreh’s story: How Iran violated a top student’s rights

editor — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:52:48 +0000

[BWNS 28 Sep. 2011] GENEVA — Like many young people the world over, Shohreh Rowhani grew up with high hopes of a good university education.

But now she has run up against a system which – while promising opportunity on the surface – is cruelly designed to block her and other young Iranians from ever getting a degree.

Ms. Rowhani is a Baha’i, and her experience is made all the more unjust by the fact that she is among Iran’s most gifted students; she ranked 151 in the country after passing the national university exam in her chosen field of languages. In other words, her result put her among the top 1% of candidates who took the exam.

Buoyed by her impressive grades, Ms. Rowhani – who comes from the northern Iranian city of Nowshahr – began the online process of selecting her courses. But when the results of those applications were listed, she discovered that her submission had been rejected as an “incomplete file.”

It is a phrase well known to young Baha’is. For several years now, the term has appeared frequently as one among several ruses crafted to prevent them from actually matriculating even if they pass the national university exams.

Undeterred, Ms. Rowhani courageously went to the regional office that oversees the examination process and asked officials to explain what was wrong.

“They told me that this has happened because you are a Baha’i,” she reported in a letter recently sent to several human rights organizations.

“Since you are a Baha’i you do not have the right to enter university,” she was told.

She decided to take her case to the next level, managing to get a meeting with the head of the admissions department.

When confronted, this official simply “expressed his regret for this matter and told me that there is nothing he can do,” said Ms. Rowhani. “He said there is no way out of this and even if you enter university you would be expelled after three or four terms.”

She asked him if the results would have been different if she had said she was a Muslim.

“He said it makes no difference, as they know you,” she wrote. “‘The ministry of intelligence has identified your family and all of the Baha’is already.’”

“They told me that I will not get any result, no matter who I might refer to,” she said.

The experience of Shohreh Rowhani is also a familiar story for thousands of Baha’is in Iran who are barred from higher education on religious grounds.

Even for the fortunate ones who might be offered a place, expulsion often follows during the course of their studies. In recent months, two students at the Isfahan University of Technology were prevented from registering for the next term, also for having “incomplete documents;” a Baha’i studying English literature was thrown out of the University of Kerman; a biomedical engineering student at the University of Sahand was dismissed; and a physics student at the University of Mazandaran was expelled after completing eight semesters on the honor roll and gaining admission to a Master’s program.

Three decades of exclusion

All kinds of methods have been used by Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to prevent Baha’is from attending university – firstly, by expelling them all, and then, imposing an outright ban on their accessing higher education.

In response to international condemnation, the Iranian government changed the rules in 2003, declaring that Baha’is could now take the examination. But when nearly a thousand Baha’is moved ahead in good faith, they encountered new barriers.

At first, exams were returned with “Islam” written in the religious affiliation slot – something unacceptable to Baha’is, who are taught by their faith to tell the truth at all times, especially about their religious beliefs.

So the government indicated that the word “Islam” referred only to the particular sub-test on religion that each applicant is required to take, allowing Baha’is in good conscience to apply for higher schooling. Then, in the mid-2000s, a number of Baha’is successfully entered various universities around the country – only to find that they were then often expelled soon after matriculation.

In March 2007, for example, the Reuters news agency reported that some 70 Baha’i students had been expelled that academic year from universities in Iran. In that report, an anonymous spokesperson for the Iranian Mission to the United Nations was quoted as saying in reply: “No one in Iran because of their religion has been expelled from studying.”

After another international outcry, Iran changed tactics again. Baha’is who took the exam began to find their results were simply being withheld. When they went to the national website to find out their scores, many received the message that they had “incomplete files” – leaving them in a bureaucratic limbo.

“Unjust and oppressive practices”

In an open letter sent last month to Iran’s minister for higher education, the Baha’i International Community called for an end to the “unjust and oppressive practices” that bar Baha’is and other young Iranians from university.

The letter also addressed the government’s crackdown on the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), an informal community initiative run by Baha’is to educate their youth who are barred from university. In May, government agents raided the homes of more than 30 individuals associated with the BIHE and arrested 14 of them. Seven educators have this week appeared in court. Dozens more, including students, have been called in for interrogation – all in an effort to close the project down.

“Such actions, as you know, have been conducted as a matter of official government policy and as part of a systematic campaign to eliminate the Baha’i community as a viable entity in your country,” said the open letter, addressed to Kamran Daneshjoo, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology.

For Shohreh Rowhani and her co-religionists, the fight for their right to education continues.

In her letter to human rights organizations she has expressed her desire that everyone should “know how senselessly my rights have been violated.”

Baha’i World News Service coverage of the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran

The Baha’i World News Service has published a Special Section which includes further articles and background information about Iran’s campaign to deny higher education to Baha’is. It contains news of latest developments, a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links.

Another Special Report offers articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha’i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing – and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i community.

The International Reaction page of the Baha’i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha’is of Iran.

The Media Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

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Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/853

Baha’i student Expelled from University

editor — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:54:12 +0000

[RAHANA 18 Sep. 2011] Ava Tavakoli, a student of Hormozgan University, has been expelled due to her Baha’i faith after 4 semesters.

Ava Tavakoli, a student of Hormozgan University and a Baha’i resident of Bandar-Abbas, has been expelled due to her faith after 4 semesters.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, she was verbally told that she has been expelled due to her faith by the officials of the University Admission Organization. The written letter will be sent to her college. She will not receive the expulsion document herself but her account for class registration will be deactivated.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11891

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/44451

Baha’i Citizen Vajih Nasheri Arrested

editor — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:13:22 +0000

Vajih Nasheri, Baha’i citizen and wife of Vajihollah Mirza-golpour who had been led around the city with shackles, has been arrested.

Baha’i resident of Sari Vajih Nasheri has been arrested by three Intelligence Ministry agents.

During the arrest, her husband Golpour who had previously been arrested, interrogated and led around the city with shackles, asked to accompany his sick wife but his request was denied.

Mrs. Golpour is 60 and is suffering from diseases such as stomach ache. Even though 8 days have passed since her arrest, her husband has been unable to transfer her medications to her.

He had been told that he has to wait a week for the indictment while according to law a prisoner must be indicted within 24 hours.

It looks like a case has been filed against her following the letter she wrote describing what her husband went through during his arrest.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11788

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/43678

Ten Month Prison Sentence Upheld for Shiraz Baha’i Citizens

editor — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:09:37 +0000

[RAHANA 21 Aug. 2011] The 10 month prison sentence for the Baha’i citizens who were arrested 2 years ago has been upheld by the appeals court.

Haleh Houshmandi, Kavous Zargham, Keivan Karami, Farham Masoumi, Vahdat Dana and Afshin Ahsanian are the Shiraz Baha’i citizens who were arrested in 2009 and were later released on bail after being held in the detention center of Shiraz Intelligence Ministry.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, the lower court sentenced them to 10 months in prison.

Recently, their lawyers were informed that the lower court’s verdict has been upheld by the appeals court. The summons order states that they have to appear at Shiraz Revolutionary Court in order to serve their sentence in the next 20 days.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11754

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/43529

Arrest of Samin Ehsani, Baha’i citizen living in Tehran

editor — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:34:09 +0000

[RAHANA, 19 Aug. 2011] Samin Ehsani, Baha’i citizen from the city of Tehran has been arrested.

According to reports by Human Rights House of Iran, Samin Ehsani was arrested when she went court to attend to her passport issues. Security agents raided and inspected her house after her arrest, and confiscated all of Samin’s personal belongings including her computer and all articles related to the Baha’i faith.

Samin Ehsani is now being held behind bars in Evin’s detention center.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11725

Article in Persian: http://www.rahana.org/archives/43400

Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani Denied Prison Furlough

editor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:09:03 +0000

(RAHANA 26 Jul 2011) Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani who is serving her prison sentence, has been denied furlough for the past 2 years.

Prison authorities have denied furlough and conditional release for Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Rezvani who is serving her sentence, has been in prison for the past 2 years without furlough.

The law states that a prisoner can request a prison leave after serving one-sixth of her sentence. Rezvani who has been in prison since 2008, has been denied furlough other than a short one she had at the beginning of her sentence.

The law also states that a person can be conditionally released after serving half her sentence. She has also been denied conditional release because her charge includes a “security” charge.

Rezvani was detained in 2008 and was imprisoned for 2 months without a court document. She was later sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison for anti-regime propaganda, founding the illegal group of Khademin(Servants)and membership in the group.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11579

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/42801

Three Baha’i Citizens Arrested in Mashhad and Isfahan

editor — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:28:15 +0000

(RAHANA 28 June 2011) Two Baha’i citizens have been arrested in Isfahan and one Baha’i citizen has been detained in Mashhad.

Following the recent arrests of Baha’i citizens, 2 people have been detained in Isfahan and one has been detained in Mashhad.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Ayeh Anvari and Farhood Eshtiyagh have been arrested in Isfahan and Sanaz Tafazzoli(Rouhi) has been detained in Mashhad.

Farhood Eshtiyagh had also been detained in February and had been released on bail.

The Intelligence authorities searched the residence of Ayeh Anvari while Ayeh and her husband were absent. The authorities broke the door and confiscated all her documents including the documents of her car and her house, the birth certificates, and her Baha’i related books. A summons order had been left at the house for Ayeh Anvari.

Sanaz Tafazzoli was detained while she has 2 young children and her husband has been sentenced to suspended imprisonment.

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Source: http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11414

Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/42100