US Baha'is Condemn Persecution Of Group In Iran
The Baha’i community of the United States has issued a condemnation of the ongoing persecution faced by the minority group in Iran.
The Baha’i community of the United States has issued a condemnation of the ongoing persecution faced by the minority group in Iran.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the community expressed its concern and anguish over the relentless oppression of the group of roughly 300,000 by the regime.
The focal point of the community's announcement is the unanimous passage of House Resolution 492 by the United States House of Representatives.
The crucial resolution, entitled Condemning the Government of Iran's State-Sponsored Persecution of the Baha’i Minority and Its Continued Violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, was introduced by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky [D-IL], supported by a bipartisan group of 28 cosponsors.
House Resolution 492 chronicles the sustained and egregious abuses suffered by the community in Iran since 1979, providing an irrefutable record of their persecution. The resolution emphatically calls on the regime of Iran to immediately cease its persecution of the Baha’is and denounces its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The community's statement also reveals alarming statistics about the recent surge in persecution, beginning in June last year. During this period, over 300 incidents of raids, arrests, arraignments, sentencings, property confiscations, and denials of higher education have been documented. The pattern of oppression continues unabated, with nearly 60 Baha’is arrested or imprisoned, 26 receiving sentences or jail terms, and 59 Baha’i-owned properties forcibly sealed by authorities.
