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IMMEDIM'E RELEASE
March 12, 1979
NEWS RELEASE
A number of Bah '1 Holy Places, properties, and institutions were occupied
by armed men in various parts of Ir n in recent days. These actions
received the encouragement of the important religious leaders in Mashad,
Ayatollah Shirazi and Ayatollah Tabatabai-Qomj.
The ayatollahs declared that all Bahá'I centers should be occupied and
all documents confiscated. According to a statement published in the
March 6 issue of the daily newspaper, Etalaat , Ayatollah Qomi further
stated that Bahá'Is had “always been spies for the British, Russian,
American, and Israeli governments.”
The Bah 'Is fear that such inflammatory statements were designed to justify
further harassment of Bah 'I communities and the occupation of all Bahá'I
institutions.
In Mashad alone, the local Bah 'i center was occupied, and t ienty—eight
Bahá'I homes were raided by armed men claiming to be from the Revolutionary
Committee. Books and other properties were also rerroved from these places.
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The incident in Mashad added to the occupation of Bah 'I Holy Places in
Ir n, including the house in which Bahá'u'1l h, Founder of the Bahá'I
Faith, was born. The publishing offices at the Bahá'I National Center,
as well as the local Bah 'I center in Tehran, have also been closed and
sealed; books and documents were removed from these places by armed men.
The house of Bah 'u'lláh in Takur, the house of Hujjat in Zanjan, and
the house of Qudd Is in Babul -- all holy places for the Bahá'Is -- have
also been occupied.
The occupation of Bah 'I institutions and properties is the latest in a
series of distressing developments affecting the Ir nian Bahá'i community
over the last several months. For example, during the month of December,
organized mobs attacked Bahá'is -- and their properties -— in Shiraz and
its environs. As a result of these attacks, over 450 homes were looted,
burned, or otherwise destroyed. In those events, fifteen Bahá'Is were
wounded and two were killed.
The spirit of agressive animosity towards the Bah 'Is spread to several
centers throughout the province of Fars, including the town of Marvdasht,
where 31 Bahá'I homes were looted, and the imposing structure of the
Bahá'I center was razed to the ground.
Following these events, the wave of persecution spread to the north of
the country. In several towns and villages of Azerbaijan, and particu-
larly in Miandowab, the onslaught was severe. In the latter town, the
first target was the local Bahá'I center, which was totally destroyed,
and this was followed by the burning or looting of 80 homes and the
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brutal murder of two Bahá'Is, a father and his son, whose bodies were
then dragged through the streets, cut in pieces, and consigned to the
flames.
The organization of these violent assaults on Bah 'I lives and proper-
ties has emboldened and incited hooligans all over the country, and the
oppressed Bah 'Is are constantly under the threat of mass agression
and assault. These acts of hostility against the Bahá'Is have so far
cost four lives and the displacement of some 700 individuals who have
become homeless, as well as millions of dollars in loss of properties.
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For more information call Victor de Araujo at (212) 867—2930
