PRESS RELEASE
(New Haven, Connecticut, December 1, 2008) This new report from the IHRDC examines the Islamic Republic’s persecution of its Bahá’í citizens since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The report complements two earlier publications, A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran (2006) and Community Under Siege: The Ordeal of the Bahá’ís of Shiraz (2007). It construct, based on the rule of law, a powerful and comprehensive indictment of Tehran’s deliberate and coordinated campaign to suffocate and ultimately destroy the Bahá’í community by removing all traces of its religion from public life, purging the Faith’s members from political and governmental posts and preventing Bahá’í participation in the country’s economic, social and cultural sectors.
The regime’s campaign of persecution has led to attacks on Bahá’ís throughout the country, and has included the targeting, unlawful arrest, prolonged detention, torture and extrajudicial killing of many adherents and leaders of the community. These attacks constitute crimes against humanity because they are directed against a civilian population, are widespread and systematic in their nature and implementation, and involve acts contrary to the principles of common humanity under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, customary law and international criminal law.
The Islamic Republic, and any individuals involved in the ordering, instigating, planning, aiding and abetting or commission of these killings must be held to account for their actions by all member states of the international community. It is the hope of the IHRDC that, at the very least, this report and its companions inform, educate and inspire victims, human rights advocates, government authorities and members of the public to remain steadfast in their pursuit to bring those responsible for these violations to justice.
A Crime Against Humanity: The Islamic Republic’s Attacks on the Bahá’ís is currently available in English on IHRDC’s website at http://www.iranhrdc.org. A Farsi version of the report will be released shortly.
For further information please contact: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (203) 772-2218 info@iranhrdc.org