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BAI-Lkf INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
886 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA • NEW YORK, N.Y. 100 1?'.U.S.A.
Cable; L'.MAINTCQM NEWYORK - Telex: 666363 BICNY
(212) 486-0360
Representative
to the United Nations
Dr. Victor de Araujo
Arternate Representative
Mr. Gerald Knight
IRANIAN GOVER}ThfENT_INTRODUCES NEW SCHENE TO TRY TO FORCE BAHA'IS
TO SIGN THEIR OWN DEATH WARRANTS
Move follows statement at UN General Assembly that Iran
will not observe provisions of Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
citad Nations, 3 January 1985
In a new mo a against the beie.agured Bah 'I religious minority, the
gov2rnnant of the Islamic Republic of Iran is insisting that, as a
ccndition of their release, Bahá'i detainees must sign a statement
adnicting that they are members of an espionage organization and
a rcain, that they will he guilty of a capital offence if any article
relating to the Bahg'i Faith is found on their person or in their home.
The text of the statement is as follows:
the undersigned, [ details of personal status, including
religion] undertake not to have in my possession any book,
pamphlet, docutr .ent, symbol or picture of the misguided, Zionist,
espionage group of Bahg'is. If any of the above—mentioned
articles belonging to this hated underground movement is found on
iy person or it t my home, this will be tantamnunt to my being of
Accredited in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
Associated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI)
BP0001O 2
Iranian government introduces new scheme to try to page 2
force Bahá'Is to sign their own death warrants
those ‘who war against God' and the Attorney—General would be free
to decide against me in the manner he deems fit.”
Bahé'I prisoners are refusing to sign this undertaking, which not only
misrepresents the BaM'i Faith but which would also leave them open to
having Bahá'I materials (copious quantities of which have been
confiscated by the authorities) planted on their persons or in their
homes as evidence that they are persons who “war against God”.
The significance of this terminology resides in the fact that it is used
by the present régime in Iran to signify a crime deserving of death.
Indeed, a number of Bahá'Is have already been executed in Iran on the
charge of warring against God simply because of their membership in the
Bah 'I community.
Iran's Ambassador to UN asserts Iran will not observe provisions of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
To sentence a person to death on a charge such as this is to ignore all
the norms of international human rights law. This fact, however, does
not deter the Government of Iran from pursuing its policies of religious
oppression.
As recorded in the official Summary Records of the 65th meeting of the
Third Committee of the 39th General Assembly on 7 December 1984, Said
Rajaie—Khorassani, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of
Iran to the United Nations, stated that “The Universal Declaration of
Iranian government introduces new scheme to try to page 3
force Bahá'Is to sign their owiideath warrants
Human Rights, which represented secular understanding of the
Judaeo—Christian tradition, could not be implemented by Muslims and did
not accord with the system of values recognized by the Islamic Republic
of Iran; his country would therefore not hesitate to violate its
provisions, since it had to choose between violating the divine law of
the country and violating secular conventions.”
In pursuing its campaign of religious persecution against the 300,000
strong BaM'I minority, the Iranian Government is flagrantly violating
all the “secular conventions” accepted by the international community in
the field of human rights.
Background to the situation of the Bah 'i minority in Iran
The persecution of Iran's 300,000—strong Bah '1 minority is motivated by
fanatical religious prejudice. Although the Bahi'I Faith, which was
founded in Iran in 1844, is often mistakenly described as a sect of
Islam, it is in fact an independent world religion with its own
Prophet—Founder, Scriptures and Teachings. Iran's fundamentalist
religious leaders are unwilling to toleratethe existence of any
religion that appeared after Islam and are conducting a ruthless
campaign to eradicate the Bah 'f community and destroy all traces of the
Bah 'I Faith in the land of its birth.
Since the start of the Islamic Revolution, 138 Bahá'Is have been
summarily executed, 12 have diedin prison, 5 have been assassinated, 22
have been beaten, stoned or burned to death by fanatical mobs and 14
I ;
Iranian government introduces new scheme to try to page 4
force Bah 'Is to sign their own death warrants
have disappeared without trace and are presumed dead — a total of 191
Bah '1s who have died solely because of their religious beliefs.
Thousands of Bah 'Is have been deprived of their jobs, homes and
possessions, and BaM'I children are denied education unless they are
willing to recant their faith. All Bah 'I holy places and community
properties in Iran have been confiscated arid, in many cases, destroyed
and the financial assets of the community have been appropriated by the
authorities.
Over 750 Bahá'Is, including women and children, are currently being
held without charges in Iranian prisons. Many are being barbarically
tortured to try to force them to confess to false charges of espionage —
the very charges which Bahá'i prisoners would be tacitly admitting if
they agreed to sign the government's new prison—release document.
UN Special Representative to investigate human rights violations in Iran
The treatment of Iran's Bahá'I minority is one of the matters that will
come under the scrutiny of Mr. Andr s Aguilar of Venezuela, whose
appointment as Special Representative on Iran was announced on 19
October 1984 by Peter H. Kooijnians, Chairman of the UN Commission on
Human Rights. Mr. Aguilar, a former Minister of Justice of Venezuela,
is currently a member of the Human Rights Committee (an organ
established under the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights) and also a member of the Inter—American Commission on Human
Rights.
Iranian government introduces new scheme to try to page 5
force Bahi'Is to sign their own death warrants
The mandate of the Special Representative is “to establish contacts with
the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to make a thorough
study of the human rights situation in that country .“
For further information: Gerald Knight
Bahi'i International Community
866 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 486—0560 (office)
(914) 997—7571 (home)
