August 21, 2012 • By Michael Todd • No Comments and 8 Reactions For a country trying to swim upstream against a torrent of international approbation, Iran makes some intriguing choices that burnish its reputation. Last month…
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A dark picture of religious freedom in Iran
[BWNS 2 Aug 2012] WASHINGTON, D.C., United States — In a report released Monday, the United States painted a dark picture of religious freedom in Iran, documenting how the government there oppresses the followers of…
letter by Rayyan Hessami, Faran’s sisteR
The letter by Rayyan Hessami – Faran’s sister A week had passed, and Artin did not say his mom’s name even once. When I told him on the phone that I am coming from Shiraz…
Aziz Samandari jailed in Iran for 5 years
PRESS RELEASE Aziz Samandari jailed in Iran for 5 years – Accused of protecting Baha’i students’ right to higher education Geneva and New Delhi, 17 July 2012 – Aziz Samandari, a 40 year-old Baha’i IT…
HRANA: Demolition of dam and confiscation of livestock of Bahá'í farmers in Sangesar
HRANA, Human Rights Activists News Agency – The intelligence ministry of the province of Semnan has been putting pressure on the Bahá’í residents of Dazgareh-Afshar, a neighboring hamlet of Sangesar, over the past few months.…
Imprisoned Baha’i Refused Medical Leave After Surgery
66-year old Riaz Sobhani, currently in prison for financially assisting the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE), was refused medical leave after his recent heart surgery. His son, Naim Sobhani, told the International Campaign for…
Iran's calculus of terror includes Syrian response
[theglobeandmail.com, 5 June 2012] Payam Akhavan and Shirin Ebadi Published Tuesday, Jun. 05 2012, 2:00 AM EDT Last updated Wednesday, Jun. 06 2012, 2:18 PM EDT The massacre of 108 civilians in Houla on May 25 is…
Factory closures highlight economic strangulation of Iran's Baha'is
[BWNS, 14 June 2012] GENEVA — A recent intensification of attacks on Baha’i-owned businesses in Iran further demonstrates the Iranian authorities’ determination to suffocate the economic prospects of the Baha’is of that country, solely on account…
“My Father Was Charged With Helping The Baha’i University”
[iranhumanrights.org, 13 Oct. 2011] In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Naim Sobhani, son of Riaz Sobhani, an Iranian Baha’i imprisoned at Evin Prison for the past four months on the…
Children of Arrested Baha’is: “We Have No Recourse”
[iranhumnrights.org, 2 Nov. 2012] Following the sentencing of seven Baha’is associated with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, their families’ only hope is that the Appeals…
The Plight of Iran's Baha'is
[pbs.org 1 June 2012] by KAMIAR ALAEI * * Arash and Kamiar Alaei, physicians specializing in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, were found guilty in 2009 of “cooperating with an enemy government” and sentenced…
The Epic, Secret Struggle to Educate Iran’s Bahais
[chronicle.com, 13 May 2012] By Sohrab Ahmari The Salvadoran jurist Reynaldo Galindo Pohl died this year at age 93. A former education minister and president of El Salvador’s National Constitutional Assembly, Pohl spent much of…
Baha'is in Brampton host meeting
[bramptonguardian.com, 24 May 2012]A Brampton organization wants Canada to use diplomatic pressure on the Iranian government and help stop the systemic and relentless prosecution of Baha’is, a religious minority group.The Baha’is of Brampton will hold…
Letter from Bashir Ehsani, a Baha'i student at BIHE.
Dear IPW editor, I would like to draw your attention to a letter that my friend Bashir Ehsani wrote, upon my request to be read in our Education Under Fire Campaign in the Bay Area,…
The Bahá’í Threat to Iran’s National Security
[emadtalisman.com, 31 May 2012, by Emad Talisman] The Islamic Republic of Iran’s (IRI) nuclear ambitions have been the recent focus of both the popular news media and western foreign policy agendas; however, for a great…
17 NGOs Call on Iran to Uphold the Right to Education and Academic Freedom
[democracyinaction.org] Washington, D.C. – Today 17 non-governmental organizations published a joint statement calling upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold the right to education and immediately address the alarming state of academic freedom in…