The following report was posted on Iran Press News on Thursday, March 12, 2009:
Following recent activities against the Baha’i citizens of Semnan, a Baha’i youth of 24 years age by the name of Pooya Tebyanian was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence at his place of work on March 9 at 3 p.m.
So far, he has been granted only one telephone call with his family.
It should be noted that this person has held no position in any of the organizing bodies of the Baha’is of Semnan [all now dissolved on the initiative of the Baha’i community of Iran].
Therefore, considering that such hostilities as widespread raids on Baha’i homes, the arrest of Baha’is, destruction and arson of Baha’i cemeteries, as well as attacks on Baha’i residences with explosives, paint a most troubling and worrisome picture, this illustrates that their harassment, persecution, imprisonment and maltreatment is continuing unabated.
Furthermore, reliable sources have informed Iran Press Watch:
- Despite the fact that Mr. Behfar Khanjani had business and commercial licenses, on Monday, March 9, 2009, his shop was shut and sealed.
- Mr. Afshin Iqani’s store was attacked and half of his merchandize confiscated.
- Warrants for the arrest of another Baha’i youth has been issued (name withheld).
- Temporary leaves of 3 Baha’i prisoners were cancelled. These were: Mr. Nurani, Mr. Fanaian and Mr. Eskandarian.
[Source for Iran Press News report: http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/056006.htm. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]
March 18, 2009 6:23 am
I am an American Indian from a very ancient and proud people, the Choctaw
tribe, who have had to weather many centuries of bitter storms in order to
survive, with various over-lords and colonial powers including the Spanish, the
French.and the British. We’ve had to become a spiritual people who had to work very hard to stop all British and other European attempts to
colonize us. So I hope more people will work hard and pray that Iran will stop the madness and begin to accept the Baha’is as the peace-loving people that they truly are. I deeply admire the Iranian Baha’is and I am assigning all my 400-some anthropology students eacb term to do research papers on these momentous days and these deeply spiritually advanced peoples and admirable descendants of the Dawn-Breakers. I pray for these deeply beloved Iranian long-suffering peoples all the powerful and spitual moving stories of sacrifice desplayed by Persian
Baha’is today. May my life be a sacrifice to brkng hem relief. Dr. Don Addison (Choctaw believer in Baha’u’llah.)