Human Right NGO Urges Iranian Authorities to End All Forms of Persecution of Its Baha’i Citizens

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) A Delhi-based human rights organisation has urged Iranian authorities to end all forms of persecution of its Baha’i citizens, according to an official statement issued on Saturday.

The Baha’i community in Iran has been the target of a systematic campaign of persecution by the government of Islamic Republic of Iran since 1979, it said.

“Since then, over 200 Iranian Bahá’ís have been executed or murdered, thousands have been arrested, detained and interrogated, and tens of thousands more have been deprived of jobs, pensions, and educational opportunities,” said the statement issued by the International Human Rights Organization (IHRO).

The NGO claims to fight for injustices, inequalities and prejudices in society while promoting world peace; opposing racial and religious discrimination and economic exploitation.

In 2010, some individuals demolished 50 Bahá’í houses in Ivel, it said, adding that the majority of the lands belonging to the Baha’is have been confiscated.

Baha’i faith is a world independent religion that believes in oneness of God, oneness of mankind and oneness of all the religions, said the statement.

They have established the iconic Lotus Temple in New Delhi that is the symbol of social integration and religious unity, the NGO said.

It has approximately 2 million followers in India and over 5 million all over the world, according to the statement.

The recent developments in Iran against the Baha’i community have invited the serious concern of various governments all over the world who have issued statements, the US, Australia, Canada, Germany to name a few, it said.

“We urge the Iranian authorities to take affirmative steps to give back the property of the Baha’is of Ivel and end all forms of persecution of its Baha’i citizens,” said the statement proposed by senior advocate of Supreme Court of India Dr G V Rao, among others.

On Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary which is observed as Martyrs’ Day as the Father of the Nation sacrificed his life for peace, amity and brotherhood among humankind, “we make this appeal to the Iranian government and the United Nations to ensure elimination of religious prejudice and that justice be done,” said the statement seconded by IHRO chairman Nem Singh Premi and others.

Gandhi was shot dead on this day in 1948. PTI AKV RHL