The following report was posted on the online site of Human Rights Activists News Agency on Tuesday, September 29, 2009:
The automobile of a Baha’i resident of Semnan was vandalized multiple times by unknown assailants.
According to the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, in a continuation of persecutions and harassment of our Baha’i countrymen, particularly those residing in Semnan, at 10 PM on August 27, an individual or a group of assailants riding on a motorcycle broke the windows of Nezam Fanaian’s car and then dispersed.
During recent months, several times Mr. Fanaian’s vehicle has been attacked by unknown persons. Despite repeated appeals to the security and police agencies in Semnan by his family and other Baha’is about the consistent attacks and harassment of the Baha’is of that region, no action has been taken to prevent these episodes.
It should be noted that Mr. Fanaian’s wife is Sahba Rezvani, who has been imprisoned since last December, and is presently completing her 3-year jail term in Tehran’s Evin Prison.
[Posted on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, at: hra-news. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]
October 7, 2009 1:41 am
Most people are affected by the moral leadership of others, often the statements of those in ‘high’ positions. Police are certainly in great need of a moral example as they face a storm of confused actions every day and night. By calling them to their duties, the Baha’is in Semnan, reinforced by the purpose of God, remind them of the strength a human can have when not depending on others who are themselves under the influence of treacherous public opinions. No one knows what these seeds of courage may grow into in each heart.
October 7, 2009 11:03 am
One place on the map, Semnan, Iran, not known for its mathematics or music or literature or art or jurisprudence is known to the world for the courage of it’s Baha’is in the kindness of a few of their neighbors in the face of ignorance. I am sorry for the injustice Nezam Fanaian and his wife Sahba Rezvani have had to endure. They are known and loved.
October 7, 2009 3:43 pm
My great grandfather was murdered in Semnan in 1920 for his Baha’i Faith. Even though he was a Seyyed, the clergy thought him too influential to live. He was not allowed to be buried in the cemetary and was buried on a hill side outside of town. After 90 years nothin has changed in the mindset of these so called pious people. they pillage and murder in the name of God. Not long ago they bulldozed the Baha’i cemetary in Tehran where my grandfather and my little sister were buried. They war against the living and the dead. In what fashion has Islam elevated the mind and the society of Iran? In what way has it made them more noble?