"Baha'i Question" cited at European Parliament human rights hearing

31 May 2011

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Victims of religious intolerance are not just people deprived of the right to practice their faith – they suffer abuses in every aspect of their daily lives.

This observation was made at a hearing held before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights.

Penelope Faulkner – a member of the European Platform on Religious Discrimination and Intolerance (EPRID) – highlighted the degree to which freedom of religion or belief is threatened around the world.

It is a "massive problem," said Ms. Faulkner. "Especially in countries where the state...incites hatred, religious minorities are defenceless.

"They lose their rights, their livelihood and, in many cases, their lives."

"This is the case of the Baha'i in Iran where the authorities implement a systematic plan to deal with what they call the 'Baha'i Question' – with specific directives to block access to education, confiscate property, deny employment and deny citizenship rights to anyone known to be Baha'i," said Ms. Faulkner.

Her comments came just days after some 16 individuals were arrested in Iran for trying to operate an informal university to provide education to Baha'is who have been barred from higher education by the government. See http://news.bahai.org/story/827.

Ms. Faulkner also noted that recent research has found that 70% of the world's population is living in places where religious freedom is restricted or abused.

"It is in every continent, every community, including Europe. The devastating toll of the human suffering in recent months shows that EU policies in this area are not only needed but much overdue," she said.

"Human beings are responsible"

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, told the hearing that he sees such violations on a daily basis.

"And what shocks me most is the degree of hatred against religious minorities between communities – hatred often nourished by a paradoxical combination of fear sometimes bordering paranoia and contempt," said Professor Bielefeldt.

But such hatreds can be overcome, he said.

"After all, it is human beings who are responsible, human beings who also can change, groups of human beings who can also evolve in their conviction. This is something we must always take into account."

Professor Bielefeldt told the hearing – held on 26 May – that freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, which must be also interpreted to encompass the broadest interpretation of religion.

"You see lots of countries in various regions of the world that promise freedom of religion or belief in their constitution then say, 'O.K. There are three options – you can be Jewish, Christian, Muslim. Period.'

"Sometimes it's five options. Sometimes it's six options. Sometimes it's no religions. But the starting point – if you really stick to the universalistic nature of human rights – must be the dignity of human beings and their self-understanding.

"If you know human beings, their self-understanding is very, very, very diverse," he said.

But, Professor Bielefeldt noted, the United Nations treaties concerning the issue clearly state that freedom of religion or belief "protects theistic, non-theistic, atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief...This is the universalistic spirit, and not only spirit but also letter of human rights and freedom of religion. And this is really under threat."

A broader context

Also on the panel was the Baha'i International Community's representative to the European Union, Sarah Vader. She suggested that freedom of religion or belief should be considered in a "broader context of democracy and human rights protection."

"The EU should pay particular attention to being inclusive and fair, enabling the participation of all – including those more vulnerable groups such as women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities," said Ms. Vader, who was also speaking on behalf of EPRID, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in support of freedom of religion or belief of which the Baha'i International Community is a member.

"In relation to the EU's future policy on freedom of religion or belief, it is necessary for the process to be open, transparent and inclusive, and find a way of involving civil society at different levels, whether it be here in Brussels or at the level of capitals and delegations at the EU," she said.

Ms. Vader offered a series of recommendations by which the EU could improve its overall monitoring and approach to freedom of religion or belief, such as by establishing a special envoy for religious freedom and preparing an annual report on the progress worldwide made towards freedom of religion or belief.

Special Report

The Baha'i World News Service has published a Special Report which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links.

The International Reaction page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran.

The Media Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

GENEVA, 22 May 2011 (BWNS) – A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha'is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education programme for young members who are barred from university.

Initial reports indicate that raids took place yesterday on houses in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. As many as 30 people may already have been arrested.

"All of the targets were homes of individuals closely involved with the operations of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was established in 1987 as a community initiative to meet the educational needs of young Baha'is who have been systematically denied access to higher education by the Iranian government. The BIHE has been described by the New York Times as "an elaborate act of communal self-preservation."

"The Institute has been a remarkably creative – and entirely non-violent – response to the Iranian government's ongoing effort to stifle the normal human development of the Baha'i community," said Ms. Ala'i.

"The Iranian authorities – not content with debarring Baha'is from university solely on account of their religious beliefs – are now cruelly seeking to shut down the community's efforts to provide its youth with higher education through alternative means.

"The government's actions are utterly unjustifiable," said Ms. Ala'i.

This is not the first time that the BIHE has come under attack from Iranian authorities. One of the biggest blows was a series of sweeping raids carried out in 1998 during which some 36 members of the BIHE's faculty and staff were arrested, and much of its equipment and records – located in more than 500 homes – was taken. Other actions against the operations of BIHE were carried out in 2001 and 2002.

These attacks – and Iran's general policy prohibiting young Baha'is from entering higher education – have been met with strong condemnation by governments, academics, UN agencies, civil society organizations and others.

Among the numerous actions taken, university professors and chaplains around the world have sent letters of protest to the UN Secretary-General and the leaders of Iran; in 2006, the president of Princeton university in the United States raised the matter with the Iranian representative to the UN; Spain's House of Deputies has passed a strongly-worded resolution on the situation; Wolfson College, Oxford, also voted through a resolution in November 2007, as did the University of Winnipeg in Canada.

"These latest raids appear to be another concerted attempt to attack the BIHE, which the authorities have long sought to do," said Diane Ala'i.

"We are calling upon governments and educational organizations throughout the world to register with the government of Iran their strong disapproval of its systematic, ongoing efforts to deny to young Baha'is their fundamental human right to access higher education."





To read the article online and access links, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/825

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/

Three years on, Iran's imprisoned Baha'i leaders symbolize the oppression of a nation


GENEVA, 16 May 2011 (BWNS) – The injustice being faced by countless citizens of Iran has been highlighted around the world, as supporters marked three years since the arrest of the country's imprisoned Baha'i leaders.

In a message dated 14 May, addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of Iran, the jailed leaders were referred to as true prisoners of conscience. The letter also spoke of the numerous Iranian men and women who have accepted to face hardship for the sake of defending their freedom and human rights.

Their plight was recalled at special gatherings, which included a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.; a service at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia; and prayer meetings, held in numerous places of worship throughout the Netherlands.


Reception in Washington D.C.

In the United States, some 300 congressional staff, representatives from human rights groups, media personnel and community members, attended a meeting at Washington's Hart Senate Office building on 12 May, while a worldwide audience logged on to a live webcast of the event.

The event was hosted by U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, who spoke about a resolution he recently introduced condemning the persecution of the Baha'is.

"I have been very focused on the condition of Baha'is in Iran," said Senator Kirk. "Especially thinking about the seven Baha'i leaders, I think we need to begin to memorize their names.

"They are serving 20 years in prison on baseless charges and I am here today, as I have been for many months now, showing my support from them, and more importantly introducing their individual names to the American people," said Senator Kirk, who recited aloud the names of the seven prisoners to the audience.

They are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They were formerly members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of the country's 300,000-strong Baha'i community.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kathleen Fitzpatrick told the reception that, while democratic evolution, change and reform is under way in the Middle East, "the Iranian authorities continue to use the brutal tactics of repressing their citizens, even as at times they applaud protestors in other areas..."

"Baha'i and other religious minorities...continue to be subject to arbitrary arrest, persecution and unjust sentences," said Ms. Fitzpatrick. "These circumstances typify not only the life of religious minorities in Iran but also of all Iranians and reflect the oppression that has engulfed the nation at the hands of its leaders."

In his remarks, Kenneth E. Bowers – Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States – noted that those "languishing in Iranian prisons" include not only Baha'is but "lawyers who do nothing more than represent their clients, journalists attempting to ensure that the public receives accurate information, and others such as students and bloggers who express views that the regime does not see as supportive of their policies."

In other speeches, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm praised the resilience of the Iranian Baha'i community; actor Eva LaRue shared stories about the two women in the group; and Iraj Kamalabadi, brother of Fariba Kamalabadi, delivered closing remarks.

Grammy-award winning musician KC Porter performed a new song, titled "Yaran", which he composed after learning about the prison conditions and the overwhelming evidence of the Baha'i leaders' innocence.


Events in Australia and the Netherlands

More than 500 people also observed the third anniversary at a special interfaith service on the theme of justice, held yesterday at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia. Among the special guests in attendance was the convener of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations, Professor Abd Malak, an Egyptian Coptic Christian.

The Australian government among many others has been active and vocal in their support of the seven Baha'i leaders – and human rights in Iran more broadly – said Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, Director of the Australian Baha'i community's Office of External Affairs.

"It's important that we, as the public, continue to voice our concern, so that the Iranian government knows that the world is watching," she told a reception held in the House of Worship's information centre.

Also in attendance was Mehrzad Mumtahan, a nephew of Saeid Rezaei, who spoke of the hope the prisoners feel, knowing that total strangers are thinking of them.

In the Netherlands, 24-hour vigils and other prayer gatherings were held throughout the country to mark the anniversary. In Amsterdam, special prayers were said at the Roman Catholic Salvator church. At the city's Russian Orthodox church, the names of the seven prisoners – as well as Christian and Jewish victims of religious persecution in Iran – were read aloud.

A Protestant church in Veldhoven, the Sisters of Charity congregations in Hertme and Eindhoven, and the Hindu Shree Raam mandir in Wychen, also joined the commemoration. In Utrecht and the Hague, prayers were said in Jewish synagogues.

"I stay connected in prayer with those brave ones," said Awraham Soetendorp, Rabbi of the Reform Jewish community of the Hague. "May all the prayers together open the door to freedom."

The human rights group, United4Iran, launched a poster campaign drawing attention to the fact that by 14 May, the seven suffered 7,734 days in prison. The campaign calls upon supporters to make their own posters indicating the number of days of imprisonment, or to take a picture or video holding a pre-prepared poster.

Further events marking the anniversary are being planned around the world, including a "Solidarity Concert" in New Delhi, India, this Thursday.




To read the article online and view photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/823

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/

Total Moral Victory Today in the World's Worst Prison

Dearest Family and Friends:

 

The following is a vivid testimony to the ultimate moral, mental, and spiritual integrity, dignity, and destiny of the Baha'is and indeed of the entire human race:

 

Ever since the most unjust and indignified imprisonment some three years ago, without a single crime, of the most innocent, the pure, and the saintly Baha'i Leaders in Iran called Yaran, and their subsequent transfer from the Evin Prison to the most backward and unusually harsh prison of Rajaei Shahr where some 5000 topmost killers, drug dealers, and others are kept in clusters under sub-human conditions, despite the lack of food, toilet, sanitation, and basic subsistence conditions, despite the dirt, filth, and illness, in pitiful conditions themselves, the two saint ladies Mahvash and Fariba, as with the other five in the men's quarters, have managed to support and uplift the minds and hearts of their fellow pitiful prisoners by giving them their relentless and genuine loving support to the poorer, the more needy, and the more frail fellow prisoners, seeing no evil in any soul, finding and nurturing dignity even in such a man-forsaken hell, and by such genuine constant manifestations of loving kindness have now won, as a manifestation of human moral triumph, the hearts and minds and the respect of these same so-called "criminal" fellow prisoners despite the initially existing dangers to their own very lives! 

 

Over the months, whenever by the only good modern day miracle of cell phone in the prison yard it was made possible for me to hear several times from Fariba herself, and on the one occasion when I got the chance and was so blessed to visit the two most precious ladies via Divine Destiny for one hour myself, as well as from other family members and even directly from prison guard, I heard myself how miraculously the dangerous killers and criminals had been overwhelmingly moved and transformed by the vivifying souls of these two saintly Ladies.

 

One can recall the moving poem by Mahvash which shook the world, who, amidst the extreme pains of her own, backed against the withered single pomegranate tree in the prison yard, contemplates how the entire burden of these soul-and-body tortured fellow prisoners and indeed all the down-trodden suffering women of the World are now on her shoulder. 

 

I am still amazed how for the entire three years during the rare occasions she could talk on the phone at various times, I never heard Fariba's voice even once tremble slightly except for joy, with full faith, complete optimism, and total jubilation, as if walking in the highest Paradise all these long suffering days and months and years.

 

I still recall the moving sharing lessons of Fariba relaying to me how she had found the single remaining spot of beauty and purity in each and all of these worldly despised and abandoned souls.  I remember when she described to me the miracle account of how the most feared gang leader of the prison mafia, despite the huge body, knife-cut and broken face and other fearsome features, shun by all other killers and criminals, had been so moved by our twin spiritual heronies over time that she had on one occasions when Fariba had to pass a toilet dirt mud which had become watery sludge after rain, with their prison-customary slippers, she saw Fariba from far and told her from the distance "Please wait, please wait, may your holy feet not be touched and smeared by these dirts", then, throwing her own slippers bode and insisted Fariba to kindly step on her slippers and pass by the place lest she be mired.  No such things happen in any deadly criminal prison anywhere in the world in any way similar to this Rajaei Shahar, where only for the mere sake of prolonging an already issued death sentence with formalities paperwork procedures, often the killer kills one more unfortunate and helpless person often at random in the prison, days prior to the execution.

 

I remember how once Fariba was so overjoyed to tell me how one of her friends, where a few had died mercilessly by swine flu and cast and treated like swines by prison authorities, had first completely given up strong drug addiction, only to replace it with super heavy cigarette addiction, then, by their loving care of our two Baha'i Ladies, day by day she had been reducing to the last one cigarette per day.  Fariba told me how that day, just a month ago, Fariba hugged that lady, and rather than insisting or requesting her to give up the final cigarette, only told here gently how much she loved her and was proud of her that despite her years of bad luck in life turning her into a despised criminal, she had obtained the positive hope, the will power, and the supreme determination to accomplish what so many others in the free world had failed despite all facilities and support.  Fariba told me how the lady, now a close friend, threw to the ground immediately the last final cigarette, crushed it with her heels, and, cried and said: Today I finally give up this addiction for the sake of love of you, as I feel and know that some day I shall visit you in your home and tell you and show you the effect of the loving transformation you have created in me and our other fellow prison mates!

 

This is how a candle can shine like the torch, nay as the mid-day Sun, in the darkness of desolation, pessimism and hopelessness, and selfishness that has overshadowed the human society. 

 

Now, I just spoke to Fariba few hours ago on the phone who called from the Rajaei Shahr Prison.

 

For your information, as the latest news, by tomorrow the two most precious ladies, and the crowning pride of future human civilization will be transferred to the worst section of the Prison entitled "The Under-Ground Dungeon for the Worst of the Villains and Criminals".

 

This latest panic move by a remorsely helpless oppressor signifies an entirely unparalled scenario in the World History ever even to the present date; that is, for the holy and saintly riligious prisoners of conscience to be one more tier exiled from the already terrible exiled Prison allocated for the worst of criminals, killers, and drug addicts to the lower degree underground dungeon for the most dangerous criminals amongst them, just becasue these two already grossly-wronged innocent Saint Lady Prisoners, while in the prison under sub-human conditions, have by their most pure love and consistent un-conditional tireless and selfless caring actions have transformed the prison-hell into a moral and spiritual Paradise, by moving the souls, changing the hearts, educating the minds and rectifying the conducts of the worst criminals, killers, and drug addicts to such a degree as to empower on the one hand many to give up their severe drug addictions simply on their own free will and by natural encouragement they so lovingly received rather than by persuation and without the need to appeal to any medicine or doctors or tools while against all odds in such deprived hell-prison, and on the other hand enable most others to repent and wash their hands and hearts away from all crimes, purely through the power of real love and by the intense natural free persuation of mind and transformation of heart solely affected via the dynamic power of example of the Twin Tahirih's of the Time!

 

Fariba said today on the phone that despite the repeated public prison loudspeaker announcements and stern warnings for all prisoners to stay and shun away and do not associate with the Baha'i prisoners, groups and groups of prison ladies thronged and gathered around their cell these past three days, with tearful eyes and warm hugging arms and in a unified supreme show of moral support and expressions of reciprocal love and as spontaneous sign of total unified allegience of all prisoners to the Two Saint Ladies whom they have grown to know as Angels from Heaven stationed in this human hell of a notoriously fanatic and repressive unhumane Regime. 

 

Just hours ago, Fariba in most happy tone of voice told me that one of the miracles of the Supreme Manifestation of God, Baha'u'llah, is that to the degree He gives His loved ones sufferings for the sake of the mental and moral and spiritual education and upliftment of humanity in this dark age of the transition to the collective maturity of the entire human race, to a multiple degree of that He also bestows upon them true felicity, joy, and jubilation; and that how truly happy she is that she is going down to the underground dungeon, with no fear nor a bit concern for imminent interrogations and torture. 

 

This, reminded me vividly of her hand-written letter to me some thirty years back, in 1982 or 1983, posted from Babolsar to Boston, when our dearly beloved martyrs had just ascended to the Abha Kingdom, how she wished to be like the example of the root of the Cause of God, that Divine Tree which is neither of the East nor of the West, whose roots are firm in the earth (dark, cold, wet, lowly soil of the earth as she described), so that its branches and fruits, us, the Baha'is and all the people of good will in the outside world, can overshadow and benefit the entire human kind.

 

What a sublime drama in the human history. 

 

Speechless in awe and admiration, I remain.

 

Ya Baha'u'l - Abha!

(Oh Thou The Most Glorious Glory!)

 

Farzam

Arsonists threaten reprisals if Baha'is befriend Muslims


GENEVA, 16 January 2011 (BWNS) – A recent wave of arson attacks on Baha'i-owned businesses in Rafsanjan, Iran, appears to be part of a campaign to fracture relationships between Baha'is and Muslims in the city.

After around a dozen attacks on shops – carried out since 25 October 2010 – some 20 Baha'i homes and businesses have been sent a warning letter addressed to "members of the misguided Bahaist sect."

The anonymous document demands that Baha'is sign an undertaking to "refrain from forming contacts or friendships with Muslims" and from "using or hiring Muslim trainees." The Baha’is are also told not to teach their Faith, including on the Internet.

Should the conditions be accepted by the recipients, the letter states, "we will guarantee not to wage any attack on your life and properties."

"For more than two months now, innocent Baha'is have been having their businesses fire-bombed," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "Some of them have suffered more than one arson attack on their properties."

"Now, in addition to their livelihoods, their very lives are being threatened unless they promise to isolate themselves from their friends and neighbours," she said.

"What are the perpetrators of such attacks and threats hoping to achieve?" asked Ms. Ala'i. "All it demonstrates for the whole world to see is the religiously motivated hatred being fomented by certain elements in Iranian society."

Ms. Ala'i noted that Baha'is have approached local authorities asking for an investigation. "But nothing has been done," she said.

"Unbelievably, they've even been accused by some of starting the fires themselves, under instruction from foreign governments."

The attackers have particularly targeted household furniture repair businesses, home appliance and optical stores owned by Baha'is.

On 15 November, for example, fires were started in two appliance sales and repair shops, causing damage that exceeded tens of thousands of US dollars. One of the shopkeepers subsequently rented a neighboring property to continue his trade and installed a security door. One month later, despite the precautions, attackers managed to force an explosive substance into the shop through a hole they made in the roof, resulting in a blast that blew the door five meters into the air and shattered windows.

Most recently, on 2 January, another repair shop was set ablaze when a hose pumped a flammable liquid past metal sheets the owner had installed for protection.

A newsletter published by a Muslim cultural foundation in Rafsanjan stated that the attacks have been provoked by the fact that some trades have been "monopolized" by Baha'is in the city. A Muslim-owned coffee shop was also set ablaze after the newsletter mistakenly identified it as Baha'i-owned.

"Economic pressure on Iran's Baha'i community is already acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha'is," said Diane Ala'i.

"These attacks and threats are yet another, particularly vicious form of persecution against ordinary citizens who are simply trying to earn their living and practice their faith."

On 21 December, the United Nations confirmed a resolution that expressed "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations" in Iran. The resolution specifically condemned Iran's discrimination against minorities, including members of the Baha'i Faith.



To read the article online and view photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/805

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/

Baha'is in Iran are Easily Forgotten

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Read More: Baha'i , Bahai Faith , Discrimination In Iran , Human Rights , Iran , Iran Politics , Iran Religion ,Iranian , Islam , Religious Minorities In Iran , Wikileaks , Women's Rights , Religion News

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Wikileaks has revealed government and diplomatic violations of the truth while paradoxically keeping their own sources secret. In the process, editor in chief and whistleblower Julian Assange has become a hero for human rights defenders. Sadly, the intense publicity surrounding Wikileaks diverts attention from serious injustice and continuing human rights violations, some already on the back burner and badly neglected. A good example is the state-sponsored persecution of Baha'is in Iran.

The 300,000-strong Baha'i community, the largest religious minority in Iran, represents less than 1% of the population. Over the past 30 years, they have suffered torture and execution. They have been denied tertiary education and government jobs, their shops and properties are often seized, cemeteries desecrated and children harassed at school. In addition, Bahai's are facing stepped-up persecution and have been falsely blamed for organizing and inciting anti-government protests although they abstain from partisan political activity on religious principles. Charges against them include espionage, "propaganda activities against the Islamic order" and "corruption on earth," the latter a capital offence. Baha'i communities around the world insist these charges are spurious and part of a campaign to scapegoat members of the faith.

During the Shah's era, Baha'is strove for education and became successful and prominent, creating envy and suspicion, and although police sometimes protected them against Islamic extremists, they were victims of periodic outbreaks of violence.

A major source of ideological friction with Islam is the doctrine of a hierarchy of traditions that subsumes previous ones. According to Baha'is, the Prophet Mohammad was not the last prophet but one in a progressive line, and the next one is not due for a thousand years!

Women's rights are central to Baha'i teaching and in stark contrast to the discriminatory sharia laws implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran. These rights include full support for the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

There are numerous documented stories of violent arrests and incarcerations in the hundreds of prisons situated in basements of houses in Tehran.

Rozita Vasseghi is a Baha'i prisoner. In Kafkaesque fashion, a man claiming to be a 'postman' arrested her three years ago after a knock on the door, and during repeated interrogations while blindfolded, her captors threatened her with death. Throughout her ordeal, she was denied a lawyer. Following release from prison, she found a job but government authorities exerted pressure on her employers to have her fired. A few years later, she was arrested at her home, and for the next six months, found herself in solitary confinement. Her elderly mother, who was allowed visits of only five minutes, was horrified by her wasted appearance. Accused of insulting Islam, acting against national security and teaching the Baha'i religion, she is serving a five-year sentence.

Rozita's sister Rosa, suffered multiple incarcerations before escaping Iran. She was on her way home in a shared public taxi when the driver asked about her religion. Discovering she was a Baha'i, he stopped and made a phone call. A car with several people soon showed up, the women fully covered in chadors. Rosa was blindfolded and forced into the vehicle and when they reached their destination, she was thrown onto the pavement, her hands were tied and she was dragged down stairs to a room and beaten. Her captors repeatedly called her an infidel and declared her blood would be impure until she renounced her faith and converted to Islam. Over several years, she was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned.

As proponents of a religion originating from Islam, stamped by modernity, universal human rights and compatibility with many Western values, Baha'is are vulnerable targets for persecution by the Iranian theocracy. Baha'i women are doubly at risk, being female and Baha'i, and as victims of severe injustice, they deserve more outrage and support than Assange and Wikileaks.

Ida Lichter is the author of Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression, published by Prometheus Books, New York.