Statement calling on Iranian authorities to stop its systematic persecution of the Baha’is

The European Parliament’s Vice President, Heidi Hautala, together with other EP members, has signed a joint statement calling on the Iranian authorities to:

“cease the baseless accusations against Baha’is, to acquit them of all charges and to let them freely practice their faith.”

Full Statement

In the face of an escalating health pandemic, the Iranian authorities have ramped up their persecution of the Bahá’ís, targeting at least 77 individuals across the country in recent weeks. Bahá’ís in the provinces of Fars, South Khorasan, Mazandaran, Isfahan, Alborz, Kerman, Kermanshah, and Yazd have been arrested, summoned to court, tried, sentenced to jail, or imprisoned, all under baseless accusations. Reports of new threats to “uproot” the community in Shiraz, along with an unprecedented number of new prison sentences, reincarcerations and a media campaign of hatred, are raising concerns for the long-persecuted religious minority in the country.

In a court hearing held for a group of Bahá’ís in Shiraz, a court official threatened to “uproot” the Bahá’ís in the city. The court sentenced the Bahá’ís to one to 13 years in prison. In recent weeks, 40 Bahá’ís in Shiraz whose cases were pending for months have been summoned to court, representing an unprecedented number of court summons against Bahá’ís in a single city in recent years. We call on the Iranian government to cease the baseless accusations against Bahá’ís, to acquit them of all charges and to let them freely practice their faith.

Signatories:

Klaus Buchner, Member of the European Parliament, Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Subcommittee on Human Rights

Evin Incir, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Jytte Guteland, Member of the European Parliament, Delegation for Relations with Iran