The Iranian regime systematically denies the people of Iran their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including that of freedom of religion or belief. Bahá’ís are subject to ongoing and systematic targeting and harassment by Iran’s state authorities. Regime figures regularly incite social prejudice against the Bahá’ís through egregious public hate speech and by imposing restrictions on members of the Bahá’í community.
Some of the most prominent examples of this include barring members of the Bahá’í community from attending Iran’s universities and from being able to secure a job with the government. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran reported that, as of August 2014, 126 Bahá’ís were detained in Iran. Those detained include the seven Yaran, imprisoned simply for their leadership role within Iran’s Bahá’í community. Even lawyers who take on cases to defend Bahá’ís are frequently subject to harassment and even imprisonment for doing so.
The closing of Bahá’í businesses is an obvious effort to further marginalize this community within Iranian society.
Despite public pledges by some Iranian officials to improve certain human rights, the regime continues to actively restrict the human rights and freedom of its people.
Other religious communities and ethnic minorities in Iran also face discrimination; targeting of social media users and journalists has increased; public musical performances are censored; and women face ongoing restrictions, both legally and in day-to-day life.
Rather than offering recourse, Iran’s judicial system further entrenches such violations of human rights. Despite ongoing reports of a serious lack of due process and fair trial standards, Iran has already executed at least 651 people in the first six months of 2015 alone.
This is only 100 executions fewer than the total number of executions in Iran in 2014, indicating an unacceptable and deeply worrisome increase in the rate of executions by the Iranian regime.
Canada will continue to be a strong ally of Iran’s persecuted religious communities, including the Bahá’ís, and will remain an outspoken advocate for the improvement of human rights in Iran.
