Today, 125 members of the European Parliament and national parliaments across Europe have come together in a powerful joint statement, calling for an end to the persecution of the #Bahai women in #Iran and urging the protection of their #humanrights. Read the news story here 👉 Read the statement here 👉

The #Bahai International Community calls upon all @UN Member States to hold the Islamic Republic of #Iran accountable for its ongoing and systematic abuses of the rights of the Baha'i community during the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review session of the @UN_HRC Human Rights Council in Geneva. #HumanRights Our full story:

We stand in solidarity with Iranian poet, Mahvash Sabat, 71, serving a second 10-year jail sentence following her arrest in 2022. She recently underwent open-heart surgery and will be returned to prison very soon. #FreeMahvash Please read & repost

The family of #Baha'i #poet #MahvashSabet are calling for their mother's release. 72 year old Mahvash has been a prisoner in #Iran for 13 years simply because of her beliefs and her family fear for her life if she is returned to prison following her recent heart surgery. The #FreeMahvash Twitter Storm organised by her family is this evening, Thursday, January 9th at 5.30pm Irish time.

Urgent call to action! Write just one sentence in support of #MahvashSabet and join the campaign for her release. #FreeMahvash Twitter storm = Thursday January 9, 2025, 12:30pmEST Read more about Mahvash Sabet in the BIC statement linked below.

#Baháís in #Hamedan face increasingly #oppressive #surveillance. It was learned on 14 December 2024 that Two #women returning from #Turkey had their passports #confiscated and were #interrogated about Bahá'í activities. Questions focused on identifying #community members, hosts of gatherings, the management of Baha’i funds, and those responsible for maintaining the Golestan Javid cemetery, a significant Bahá'í site.

Two years ago this piece appeared in the Journal highlighting the plight of #MahvashSabet, an award winning poet. In prison now for a second 10 year term for her faith, 71 year's old and severely ill. #Iran should release her immediately. #FoRB #Bahai

The Baha’i International Community is appalled at the baseless and unjust imprisonment of senior #Baha’i dignitary Remy Rowhani at the airport in #Qatar this morning. Remy Rowhani is a respected Qatari citizen and chairperson of the Assembly of the Baha'is of Qatar who served his country with distinction for decades—most recently as Director of the International Chamber of Commerce’s MENA regional office @ICC_Qatar @iccwbo. In April 2021, a Qatari court framed Mr. Rowhani in a prejudicial case judged in absentia. The ruling was confirmed in May 2022 by an appeals court. Qatari officials had indicated Mr Rowhani’s one-month prison sentence and $27,000 fine would not be enforced and that he was free to travel. Today’s actions mark an arbitrary escalation after decades of discrimination against the Baha’is for their religion. Mr Rowhani must be released immediately and the discrimination must be brought to an end.

*Rising support at UN General Assembly resolution criticizing Iran for human rights violations and persecution of Baha’is* The United Nations General Assembly has rebuked the Islamic Republic of #Iran for its human rights violations, including against the #Bahai community, saying in a new resolution that Baha’is and others faced “ongoing severe limitations and increasing restrictions” on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief. Eighty countries voted in favor of the resolution, with 27 against and 68 abstentions. The vote marks an increase in General Assembly support for the annual resolution—which in 2023 received 78 votes in favor. #UNGA #HumanRights

Yesterday a senior #Bahai official, Omid Seioshanseian, was forcibly detained and disappeared by #Egypt state security for over 13 hours at Cairo International Airport. His devices were confiscated and he was unable to contact relatives or colleagues. Mr. Seioshanseian was handcuffed, blindfolded, physically mistreated, interrogated and threatened, by agents of the State Security Investigations Service Al-Amn Al-Qawmi, and then filmed under duress to state that he was not mistreated. @BahaiBIC_Rights is raising this outrageous incident—and that of all Baha’is in Egypt—at the highest levels worldwide. Noting in particular Egypt’s legal obligations to the @UN Committee Against Torture. The Egyptian authorities must immediately cease such mistreatment of dignitaries and guarantee non-recurrence and the safety and security of all Baha’is and minorities. #CAT @apt_geneva @omctorg @FIACAT_org @FreefromTorture @P4HR @SwissAmbUN_GVA @UN_HRC @UN_SPExperts & Special Rapporteurs @NazilaGhanea #NicolasLevrat #AliceEdwards @usmissiongeneva @EU_UNGeneva @UKMissionGeneva @GermanyUNGeneva @FranceONUGeneve @SpainUNGeneva @IndiaUNGeneva @eu_eeas @kajakallas @EUinEgypt @Tineke_Strik @PrLCastillo @LeolucaOrlando1 @OlofBSkoog @BBCArabic #EgyptianBahaiRights #HumanRights #HumanRightsViolations

In this @BBCArabic clip, Dr. Labib Hanna highlights the obstacles preventing Bahá’ís in Egypt from registering their marriages, shedding light on broader issues of human rights violations and denial of fundamental rights solely because of their faith. في هذا المقطع من BBCArabic@ يبرز الدكتور لبيب حنا العقبات التي تواجه البهائيين في مصر في توثيق عقود زواجهم، مسلطًا الضوء على قضايا أوسع تتعلق بانتهاكات حقوقهم وإنكار الحقوق الأساسية فقط بسبب معتقدهم الديني. #حقوق_البهائيين_المصريين #EgyptianBahaiRights @USCIRF @FCDOGovUK @HRW @EIPR

71-year-old #Bahai prisoner of conscience, Mahvash Sabet, arrested for her faith, is now in hospital in #Iran in dangerously poor health and awaiting surgery. Imprisoned again for her faith after a decade behind bars, her courage shines even in cruelty. She must be released after her surgery. Mahvash deserves freedom and dignity. #FreeMahvash #HumanRights

Think about this: an Iranian court rejects legal compensation to family of murder victim killed for his Baha’i beliefs. Our full story: Eleven years ago Ataollah Rezvani, a #Bahai man in #Iran, was brutally murdered in his car for being a member of Iran’s largest religious minority, the Baha’i Faith. Mr. Rezvani, a father of two, was 52 years old when he was found dead in his car on 22 August, 2013, near the Bandar Abbas train station in Hormozgan province. He was shot in the back of his head in a premeditated assassination-style attack—and after months of physical threats against him. Eleven years on, a ruling was finally handed down on 22 October, 2024, by Branch 1 of the Criminal Court in Hormozgan, confirming at last that Mr. Rezvani was in fact the victim of a premeditated murder. The ruling denied the Rezvani family the justice they sought by rejecting their claim to financial compensation—stating specifically that the justification for the denial is because he was a Baha’i. #OurStoryIsOne #HumanRights

A dangerous new front: Baha'i International Community expresses concern over involvement of Egyptian authorities in targeting Baha'is In a disturbing escalation, the Baha'i International Community (BIC) today issued a statement making public concerns at the policies of Egyptian authorities to systematically persecute the Baha'i religious minority in the country. Baha'is in Egypt—of whom there are probably several thousand—face harassment, denial of civil rights, family separations, and invasive surveillance by state security agencies. “Today the Baha'i International Community is taking the grave step of exposing, in public, our profound concerns at six decades of discrimination and persecution against the Egyptian Baha'i community, a situation which is getting worse.” — Dr. @ShaddadHaddad , Bahá’í International Community Representative to the United Nations Please read our full statement:

Today in #3C, Ireland expressed deep concern over human rights in Iran. 🇮🇪 firmly calls for: 🔹Reforms for freedom of expression 🔹An end to arbitrary detention 🔹To cease the persecution of the Bahá’í community Iran must uphold human rights and prioritise protections for women & girls, and pave the way for peace and justice across the region.

🚨 18 UN investigators have jointly condemned #Iran’s govt for escalating its persecution of #Bahai women. Just yesterday 10 Baha’i women were sentenced to a combined total of 90 years in prison. When women are attacked, entire families are targeted. #OurStoryIsOne #HumanRights #Equality 🚨