Six Bahá’í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s

15 May 2008 (BWNS)

NEW YORK – Six Bahá’í leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison yesterday in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Bahá’í leaders were summarily rounded up and killed.

The six men and women were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.

All seven Baha’is who form a group that sees to the needs of the Baha’i community of Iran have been arrested, six of them in early-morning raids on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. They are, seated from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.

Human rights in Iran and Egypt

Iranian Baha'is sentenced to prison were helping underprivileged youth (6 February 2008)

GENEVA — Accusations by the Iranian government that 54 Baha'is were engaged in anti-regime “propaganda” when they were arrested almost two years ago are patently false.
New tactic obstructs Baha'i enrollments in Iranian universities (31 January 2008)
Egypt court upholds Baha'i plea in religious freedom cases (29 January 2008)
Amnesty International, US State Department call for release of Baha'i prisoners in Iran (29 January 2008)

Previous articles from around the world

Social and economic development

Bahá'í International Community issues statement on poverty eradication (15 February 2008)

NEW YORK — A new statement from the Baha'i International Community calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of global poverty.
In Ghana, innovative literacy program produces dramatic results (4 December 2007)
Religion could help fight AIDS, says study (24 April 2007)
Empowering Roma mothers to break the cycle of illiteracy (3 August 2006)
Free computer courses lead to jobs (1 January 2006)
Remote Baha’i school adds two new grades (31 October 2007)
Systematic social development investigated (17 January 2007)
Violence against women needs global attention, says panel at U.N. (6 December 2007)
Low-key approach to virtues training pays big dividends (12 June 2006)

The arts

People’s Theater from Germany goes international (20 January 2008)

OFFENBACH, Germany — After six years of perfecting a technique that combines drama and discussion as a means to communicate with youth, a German theater group has gone international.
Ethiopian giraffe captures children’s hearts (11 February 2007)
Hip-hop hits spiritual chords (12 August 2007)
Rainn Wilson talks about Hollywood, his family and his faith (24 May 2007)
Successful musical got its start at Baha’i conference (1 May 2007)

Youth

Young Zambian teens pull together in service program (25 October 2007)

SINAZONGWE DISTRICT, Zambia — The Tonga tribe has lived in southern Zambia for hundreds of years, and members are proud of their longstanding traditions and strong social codes.
Combating peer pressure a focus of Baha’i program (9 April 2007 )
Young adults seek spiritual enlightenment (19 January 2007)
First Nations and Baha’i youth bond through soccer (19 September 2006)
Guyana youth try to “move the world” (9 March 2006)

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