executions, abuses and arrests. Decades of persecution against Bahá’ís

At the UN, President Pezeshkian spoke about unity and equal rights for minorities. NGO reports reveal a pattern of intimidation and marginalization of the religious community. State propaganda portrays them as “impure” and “agents of foreign powers” in the service of Israel and the West. Former UN rapporteur for Iran: “genocidal and persecutory” attempts.

Tehran () – In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, a little less than two months ago, President Masoud Pezeshkian called for national unity and equal rights for all components of the country, including and especially in the face of external threats (read Israel). However, within the borders of the Islamic Republic, a systematic policy of persecution against religious minorities has continued that belies the image – at least in words – of an inclusive country. “Iran belongs to all Iranians,” he stated in his speech at the UN, but in practice the violations did not end, especially against the Bahá’í community.

Testimony to the climate of abuse, intimidation and marginalization faced by the ethno-religious minority is a report that was presented a few years ago in New York, entitled “Outsiders: Multifaceted Violence Against Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The study was published by the US-based NGO Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and by Elos Justice at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and shows three different forms of persecution: direct, structural and cultural violence.

In recent months dozens of Bahá’ís have been sentenced to prison in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, Yazd, Karaj, Rasht and Babol. In particular, 10 Bahá’í women must serve a total sentence of 90 years in prison and a fine for “deviant and anti-Islamic educational activities” because they had organized English, painting, music and yoga courses, as well as summer camps for children. Iranians and Afghans. In another case, Bahá’í musician Behrad Azargan was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” for his music courses.

Bahá’ís are considered “apostate infidels and are the subject of continuous and intense persecution, which includes episodes of extreme violence and a systematic denial of existence,” explains Roya Boroumand, executive director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center. The list of violations includes extrajudicial executions, torture and arbitrary detentions. The report highlights that structural violence derives from the laws and policies of the Islamic Republic, which systematically exclude its followers from equal rights; Cultural violence is reinforced by state propaganda, which portrays Bahá’ís as “impure” and “agents of foreign powers” to justify discrimination.

“This community has been deprived of its freedoms simply for having exercised the right to practice its religion,” says the German ambassador to the UN, Thomas Peter Zahneisen, on the occasion of the presentation of the report in New York. “Despite torture, forced confessions and other forms of abuse, the story of Bahá’ís in Iran is not just a story of cancellation, but of humanity, perseverance and courage,” the diplomat added. Mai Sato, UN special rapporteur on Iran, confirms that Bahá’ís are excluded from the Iranian Constitution, justifying an official policy of marginalization. However, the “structural violence inflicted by the State – he explains – is rejected and not well received by the Iranian community.”

The report links the ideological basis of this persecution to the central Iranian doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih or clerical rule, which leaves little room for religious pluralism. Furthermore, Bahá’ís are considered a threat from a theological and political point of view, in addition to being accused of loyalty to Israel and Western powers, which aggravates their ostracism. The report’s conclusions are in line with recent independent findings by human rights organizations. In July 2024 Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the treatment a “crime against humanity.” A joint statement by 18 UN special rapporteurs condemned “a sharp increase in attacks” against Bahá’í women. Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, stated: “Bahá’ís have been subjected to genocidal and persecutory attempts.”

Attacks against the religious minority, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, are also described in another report recently published by HRW. Titled “The Boot on My Neck,” the study describes 45 years of persecution by Tehran and systematic oppression of the community, and raises questions about the sincerity of Pezeshki’s government, which promises to defend all citizens. In these few months of presidency, in fact, there have already been numerous cases of dismissals of Bahá’ís, forced closures of companies, home searches and summoning people for interrogation. A balance that shows that no positive steps have been taken to ease the pressure on the Bahá’ís. On the contrary, in some cases harassment and oppression have even intensified.