Iran’s supreme leader is urging Iranians to avoid all dealings with members of the banned Baha’i sect in a possible prelude to further crackdowns on the minority.

Iran already bans the Baha’i, a religion founded in the 1860s by a Persian nobleman considered a prophet by followers. Muslims consider Muhammad the final prophet.

The fatwa, or religious edict, by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is his latest against the group. It supports similar fatwas in the past by other clerics.

An Iranian news website, Tasnim, reported Wednesday that Khamenei called the Baha’i “deviant and misleading.”

The timing of Khamenei’s latest attack on Baha’i rights is certainly suspect. As mainstream media has heralded Rouhani’s impending presidency as a harbinger of change in Iran, Khamenei may use this moment as a way to reassert his power as “Supreme Leader”. The message is clear: if anything is going to change after Rouhani takes his place as president, it’s not going to be much better than the status quo. At least, not for Baha’is, who may have to tread more carefully this week. If anything at all, this latest development, while more of the same, is likely a precursor to further arrests.

Related posts:

1. Open Letter to Iranians by Baha’i Students Banned from Universities An open letter by a group of Baha’i students banned...
2. Nazanin Boniadi: What is the future of human rights under Hassan Rouhani? Nazanin Boniadi, a British-Iranian actress and spokesperson for Amnesty International,...
3. “In court I will defend the Bahais” Following the baseless accusations thrown by Tehran’s deputy prosecutor, in...

Political prisoner: 110 Baha’i detainees in various parts of Iran (Iran Daily Brief – Jul 29th)

Bahman Ahmadi-Amu’i, a journalist and political prisoner serving his sentence Raja’i Shahr Prison, released a statement last week calculating the number of Baha’is imprisoned in Iranian prisons at 110. Ahmadi-Amu’i wrote in the letter that he hopes Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, will explore the possibility of setting all the prisoners free.

One arrest in Qorveh (Sen’s Daily – Jul 29th)

Security agents arrived at the workplace of Behnam Eqdamian, a Baha’i from Qorveh, where they arrested him and transferred him to a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Sanandaj. Officials have not yet released any information about his arrest. Earlier this year, Eqdamian’s home was searched in a wave of raids in Qorveh.

 A Note from Navid Khanjani for the 80th Birthday of Prison Mate Jamaloddin Khanjani (Persian2English – Jul 31st)

Human rights activist and journalist Navid Khanjani, who the Muslim Alliance for Baha’i Rights profiled last week, wrote a birthday letter from prison to Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of seven Baha’i leaders sentenced to 20 years in prison. Jamaloddin Khanjani turned 80 years while serving his time in Raja’i Shahr Prison. Navid wrote:

“Sometimes, when [a prisoner is in the presence of someone like Jamaloddin Khanjani]– who patiently lives [each day], doesn’t frown upon harsh prison conditions, and still holds hope for the future– they get embarrassed for feeling tired or frustrated.  [Jamaloddin Khanjani] has spent a total of 20 years in prison, and he’s still standing like a mountain.

I only ask God for [Jamaloddin Khanjani’s] health and to not take [him,] our support away from us. I pray for the day that we could [celebrate] his birthday with the both of us released– the day when a person is no longer imprisoned for their beliefs.”

Iraq’s Baha’is Continue to Face Persecution, Social Exclusion (Al-Monitor – Aug 1st)

Journalist Ali Mamouri explores the situation of Baha’is, detailing their history in the country and the extent of their persecution. As in Iran and Egypt, the Baha’i faith is banned in Iraq and Baha’is are prohibited from listing their faith on their civil records. Their religious sites are targeted by extremists, and they’re often subject to harsh interrogations and arbitrary arrests.

Samim Zara’i free on bail (Sen’s Daily – Aug 2nd)

 Zara’i, a Baha’i from Sanandaj who was arrested in early July, has been freed on a bail set at 200 million tumans (123,000 euros, $US 162,000).

Related posts:

1. Baha’i Rights Media Round-Up: Week of July 29th, 2013 News Zhinous Rahimi begins 1-year sentence (Sen’s Daily – July...
2. BAHA’I RIGHTS MEDIA ROUND-UP: WEEK OF JUNE 15TH, 2013 News Leva Khanjani gets leave from prison (Sen’s Day –...
3. Baha’i Rights Media Round-Up: Week of May 27th, 2013 News  Two Bahai aid workers sentenced to five months (Sen’s Daily...

The letter, which includes such notable signatories as Navid Khanjani and Azizollah Samandari, mourns the death of Revzani and briefly mentions Iran’s increasing hostility towards Baha’is:

Considering the history of repeated death threats to the deceased, and the frequency and span of arrests and summons of the members of the Baha’i community, and the similarity and recurrence of such atrocities, which too often have led to loss of life or serious physical impairment, in recent years, we, a number of prisoners of conscience in the Rajai Shahr prison, condemn this vicious act and demand the immediate investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of this incident and those who ordered it in a fair court of law.

Such a horrible event creates an atmosphere of insecurity among fellow members of Iran’s Baha’i community as well as other minority groups. Prompt and unbiased investigation into this matter that may ensure the safety and welfare of the people of Iran should be given high priority.

Based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights* [to which Iran is a signatory], and as stipulated in the Iranian constitution**, all citizens have equal rights, and the government is responsible for protecting their personal, financial, and social safety.

According to the nineteenth and twentieth articles of our constitution, the people of Iran, regardless of their ethnicity and nationality, are equal; colour, race, language, and other distinctions may not bestow any privilege, and all citizens, both women and men, are subject to the rule of law…

According to the aforementioned standards, we the undersigned demand that the rights of all citizens, regardless of differing beliefs, be preserved, and that all citizens be treated equally and without any discrimination.

Related posts:

1. Ataollah Rezvani Reportedly Killed in Southern Iran Radio Zamaneh is reporting that Ataollah Rezvani, a 52-year Baha’i...
2. Prisoners In Profile: Azizollah Samandari, BIHE Teacher Last week, Aziz Samandari, a 40-year old professor from Tehran,...
3. Message from the Universal House of Justice concerning Baha’i rights in Iran The following message is from the Universal House of Justice,...

Section 209 from SECTION 209 on Vimeo.

Farnaz, a Baha’i filmmaker from Australia, has released her short film on Baha’i prisoners in Iran, “Section 209″, online. The film, based on a true story, depicts the detainment and interrogation of Ali Muhammad Sabeti:

Ali is arrested held captive in Koohsangi Political Prison in Mashad. Two interrogators enter, Short Interrogator and Tall Interrogator, and systematically interview Ali. They attempt various negotiation methods to convince Ali to either write that he has converted to Islam, or to face execution. Their interrogation is documented and reported to a high-ranking Mullah, Haji Agha.

Ali refuses to convert and subsequently, is brutally tortured to the point of blindness. Bruised and bleeding from repeated blows, his bones are broken and his skin lashed apart.

Farnaz, who must withhold her family name out of fear of repercussions from the regime, decided to create the film after the arrest and imprisonment of the seven Baha’i leaders who were sentenced to 20 years on charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic state, cooperation with Israel, among other accusations routinely leveled against Iranian Baha’is. The seven had been originally detained in Section 209 before being transferred to Raja’i Shahr prison.

“I made this film so I could reveal the inhumane tactics used in Iran to persecute Baha’is and pressure them to convert to Islam,” said Farnaz in a statement to the press.

She decided to release the film online in light of escalating violence and persection against Baha’is. She hopes that the film will galvanize emotional sentiment in support of religious reform in Iran.

“When people become emotionally connected to a story, they are more likely to support a movement for social change,” she said.

The film’s title, “Section 209″, refers to a once-secret facility in Tehran’s Evin Prison — a “prison within a prison” under the control of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry that operates outside the purview of the state prison authority. Political prisoners are often taken to Section 209 for aggressive interrogations and detained there in solitary confinement in attempts to force confessions or, in the case of Baha’is, force conversions to Islam. Some former inmates of Section 209 recount stories of physical and psychological torture, some of which was so brutal it compelled the prisoners to suicide. They are often held there for several months without being charged or put on trial. Because there is no formal documentation of the facility, much of what occurs there is only verified by witness statements and and accounts.

Related posts:

1. “Identity Crisis” Film available for download The Baha’i Faith in Egypt reports that “Identity Crisis” is...
2. Prisoners In Profile: Azizollah Samandari, BIHE Teacher Last week, Aziz Samandari, a 40-year old professor from Tehran,...
3. Prisoners In Profile: Noura Nabilzadeh, Children’s Rights Activist On a hot summer day in June, Noura Nabilzadeh, an...