The Baha’i International Community (BIC) said last week that Iran’s authorities were stepping up efforts to scapegoat members of the Baha’i faith during a period of national unrest, including by airing what it described as forced confessions on state television and increasing arrests.
The Geneva-based group said that during previous periods of crisis since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, authorities had “consistently and systematically” blamed Baha’is through what it called false allegations and coordinated hate campaigns, and that “this time has been no different”.
Over the past week, programmes broadcast on Channel 2 of state television allegedly spread accusations against the Baha’i community, the BIC said, including the airing on Feb. 1 of the “so-called ‘confessions’ of two Baha’is” linked to protests.
The confessions were broadcast by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the country’s main state media outlet. The BIC said the statements were “manifestly obtained under pressure and coercion”.
Human rights groups have for years documented the use of forced confessions in Iran, including allegations of detainees being pressured or threatened into making statements that are later aired on television.
Millat Times could not independently verify the claims. Iranian authorities have previously denied targeting religious minorities unlawfully.
“This is another attempt by the Iranian government to falsify the truth and present falsehoods to its own public. But this attempt is a new threadbare and its baselessness is proven. During every period of national crisis, whether social, economic, or political, the Iranian authorities consistently and systematically scapegoated the Baha’is,” said Simin Fahandej, the BIC’s Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
“The Baha’i community is often among the first to be accused of false allegations, scapegoated, and targeted through coordinated disinformation and hate campaigns. This is a repeated pattern and we are seeing it again,” she said.
Iran’s Baha’i community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, has faced decades of discrimination and persecution, according to rights groups. Tehran does not recognise the Baha’i faith as an official religion.
“The Baha’is in Iran, despite the false accusations and cruel persecutions they have faced, have only acted with resilience and service to their country and have never responded with violence,” Fahandej added.
“Based on the principles of their Faith, the Baha’is in Iran have utterly rejected violence throughout the decades of intolerable persecution. They have declined to resort to the hateful and unjust tactics of their persecutors. Their record of refusing to deny their beliefs in return for every worldly benefit shows their commitment to their principles and above all to the principle of truthfulness. Their desire for their rights is so that they can contribute to the welfare of their country in a land they hold sacred.”
At a recent special session on Iran at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the BIC said that, alongside the Baha’is’ longstanding persecution, many other Iranians were facing injustices. The group expressed sympathy over reported loss of life across the country.
“All Iranians across the country, from every religion, ethnicity and background, deserve to play a decisive role in the shaping of their country. This is an inherent human right that cannot be taken away by any government,” Fahandej said.
“The Baha’is in Iran have endured injustice and persecution for four decades and have been committed to their nation out of their love for their country and their desire to work for its progress and well-being,” she added. “The BIC calls on the international community to unequivocally condemn the scapegoating and persecution of the Baha’is and to raise the call for justice for all the people of Iran.”
The BIC provided contact details for its representatives in Geneva and New York for further information.
“This is another attempt by the Iranian government to falsify the truth and present falsehoods to its own public. But this attempt is a new threadbare and its baselessness is proven. During every period of national crisis, whether social, economic, or political, the Iranian authorities consistently and systematically scapegoated the Baha’is,” said Simin Fahandej, the BIC’s Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
“The Baha’i community is often among the first to be accused of false allegations, scapegoated, and targeted through coordinated disinformation and hate campaigns. This is a repeated pattern and we are seeing it again,” she said.
Iran’s Baha’i community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, has faced decades of discrimination and persecution, according to rights groups. Tehran does not recognise the Baha’i faith as an official religion.
“The Baha’is in Iran, despite the false accusations and cruel persecutions they have faced, have only acted with resilience and service to their country and have never responded with violence,” Fahandej added.
“Based on the principles of their Faith, the Baha’is in Iran have utterly rejected violence throughout the decades of intolerable persecution. They have declined to resort to the hateful and unjust tactics of their persecutors. Their record of refusing to deny their beliefs in return for every worldly benefit shows their commitment to their principles and above all to the principle of truthfulness. Their desire for their rights is so that they can contribute to the welfare of their country in a land they hold sacred.”
At a recent special session on Iran at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the BIC said that, alongside the Baha’is’ longstanding persecution, many other Iranians were facing injustices. The group expressed sympathy over reported loss of life across the country.
“All Iranians across the country, from every religion, ethnicity and background, deserve to play a decisive role in the shaping of their country. This is an inherent human right that cannot be taken away by any government,” Fahandej said.
“The Baha’is in Iran have endured injustice and persecution for four decades and have been committed to their nation out of their love for their country and their desire to work for its progress and well-being,” she added. “The BIC calls on the international community to unequivocally condemn the scapegoating and persecution of the Baha’is and to raise the call for justice for all the people of Iran.”