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Iran

Answer

The use of short-term detention in Iran is particularly fluid and difficult to monitor, therefore it is difficult to accurately determine the number of Baha'is imprisoned in Iran since 2000. However, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in close contact with the National Spiritual Association of the Baha' is of the UK, who have provided information dating back to 2004. Our records show that 228 Baha'is have been arrested since August 2004. Of those: three are currently imprisoned in Iran; 81 have been arrested and released on bail and are awaiting trial; nine have been arrested and released without bail; 84 have been tried and sentenced and are free pending appeal or summons to begin serving their sentences; 10 have been tried and sentenced and have completed their prison terms; eight have had charges cleared in their original trials or have had their verdicts overturned on appeal; and three have served their prison sentences and have begun their terms of exile. Whilst we have received reports of members of the Baha'i community being killed or executed since 2000, we cannot directly attribute those deaths to the fact that they were Baha'is. The last documented killing of a Baha'i in Iran dates back to July 1998, with the execution of Mr. Rúhullah Rawhani. The persecution of individuals based solely on the grounds of their religion or beliefs is wholly unacceptable, and alongside our EU partners we have repeatedly expressed our firm opposition to all forms of discrimination and oppression. We will continue to urge Iran to respect and protect its religious minorities and free all prisoners held due to their faith or religious practice.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

3112; 710 c264-5WA

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Capital punishment Baha'i faith Prisoners Religious freedom Iran

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk