Anniversary of the Disappearance of 11 Baha'i Citizens; 43 Years of Uncertainty and Potential 'Hasty Execution' Status

On the 43rd anniversary of the enforced disappearance of 11 members of the Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly following an attack by the Revolutionary Guards on their meeting, the child of one of them refers to their status over the past 43 years as 'potentially hasty execution.' Shahin Milani, a human rights researcher, tweeted on Monday, August 21, that it has been 43 years since his father was arrested along with 10 other officials of the Baha'i community in Iran, and during these 43 years, his status has been described as 'probably executed hastily.' Kambiz Sadeghzadeh Milani, one of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly known as the Baha'is, disappeared after the Revolutionary Guards attacked their meeting on August 21, 1980, in Tehran's Naft Street, and no trace of them has been found since. According to information on his memorial page at the Abdolrahman Boroumand Foundation, Kambiz Sadeghzadeh Milani, a Baha'i citizen born in 1938, went to the United States after graduating from medical school at Tehran University in 1967 and specialized in psychiatry. He, who was married with several children, returned to Iran after a while and opened a psychiatric practice in Tehran. According to the report, his children have stated that Kambiz Milani intended to 'serve his country, but the Islamic Republic not only rejected this service but also killed him.' Members of the Revolutionary Guards attacked the meeting of the Baha'i National Assembly on the afternoon of August 21, 1980, detaining 11 participants, whose names are 'Abdolhossein Taslimi, Ebrahim Rahmani, Manocher Ghaem-Maqami, Yousef Ghadimi, Kambiz Sadeghzadeh Milani, Hoshang Mahmoudi, Attaollah Moqarebi, Bahieh Naderi, Hossein Najji, Yousef Abasian, and Hoshmatollah Rouhani,' and since their arrest that day, no trace of them has been found. In recent days, pressure on Baha'i citizens in Iran has increased. Among other reports, news sources have reported the detention of 10 Baha'i citizens in Iran and their transfer to Karaj Central Prison and Kachoui Prison for the execution of sentences. Additionally, Jamaleddin Khajani, a 90-year-old Baha'i citizen, and his daughter Maria Khajani were arrested on August 13 after a search of their home by security forces and were transferred to Evin Prison. Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the Baha'i World Community, emphasized in a recent interview with VOA that the charges against Baha'i citizens in Iran are 'baseless.' He also stated that the repression of Baha'is in Iran has 'intensified significantly.' According to the annual report of 'International Religious Freedom' for 2022 prepared by the Office of International Religious Freedom of the U.S. Department of State, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization by the Iranian government against members of the Baha'i community have intensified. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has emphasized the 'enduring commitment' of the U.S. government to defend the right to religious freedom, stating that the United States stands with religious freedom activists and people whose religious rights are violated. Since the 1979 revolution, Baha'i citizens have systematically faced widespread social and political discrimination as well as illegal actions including arbitrary detentions, executions, enforced disappearances, forced burials, and desecration of their graves. According to reports from the Open Iran database, at least 225 Baha'is have been killed directly or indirectly by the Islamic Republic since its establishment.