Bahá'í Community: The Bahá'í Cemetery in Ahvaz Set on Fire

The Bahá'í World Community reported on Friday, August 17, that "the beautiful Bahá'í cemetery in Ahvaz has been set on fire." According to the community's account on the social media platform "X," "this cemetery has belonged to the Bahá'ís for 110 years." The Bahá'í World Community also stated: "Its old and sturdy trees have been chopped down" and noted: "This brutal and inhumane act was carried out solely with the motivation of religious persecution." The community demanded that "these brutal actions be stopped immediately." Bahá'í citizens have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the 1979 revolution in Iran. In this context, the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have for decades deprived Bahá'í citizens of their civil rights, including the right to education, and have labeled non-governmental education for them with terms such as "deviant." According to the annual report of the "International Religious Freedom Commission" from last year, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization of the Iranian government against Bahá'í citizens have intensified. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also expressed concern over the increased pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to detain Bahá'ís. Furthermore, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has previously reported that over the past several decades, the Islamic Republic's officials have systematically targeted Bahá'ís, Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and non-religious individuals for harassment, arrest, long-term imprisonment, exile, or prohibition from participating in political and social activities. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic issued an indictment for 10 Bahá'í women in Isfahan on charges of "teaching contrary to Islamic law." The arrest of Nahid Behroozi, a Bahá'í citizen, in Fardis; Mazaher Heydari: The interrogators said, "As long as you are in Iran, you are our guest." Javid Rahman: "The barbaric crimes" of the Islamic Republic are the most blatant human rights violations in "our living memory." A sentence of 160 years of imprisonment and flogging was issued for 34 activists of religious and ethnic minorities in the past six months.