Bahá'í International Community: The Islamic Republic Must Stop Cultural Cleansing of the Bahá'í Community

The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement in response to the destruction of the graves of over 30 Bahá'í citizens buried in a mass grave at the Khavaran cemetery in Tehran, calling for an end to the cultural cleansing of the Bahá'í community by the Islamic Republic. The statement, published on Tuesday, March 6, emphasized that the Iranian government has once again targeted the deceased Bahá'ís, leveling the same site used for the 'forced burial' of Bahá'í deceased over the past two years with bulldozers and destroying the graves of more than 30 Bahá'í deceased in the Khavaran mass cemetery. The Bahá'í community's statement highlighted that the desecration of graves is a permanent aspect of the Islamic Republic's 45-year campaign to systematically suppress Bahá'ís. Accordingly, it was announced that the recent actions of the Islamic Republic in the Bahá'í cemetery are evidence of an unprecedented and inhumane attack on the Bahá'í community in Iran. In this context, Simin Fahandej, representative of the Bahá'í International Community at the UN in Geneva, stated, 'This government action is a cultural cleansing through the destruction of graves and cemeteries aimed at erasing Bahá'í identity from the minds of the Iranian people.' Additionally, dozens of political and civil activists condemned the actions of the 'Velayat-e Faqih' government in depriving Bahá'ís in Iran of 'basic rights.' The Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on Bahá'ís in recent years. Arrests, imprisonment, property destruction, denial of social services, confiscation of property, and grave desecration are part of the systematic behavior against this religious minority in Iran. Accordingly, about 150 political and civil activists issued a statement on December 31 condemning the wave of arrests against Bahá'ís in Iran and their 'deprivation of basic human and civil rights' by the Islamic Republic, calling for an end to 'this historical shame.' The signatories of the statement declared their common demand for 'the end of religious government and the separation of religion and state,' considering the establishment of 'a democratic and secular government' as a prerequisite for efforts towards 'comprehensive development of Iran and the realization of freedom, justice, democracy, and the elimination of all forms of discrimination in society.' The Bahá'í International Community also criticized the intensification of the Islamic Republic's actions against Bahá'í citizens in Iran in a statement on December 5, stating that 'violent and insulting raids on Bahá'í homes, arrests, and unfair trials on false charges against Bahá'ís have increased.' This Bahá'í organization also expressed concern about 'deprivation of education and denial of burial rights, an increase in cases of state theft, confiscation of property, and the spread of hatred against Bahá'ís.' The spokesperson for the Bahá'í International Community also assessed the policy of 'complaining' by the security agencies of the Islamic Republic against several imprisoned Bahá'í citizens as evidence of a lack of evidence against the detainees. Farhad Sabetan also mentioned the Islamic Republic's efforts to 'incite Iranian compatriots against Bahá'ís' as a sign of 'desperation in providing evidence and witnesses' and a tactic to 'justify attacks' by the Islamic Republic against Bahá'í citizens. In recent months, with the intensification of crackdowns, the website HRANA, the news organ of human rights activists in Iran, reported the identities of 40 detained Bahá'í citizens and published a list of 66 other Bahá'í citizens whose homes have been searched in the past two months. Earlier, Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also criticized the 'significant increase' in the harassment of Bahá'ís in Iran at a UN meeting in New York.