Bahá'í World Community: In Iran, Bahá'ís Are Deprived of Peace Even in Death

The Bahá'í World Community reported on Tuesday, March 11, that Nazila Ghanea, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, criticized the Iranian government, stating: "The Islamic Republic cannot hide the violation of Bahá'ís' rights to bury their deceased loved ones." In this context, the representative of this community at the UN in Geneva pointed out the increasing pressure from the Iranian government on Bahá'í cemeteries, stating: "In Iran, Bahá'ís are deprived not only of the right to live in peace but even of the right to die in peace." According to the Bahá'í World Community's statement, the Special Rapporteur's remarks came last week during a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, after one of the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran denied her findings. The report stated that "Bahá'í followers are prohibited from burying their deceased in existing cemetery lands and instead have been forced to bury their deceased in a mass grave site." However, in a clear attempt to mislead, the Iranian government issued a statement in response to the Special Rapporteur's report on the destruction of cemeteries and the systematic restrictions imposed on Bahá'ís. The representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran falsely claimed that the allocation of land for cemeteries is in accordance with national regulations aimed at ensuring fair access and proper management of burial sites. The Bahá'í World Community emphasized: "The Iranian government raised this claim to divert attention from the main issue and incorrectly equated these regulations with standard practices in other countries, while there is clear evidence of discrimination against Bahá'ís." The statement noted that Ms. Ghanea directly responded to this claim, emphasizing the broader context of repression and persecution of religious minorities in Iran and criticized the Iranian delegation's attempt to ignore this issue. The Special Rapporteur stated: "One cannot ignore the government's obligations towards the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country, namely the Bahá'ís, by claiming the cemetery is private. Hundreds of Bahá'í cemeteries across Iran have been destroyed, burned, and bulldozed over decades. The burial of Bahá'í deceased has been unjustly delayed due to baseless and malicious obstacles created by government officials." According to this statement, in recent years, Heiner Bielefeldt, a former UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, described the repression and persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran as "from cradle to grave" and labeled it as "one of the most severe examples of religious repression today." Simin Fahandej, the representative of the Bahá'í World Community at the UN in Geneva, stated: "The recent report from the Special Rapporteur comes at a time when the Iranian government has intensified its pressures on Bahá'í cemeteries in this country. In Iran, Bahá'ís are deprived not only of the right to live in peace but even of the right to die in peace. Every conscientious human being should at least preserve the dignity of the deceased and respect families' rights to mourn and bury their loved ones according to their beliefs." Ms. Fahandej emphasized: "The actions of the Iranian government are not only a calculated effort to culturally cleanse the identity of Bahá'ís in Iran but also add to their psychological and mental suffering." According to the Bahá'í World Community's statement, in the past 12 months alone, Bahá'í cemeteries in at least 14 major cities in Iran have faced desecration or other interventions by the government. Intelligence agents have taken control of these cemeteries by force, forcing Bahá'ís to pay for burial in land that belongs to them, and in some cases, have deprived them of the right to bury their loved ones according to their religious customs. The Bahá'í World Community emphasized that these injustices in cemeteries have occurred in various cities in Iran, including Tehran, Karaj, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Kerman, Yazd, Semnan, Mashhad, and Rafsanjan. During the Human Rights Council session, Canada also expressed its support for the rights of Bahá'ís in Iran, stating that it remains concerned about the disrespect for burial ceremonies and the destruction of cemeteries and religious sites, emphasizing that "the rights of burial for religious minorities, including the Bahá'í community, must remain protected." In another presentation during this session, serious concerns about the violation of Bahá'í rights in Yemen were also raised. According to this community's statement, for the past 46 years, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Bahá'ís in Iran have faced desecration and destruction of their cemeteries. They have been deprived of the right to hold funerals and bury according to Bahá'í beliefs, denied access to the graves of their loved ones, and sometimes imprisoned for seeking justice. Additionally, Bahá'ís in Tehran have been forced to witness the compulsory burial of their loved ones by government agents in the mass grave site of Khavaran, in their absence and against their wishes. The Bahá'í World Community considers this rights violation as part of a broader effort to culturally cleanse Iran of the Bahá'í community and added that a confidential document from 1989 titled "The Bahá'í Issue," signed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, structured the Iranian government's program to prevent the "progress and development" of Bahá'ís. This document reveals the government's deliberate efforts to limit Bahá'ís' access to education, employment, and cultural participation in social life. The statement confirmed that Bahá'ís in Iran are subject to arbitrary arrests and detentions, physical and psychological harassment, enforced disappearances, forced business closures, confiscation and destruction of property, including cemeteries, raids on homes, and incitement of hatred by officials, clergy, and state media. These actions have been widely condemned, but Iranian government officials continue to deny these rights violations. The Bahá'í World Community continues to urge the international community to call for an end to these illegal actions and hold the Iranian government accountable for its ongoing human rights violations.