Persecution

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré. Geneva, 22 March 2014 (BWNS) — Overall, human rights in Iran have not improved substantially since the election of President Hassan Rouhani last year, despite his promises to grant citizens more rights and to end discriminatory practices, according to Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s expert on the issue.

Geneva, Switzerland, 7 February 2014 (BWNS) — In an apparent hate crime, three Baha’is were stabbed in their home in Birjand, Iran, by an unidentified intruder on Monday 3 February, the Baha’i International Community has learned.

An interior view of the United Nations General Assembly hall, New York City. UN Photo/Sophia Paris. United Nations, 18 December 2013 (BWNS) — The UN General Assembly today expressed “deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations” in Iran, showing that the international community will not be swayed by mere promises of improvement.

Cover page of July/August issue of Literary Review Canada. © Literary Review Canada Toronto, Ontario, 6 August 2013 (CBNS) — The Literary Review of Canada, the country’s "leading forum for discussion and debate about books, culture, politics and ideas," has published a new essay on the migration of Baha’i refugees to Canada in the 1980s.

Ambassador Andrew Bennett. © DFAIT Ottawa, Ontario, 14 May 2013 (CBNS) — Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, today issued the following statement:

“Canada marks with regret the fifth anniversary of the illegitimate arrest and detention of seven Iranian Baha’i national leaders by the Khamenei regime, and we renew our call for their release.