- May 2000: Eleven Bahá’ís remain in prison;
four are currently under death sentences. Individuals throughout the
country continue to face restrictions, harassment and arrest on account
of their religious beliefs. Bahá’ís continue to be
denied admission to Iranian universities. Current situation of the Bahá’ís in
Iran
- May 2000: A Bahá’í arrested in the summer of
1999 and given a death sentence in February, 2000 was released from prison
and has returned home.
- April 2000: The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, at
its annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, adopted a
resolution expressing concern about “the discrimination against
religious minorities, in particular the unabated pattern of persecution
against the Bahá’ís, including death sentences and arrests.”
- April 2000: A policy change by the Iranian government now allows
couples who wed to register their marriages without declaring their religious
affiliation. This allows Bahá’ís to officially register their
marriages for the first time in more than two decades.
- February 2000: Two Bahá’ís held in Mashhad since
1997 were informed that their death sentences, which had been under review
for some months,
were reconfirmed. The two were imprisoned
for holding monthly “family life” meetings. A third Bahá’í, detained in the
summer of 1999 on unknown charges related to his Bahá’í beliefs, was also
issued a death sentence by the court in Mashhad.
©Copyright 2000, National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United States
Reprinted by permission
Original Story
Page last updated/revised 052700