Simin Fahandej

Baha'i International Community Representative to the United Nations • Tweets my own •

[Roya Boroumand @RoyaBoroumand]

The Islamic Republic of thieves!

[Bahá'ís of/du Canada @CanadaBahai]

Thank you to @cbcradio and John Longhurst @jdl562000 for speaking about the Bahá’í Faith and the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran. In this first clip, John describes who the Bahá’ís are and what they believe.

Listen to the full segment here: https://t.co/cHfYEPwgO0

[Human Rights @RightsGAC]

Canada is alarmed by the case of Afshin Heyratian, a Bahá’í imprisoned in Iran, who was unjustly detained for more than 260 days and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison.

[Omid Djalili @omid9]

Stunning interview about one of the most important books of the 21st Century. I was blown away when I read it and this interview with the editor and translator Bahiyyih Nakhjavani gives you a clear indication of what it is saying. Watch to the end https://t.co/DBl0U5X9zA

[Bahá'í International Community - Human Rights @BahaiBIC_Rights]

Thank you to @bbcpersian for sharing this important interview with @vesaghsanaei on the increasing #Bahai persecution in #Iran.

Amid mounting arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and increasing suppression of the Bahá’í community during unrest, a group of UN experts just last week have denounced these patterns of persecution.

Read the full story here: https://t.co/vltEWqtBn2

[BBC NEWS فارسی @bbcpersian]

«بازداشت‌های خودسرانه، ناپدیدسازی قهری، شکنجه و سرکوب فزاینده جامعه بهائی در ایران»
گفته شده از زمان آغاز بحران اخیر در ایران، بازداشت بهائیان افزایش یافته و بر اساس گزارش‌ها دست‌کم ۵۷ نفر از اعضای این جامعه در بازداشت یا زندان به سر می‌برند

وثاق سنائی، سخنگوی جامعه جهانی بهائی

[Mai Sato @drmaisato]

Together with UN experts, we published two press releases on the treatment of religious minorities: Iran’s Christian (15 July) and Bahá’í (29 July) communities.
29 July : https://t.co/Lvc6deDvuV
15 July: https://t.co/DRDUydUsYl
At least 61 Bahá'ís and at least 79 Christians (the vast majority of them converts) are reportedly detained or imprisoned. The accounts reaching us are harrowing: incommunicado detention, torture to extract false confessions, some of it broadcast on State media. Among the Bahá'ís held are Payam Vali, Roya Sabet, Artin Ghazanfari, Shakila Ghasemi, Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi. Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi have reportedly endured mock executions to force confessions, and remain in detention in conditions that raise serious fears for their safety. Mohammad Nikbakht, a Christian convert, was reportedly arrested at home, beaten, and held incommunicado, leaving his family with no information. Earlier this month, St Peter's Evangelical Church in Tehran was seized and the 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christians who lived in its compound evicted.
This is not happening in isolation. Over the past year, Bahá'ís have been increasingly scapegoated as alleged Israeli spies, and remain excluded from constitutional recognition. Christians — particularly converts — have faced home raids, confiscations, and being branded foreign agents. All of this while arrests intensify across Iran in the shadow of the war.
The use of arbitrary detention and coercion against individuals from religious minority communities raises serious concerns under the right to freedom of religion or belief. As a State party to the ICCPR, Iran is bound to uphold the absolute prohibition of torture, and due process, and to protect the rights of minorities.

[Simin Fahandej @siminfa]

UN experts have raised concerns about the #Bahais and other religious communities, demonstrating the gravity of their situation.

[Mai Sato @drmaisato]

Together with UN experts, we published two press releases on the treatment of religious minorities: Iran’s Christian (15 July) and Bahá’í (29 July) communities.
29 July : https://t.co/Lvc6deDvuV
15 July: https://t.co/DRDUydUsYl
At least 61 Bahá'ís and at least 79 Christians (the vast majority of them converts) are reportedly detained or imprisoned. The accounts reaching us are harrowing: incommunicado detention, torture to extract false confessions, some of it broadcast on State media. Among the Bahá'ís held are Payam Vali, Roya Sabet, Artin Ghazanfari, Shakila Ghasemi, Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi. Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi have reportedly endured mock executions to force confessions, and remain in detention in conditions that raise serious fears for their safety. Mohammad Nikbakht, a Christian convert, was reportedly arrested at home, beaten, and held incommunicado, leaving his family with no information. Earlier this month, St Peter's Evangelical Church in Tehran was seized and the 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christians who lived in its compound evicted.
This is not happening in isolation. Over the past year, Bahá'ís have been increasingly scapegoated as alleged Israeli spies, and remain excluded from constitutional recognition. Christians — particularly converts — have faced home raids, confiscations, and being branded foreign agents. All of this while arrests intensify across Iran in the shadow of the war.
The use of arbitrary detention and coercion against individuals from religious minority communities raises serious concerns under the right to freedom of religion or belief. As a State party to the ICCPR, Iran is bound to uphold the absolute prohibition of torture, and due process, and to protect the rights of minorities.

[Fatma Khaled @fatmakhaled46]

Iran persecutes its Baha’i minority fiercely in a year of protests and war, rights groups say

https://t.co/yde8NkTdQn

[National Post @nationalpost]

Terry Glavin: The war is over, and the Iranian people lost https://t.co/1kVujdDZ3h

[Bahá'í International Community - Human Rights @BahaiBIC_Rights]

As you watch the World Cup, remember this. #WorldCup

[Simin Fahandej @siminfa]

As you watch the World Cup, remember this. #WorldCup

[Simin Fahandej @siminfa]

For Baha’is in Iran, the dream of going to university will always stay just a dream.

[Bahá'í International Community - Human Rights @BahaiBIC_Rights]

Statement of the Bahá'í International Community for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education during the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

[Isma Forghani @HR_Austria]

Danke an @OeParl🇦🇹Nationalrätin Mag. Pia Maria Wieninger: „Wir österreichische Parlamentarier:innen verurteilen die Sündenbockpolitik der #Iran-ischen Regierung auf das Schärfste… & fordern die Freilassung aller #Bahai & anderer unschuldig inhaftierter Gewissensgefangener“ ✍️

[Isma Forghani @HR_Austria]

„Wir, österreichische Parlamentarier:innen, sind zutiefst erschüttert über die Lage von Peyvand & Borna Naimi im #Iran, die sich in unmittelbarer Lebensgefahr befinden allein aufgrund ihrer #Bahai Religionszugehörigkeit...“
Gemeinsame Erklärung, unterzeichnet von Abg @NikiScherak

[Isma Forghani @HR_Austria]

Vielen Dank, Abg.@NikiScherak, Obmann des Menschenrechtsausschusses des🇦🇹Parlaments @OeParl, für den heutigen Austausch zur Lage von Borna & Peyvand Naimi sowie zur prekären Menschenrechtslage der #Bahai im #Iran & für Ihre Bereitschaft, dieses Thema auf die Agenda zu setzen.

[Garnett Genuis @GarnettGenuis]

The persecution of religious minorities in Iran, among other egregious human rights abuses, continues to be a matter of profound concern for me and many other Canadians.

I want to draw attention in particular to the cases of Borna and Peyvand Naimi, two young Bahá’ís who are imprisoned in Iran. They have endured torture and face the death penalty. I call for their release.

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Inside Iran, the regime is intensifying its brutal repression of the people.

Since mid-March, they have accelerated the execution of political prisoners. 22 people have been hanged, half of them were involved in the huge anti-government protests in January. And hundreds more could face death penalty charges.

[Simin Fahandej @siminfa]

Thank you @Channel4News for covering the situation of Payvand and Borna and their appalling situation as well as the scapegoating of the Baha’is in #Iran which had escalated since the January protests.

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Inside Iran: Executions ramp up in targeting of political prisoners
https://t.co/0rf7kiYoWH

[Simin Fahandej @siminfa]

Thank you @FCDO_FoRB_Envoy for your support for the Baha’is in #Iran, particularly Payvand and Borna Naimi who have faced torture and mock executions for no other reason than their faith. Freedom of religion or belief is not an exceptional demand, it is a basic, minimum standard of human dignity owed to every person.

[FCDO FoRB Envoy @FCDO_FoRB_Envoy]

The UK is closely tracking the dire situation for religious minorities in Iran.
This includes abhorrent reports that Baha’is have been subject to torture and mock execution.
We will continue to pursue accountability.