Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community |
- Video of the Site where 50 Homes of Baha’is in Ivel, Mazandaran, were demoished.
- Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha’is out of Iranian village
- Destruction of fifty Baha’i residences in the village of Ivel in Mazandaran
- Afshin Iqani condemned to 4 years 3 months and 1 day “reprimand” imprisonment
| Video of the Site where 50 Homes of Baha’is in Ivel, Mazandaran, were demoished. Posted: 28 Jun 2010 07:51 PM PDT On 24th fo June, 2010, 50 homes of the Baha’is in Ivel were demolished. The news of this cruel act has filled the media. The following is a cell phone video recording of the site: The Editor Click here to view the embedded video. |
| Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha’is out of Iranian village Posted: 28 Jun 2010 07:44 PM PDT  Images taken from a video, shot on a mobile telephone in the village of Ivel, show fiercely burning fires and several Baha'i-owned properties reduced to rubble. (BWNS) GENEVA — Homes belonging to some 50 Baha’i families in a remote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region. The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha’i community – blocked normal access to the village, while allowing trucks and at least four front-end loaders to begin leveling the houses. Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires. The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha’is. “They’re being forbidden to associate with Muslims, or even offer service to their friends and neighbours,” said Diane Ala’i, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. “Even the smallest acts of good will – such as taking flowers to someone who’s sick in hospital or donating gifts to an orphanage – these are being seen as actions against the regime.” Most of the Baha’i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched.  Ivel, Mazandaran, Iran “Baha’is have lived in this area for more than 100 years and it once had a large community,” said Ms. Ala’i. “But in 1983, a few years after the Iranian revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighboring villages were put on buses and expelled. “Since then, they have tried to seek legal redress to no avail, while returning in the summer to harvest their crops,” she said. The day after the demolitions took place, a Baha’i man who visited the site with his family to harvest his produce was beaten and insulted by other residents. In the past, those who are trying to drive the Baha’is out have set upon them when they tried to enter the neighborhood to rebuild or renovate their properties. Persistent government attacks on Baha’is in all the mass media – along with inaction by local officials to protect them – have continued to incite hatred against the Baha’is in the region and throughout Iran, said Ms. Alai. “This latest action shows the degree to which the authorities have completely failed to live up to their responsibilities to protect the Baha’is and their religious freedom,” she said. Members of the Baha’i community have made repeated complaints both before and after the latest incident to local government officials, including to the provincial governor in Sari. In every case, knowledge of the demolitions or the motive behind them was denied. While reports about the latest action began appearing on various Persian-language websites last Friday, the Baha’i International Community was only able to confirm details of the incident today. Latest reports indicate that 90 percent of the Baha’i homes have now been demolished. Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/780 |
| Destruction of fifty Baha’i residences in the village of Ivel in Mazandaran Posted: 28 Jun 2010 07:28 PM PDT Thursday 3 Tir 1389 [24 Jun 2010] Ivel, Mazandaran, Iran Baha’is of Ivel village [also written as Eival, or Evel] in Mazandaran, found out that the non-Baha’i citizens were preparing a local petition for the destruction, leveling and excavation of Baha’i residences; operations began yesterday in the village. Human Rights News Service in Iran RHANA: The Baha’is of Ivel village in Mazandaran went to Kiasar Municipality and informed them of the problem, but that entity negated the issue and declared it illegal. The next day, in addition to going to the Municipality of Kiasar again, they went to the Farmandary [county office] and the Provincial offices in Sari, as well as the General Court in Kiasar and the Public Order unit of Telmadareh, but all claimed ignorance, declaring such an act to be condemned and illegal, and calling the perpetrators criminals. As reported by Rhana, in the midst of these events, a Baha’i family (that of Mahmood Piri) come face to face with a vehicle with 4 occupants, and noticed that a number of people were busy upstairs destroying their property . At that point, Mahmood Piri encountered physical abuse from one of the occupants of the vehicle and was forced to leave the scene. The Piri family along with another Baha’i family (Rohani) were not allowed to enter the area or even the vicinity by the people busy with the destruction. For 48 hours the village and the surrounding area were quarantined, and there was a constant watch to prevent people entering the village; moreover, all the roads were blocked. According to one person, 4 loaders and a number of trucks were busy tearing down, leveling and excavating around 50 of the Baha’i homes in Ivel. Translation by Iran Press Watch |
| Afshin Iqani condemned to 4 years 3 months and 1 day “reprimand” imprisonment Posted: 28 Jun 2010 07:19 PM PDT  Afshin Iqani Wednesday 2 Tir 1389 [23 June 2010] at 17:02 [5:02 PM] Hrana News – Afshin Iqani, a Baha’i citizen of Semnan, has been condemned to 4 years, 3 months and 1 day imprisonment as a “reprimand”. The 4 year sentence relates to the charge of “organizing groups intending to disturb national security” – in the sentence handed down it states that any activity related to the Baha’i Faith is illegal, and has therefore no goal other than disturbing national security – the 3 months and 1 day part of the sentence is related to the charge of “propaganda against the regime and in favour of opposition groups (Baha’ism). According to Baha’i News Service, the court order also refers to the fact that Mr Iqani’s previous arrest will be reflected in his sentence, and that Ministry of Information experts assert that all his assets related to the accusations will be confiscated. In additional, as the Semnan prison lacks appropriate facilities to look after “this type of prisoner” [no further information available on what type of prisoner this is], Mr Iqani will be sent to a prison in Tehran Province. He has twenty days to request a review of the court order. Mr Iqani was arrested on the 15th of Day 1388 [3 Jan 2010] and had been released on a 150 million Toman [1 toman = 10 Iranian rials; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_toman; this is approx 150,000 USD] bond on the 9th of Esfand 1388 [28 Feb]. It should be noted that on the 21st of Esfand 1387 [11 Mar 2009], Ministry of Information officials had attacked Mr. Iqani’s store, had confiscated half his stock, and had ordered him to sell the remaining stock in the store before the arrival of the new year [i.e., by Nawruz 1388, or 21 Mar 2009].” Translation by Iran Press Watch |
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Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community Part 1
Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community Part 1
Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community Part 1
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