CNN.com posts another article on the arrests of the Baha'is in Iran
CNN.com has just posted an exceptional follow up article on the recent arrests of the Baha'is in Iran.
Iran 'plans to destroy Baha'i community'
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A top Baha'i official has criticized Iran's claim that the six imprisoned leaders of the religious minority were held for security reasons and not because of their faith.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has been accused of trying to eliminate the Baha'i community.
Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, called Iran's assertion "utterly baseless."
"The allegations are not new, and the Iranian government knows well that they are untrue," Dugal said on Wednesday, quoted in a news release issued by the Baha'i movement.
"The documented plan of the Iranian government has always been to destroy the Baha'i community, and these latest arrests represent an intensification of this plan."
Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said the people were detained for "security issues" and not their faith, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency said.
Elham said on Tuesday that the Baha'is were members of a group working together "against national interest."
"The group is an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular," he said.
The arrests of the six last week and another Baha'i leader in March sparked sharp condemnation by the Baha'is, the United States, Canada, the European Union and humanitarian groups.
The Baha'is say the latest arrests are part of a pattern of religious persecution since 1979, when the monarchy of the Shah of Iran was toppled and an Islamic republic was created in the predominantly Shiite nation.
The Baha'is say they have been killed, jailed and "otherwise oppressed" only because of their religion.
"The best proof of this is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam, an option few have taken," Dugal said.
Read the rest of the article >
Iran 'plans to destroy Baha'i community'
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A top Baha'i official has criticized Iran's claim that the six imprisoned leaders of the religious minority were held for security reasons and not because of their faith.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has been accused of trying to eliminate the Baha'i community.
Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, called Iran's assertion "utterly baseless."
"The allegations are not new, and the Iranian government knows well that they are untrue," Dugal said on Wednesday, quoted in a news release issued by the Baha'i movement.
"The documented plan of the Iranian government has always been to destroy the Baha'i community, and these latest arrests represent an intensification of this plan."
Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said the people were detained for "security issues" and not their faith, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency said.
Elham said on Tuesday that the Baha'is were members of a group working together "against national interest."
"The group is an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular," he said.
The arrests of the six last week and another Baha'i leader in March sparked sharp condemnation by the Baha'is, the United States, Canada, the European Union and humanitarian groups.
The Baha'is say the latest arrests are part of a pattern of religious persecution since 1979, when the monarchy of the Shah of Iran was toppled and an Islamic republic was created in the predominantly Shiite nation.
The Baha'is say they have been killed, jailed and "otherwise oppressed" only because of their religion.
"The best proof of this is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam, an option few have taken," Dugal said.
Read the rest of the article >
posted by Brian at 8:47 PM
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