[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 163 (Friday, November 15, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE PERSECUTION OF BAHA'I COMMUNITY IN IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 15, 2013

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing of Mr. 
Ataollah Rezvani, a Baha'i community leader in the port city of Bandar 
Abbas, Iran. In late August, Mr. Rezvani was found murdered in his car 
on the outskirts of the city, a gunshot to the back of his head. Before 
his death, he was subject to persistent threats and intimidation from 
agents of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. And ultimately, his 
steadfast refusal to submit or cower in the face of this oppression 
resulted in the loss of his livelihood and his life. His only crime was 
the practice of his faith.
  Over the last several months, the Iranian regime has taken a new and 
welcome posture toward the resolution of the nuclear issue. While the 
talks between Iran and the P5-plus-1 have not yielded an agreement, we 
are in a better position to come to a sustainable agreement than ever 
before. These efforts are welcome. However, Iran's steps toward 
reconciling with the global community must be paired with progress on 
human rights at home, and an end to religious-based persecution of 
Iran's Baha'i and other minority communities.
  Although the Iranian authorities released 91 political prisoners in 
recent months, not a single Baha'i was among them. Instead, 115 Baha'is 
remain imprisoned, solely because of their faith, including the 
leadership of the ``Yaran-i-Iran,'' or ``Friends in Iran.'' The seven 
leaders of this group, which oversaw the welfare of the Iranian Baha'i 
community, have now each served five years of their 20-year sentences--
the longest sentences given to any prisoner of conscience in Iran.
  Dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government 
has implemented a program of active, systematic discrimination against 
the Baha'i community. As a result, the Baha'i have been reduced to 
second-class citizens within their own country, stripped of their 
property, denied access to an education, and deprived of the freedom to 
worship. All human beings are entitled to these liberties, not simply 
because of a statute or a constitution. Rather, these are the basic 
human rights of every person, regardless of race, color, or creed, by 
virtue of our very humanity.
  It is my fervent hope that Iran's leadership will move forward 
towards rapprochement with the international community, but we must 
also see progress toward internal reform, and a restitution of rights 
to all minority communities and the Baha'i citizens of Iran 
particularly.

                          ____________________