[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 23623-23624]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT UNJUST IMPRISONMENT OF BAHA'I RELIGIOUS 
                            MINORITY IN IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 22, 2010

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express both my 
deep concern and the deep concern of some of my constituents about the 
unjust imprisonment of several members of a religious minority in Iran. 
In particular, I wish to speak of the member of the Baha'i faith who 
have been persecuted and

[[Page 23624]]

imprisoned in Iran. My home district in Chicago has a rich diversity of 
people from all backgrounds and faiths, and I am fortunate to have 
Baha'is as part of this rich diversity. The Baha'i faith is a peaceful 
religion that teaches the oneness of humanity and that all forms of 
prejudice should be eliminated.
  Some of you will recall that in 2009 I was one of the co-sponsors to 
House Resolution 175. That resolution condemned the Government of Iran 
for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its 
continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. H. 
Res. 175 passed with 407 ``aye'' votes on October 22, 2009. However, 
some of my constituents have informed me that the persecution and 
suppression of the Baha'i faith in Iran persist with no relief in 
sight.
  In 2009 the international press reported that seven Baha'I leaders in 
Iran were unjustly arrested and held in prison without knowing the 
charges for their arrest for approximately 20 months.
  The unjust prosecution of these seven particular Baha'is was 
condemned by international leaders and drawn into our national 
awareness for a short time. Those seven Baha'is are real people with 
families, who continue to suffer injustice because of their peaceful 
religious beliefs. The more disturbing fact is that those seven Baha'i 
leaders are merely the ones that made the headlines. There are 
approximately 48 additional Baha'is currently imprisoned in Iran. 
Approximately 132 Baha'is have been arrested and released on bail to 
await trial, and another 92 Baha'is have been sentenced to 
imprisonment. In the last decade, hundreds of Baha'is have been 
prosecuted and imprisoned for their religious beliefs. But that is not 
the only degradation that Baha'is in Iran must face. Baha'is have been 
dismissed from their jobs, expelled from universities, and deprived of 
their property and pensions, all because of their religious beliefs.
  Our national consciousness would not be so aware of this unjust and 
unfair treatment if it had not been for yet another unjust prosecution 
of a young American journalist, Roxana Saberi, in 2009. While Roxana 
shared a prison cell with two of the female Baha'i leaders in Evin 
prison, she was astounded by the tranquility of her Baha'i cell mates 
even as they faced harsh conditions and uncertainty about their future. 
Fortunately, Roxana was freed from prison and has returned safely to 
the United States; however, those seven Baha'i leaders remain in prison 
and were sentenced to 10 years of confinement in one of the most 
dreadful prisons in Iran.
  In short, the Baha'i faith teaches tolerance, patience, peace and 
self-investigation of the truth. Yet, Baha'is are singled out and 
marked from persecution and ridicule from the class room to the court 
room and from the lunch room to the laboratory. We have our own history 
of unjust treatment in this country and the grievous and slow healing 
wounds from such pernicious and repugnant conduct can still be felt 
today. However, the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion in 
our great country have contributed greatly to the healing of our 
society.
  I believe each and every human being has a fundamental right to 
freedom of religion that should not be curtailed or circumscribed by 
the coincidence of one's citizenship in a particular nation. The 
freedom in our country to choose how to peacefully worship God is 
something many of us take for granted. We need only consider the unjust 
and inhumane treatment of Baha'is in Iran to realize that this freedom 
is not available to everyone in the world.
  I agree with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she 
condemned the sentencing of the Baha'i leaders and stated that the 
``United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the 
world, and we have not forgotten the Baha'i community in Iran.''
  I speak to you today as a reminder that religious persecution remains 
a fact of life in our world and that the plight of the Baha'is in Iran 
is a poignant example of injustice. On behalf of my Baha'i 
constituents, I ask that you lend your voice to mine, so that we may 
create a chorus of diverse voices against the type of blatant religious 
persecution that we are witnessing in the unjust treatment of Baha'is 
in Iran.

                          ____________________