[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7020]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INCARCERATION OF SEVERAL PROMINENT MEMBERS OF 
               THE BAHA'I COMMUNITY BY THE IRANIAN REGIME

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2015

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 7th 
anniversary of the incarceration of several prominent members of the 
Baha'i community by the Iranian regime.
  The 9th District of Illinois is home to the Baha'i House of Worship--
which I just visited last week--and many members of the Baha'i faith. I 
have heard many stories about the Iranian government's mistreatment of 
the Baha'i community, and those stories are truly heartbreaking. 
Members of the Baha'i community face the constant risk of violence, 
arrest or worse, and suffer significant discrimination as they go about 
their daily lives.
  The arrest and conviction of these Baha'i leaders is but one example 
of a much larger problem of human rights abuses. I call on the Iranian 
government to release the seven Baha'i leaders who have been in their 
custody for so long and to change the way it treats religious 
minorities--including members of the Baha'i community.