Update on Arrests of Baha’is in Iran
In mid may, 54 members of the Baha'i community of Shiraz, Iran were arrested while teaching children in a religiously-neutral setting. No indication has been given as to the cause of their arrest. While most have been released, a few remain in jail. Many in the international community see this as continuing evidence of the renewed persecution — alluded to in our April editorial — of the Baha'is in their homeland of Iran, where they are the largest religious minority yet do not enjoy equal rights with the majority religion or other minority religions.
26 May 2006
NEW YORK, 26 May 2006 (BWNS) — After their arrests on 19 May in Shiraz, Iran, three Baha'is remain in jail while 51 others have been released on bail. No indication has been given as to when the three will be released. None of those who had been released, nor the three who are still being detained, have been formally charged.
On the day of the arrests, one Baha'i, under the age of 15, was released without having to post bail. At that same time, several other young people who are not Baha'is and who had been arrested with the Baha'is, were also released without bail.
On Wednesday 24 May, five days after their summary arrests, 14 of the Baha'is were released, each having been required to provide deeds of property to the value of ten million tumans (approximately US$11,000) as collateral for release. The following day, Thursday 25 May, 36 Baha'is were released on the strength of either personal guarantees or the deposit of work licenses with the court as surety that they will appear when summoned to court.