The Australian Baha’i Community says Iran should bring to justice those who murdered a prominent Baha’i on Saturday.
The killing has come after an ongoing series of murders, unexplained deaths and physical assaults on members of the Baha’i Faith in Iran since 2005.
Spokesperson Venus Khalessi said today that Australian Baha’is are shocked and deeply outraged by the shooting of Mr Ataollah Rezvani in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on 24 August.
“The Iranian government should take all possible steps to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” Ms Khalessi said.
“We hold grave concern for the ongoing situation of the Baha’is throughout Iran,” she said.
“Baha’is, numbering 300,000, are the biggest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran yet , despite being model citizens, they are being relentlessly and systematically persecuted.
Series of murders
“Since 2005, at least nine Baha’is have been murdered or have died under suspicious circumstances, and another 52 have been physically assaulted, both by government agents and plainclothes men or unidentified attackers – all without prosecution.
“This violence has a terrifying background — between 1979 and 1998, more than 200 Baha’is were killed or executed for their faith in Iran.”
Baha’i International Community spokesperson Bani Dugal said Mr Rezvani was shot in the back of the head by assailants.
“There is little doubt that the killing was motivated by religious prejudice,” Ms Dugal said.
“Therefore, it is essential that the Iranian government at the highest levels investigate this without delay under its international obligations.
“In recent years, clerics and the authorities in Iran have sought to create an atmosphere of anti-Baha’i hatred, using the pulpit and state-sponsored media.
“The newly instituted government of President Hassan Rouhani now has a clear choice. It can continue as his predecessors have, allowing such incidents to take place with impunity, indicating to the world that nothing has changed. Or, it can show the world that it is committed to upholding justice and human rights for all Iranians.”
Read more about the case by visiting the official website of the Baha’i International Community