{"id":1142,"date":"2008-10-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/university-ban-part-of-pervasive-persecution\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:54:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:54:14","slug":"university-ban-part-of-pervasive-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/university-ban-part-of-pervasive-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"University ban part of pervasive persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"University<\/figure>\n

Baha\u2019i students in Iran have again been prevented from enrolling in universities for the start of the new academic year, a spokesperson for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, Tessa Scrine, said today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranian authorities continue to use devious methods to prevent young Baha\u2019is from obtaining a university education, despite the Government\u2019s obligations under international human rights law,\u201d Ms Scrine said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main method used to stop Baha\u2019is from enrolling is by blocking their examination results and declaring their files incomplete,\u201d Ms Scrine said.<\/p>\n

Without complete files, enrolment in all public and most private universities in Iran is impossible, she said.<\/p>\n

The few Baha\u2019is who are enrolled in universities are expelled when their religious beliefs become known, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful to the Australian university organisations and individual academics who have spoken up in defence of the right of all to access education, irrespective of their religion, and to the Australian Government for its support,” she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge other organisations and individuals who care about the right to education to join them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imprisoned<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile all seven members of the Baha\u2019i national coordinating committee remain in Evin Prison in Tehran.<\/p>\n

Their families were able to pay them a brief visit recently for the first time since their arrests but they have had no access to lawyers and no formal charges have been laid.<\/p>\n

Those in jail are: Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mr Vahid Tizfahm, and Mrs Mahvash Sabet. The first six have been jailed since May, and Mrs Sabet since March 2008.<\/p>\n

At least 22 Baha\u2019is are currently imprisoned in Iran because of their religion.<\/p>\n

Attacks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attacks on the 300,000-strong Baha\u2019i community in Iran are pervasive and accelerating.<\/p>\n

On 19 September, at a large enclosed outdoor area in Tehran set up for the Friday Islamic noontime prayer, an anti-Baha\u2019i petition was on prominent display for worshippers to sign.<\/p>\n

The day was the third Friday of Ramadan, when huge crowds gather because it is one of the few times during the year that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei leads prayers and delivers a sermon.<\/p>\n

Officials from the Ministry of Intelligence were on the spot to make sure that people signed the petition on their way in to prayers.<\/p>\n

It has been announced that the same petition will be offered for signing in other cities.<\/p>\n

Other examples of recent attacks on Baha’is include:<\/p>\n