{"id":1329,"date":"2015-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/australian-bahais-speak-out-after-forced-business-closures-in-iran\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:47:53","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:47:53","slug":"australian-bahais-speak-out-after-forced-business-closures-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/australian-bahais-speak-out-after-forced-business-closures-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Baha\u2019is speak out after forced business closures in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Australian
Mr Nasser Sedghi in his Dubbo business premises.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Australian Baha’is are speaking out against a new wave of official attacks in Iran that has seen the closure of businesses run by their friends and family.<\/p>\n

The Baha\u2019is are appealing for justice after Iranian government agents sealed shops whose owners, according to Baha\u2019i religious practice, had temporarily closed them in observance of holy days in April and May.<\/p>\n

The authorities have threatened to shut the shops permanently if Baha\u2019is do not sign a pledge that they would limit closures to national holidays, a requirement which is against the laws of Iran itself and violates international human rights norms.<\/p>\n

Baha\u2019is view the closures and threats as part of an ongoing systematic persecution that includes jailing of Baha\u2019is, bans on attending university, desecration of cemeteries, hate campaigns in state-controlled media, phone threats and assaults.<\/p>\n

Breaching human rights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dubbo businessman Nasser Sedghi, who is originally from Iran, said this latest economic attack is blatant religious persecution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis illegal act brings shame to Iran in the international community\u201d Mr Sedghi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father-in-law\u2019s business is one of many that have been sealed.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaha\u2019is have very few options to earn an income because they are banned from the public service, and have been sacked from the private sector as a result of pressure from the authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI own a computer business in Dubbo. If I were in Iran, I would be banned from doing that, or even from selling jewellery, photographic equipment or food, just because I am a Baha\u2019i. It is so unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Aghdas Hakimian, of Melbourne, recalls the attacks by anonymous individuals some years ago on her father\u2019s fabric shop after he had closed it for a holy day. \u201cThey defecated on the shop locks and drew anti-Baha’i graffiti on the shop door,\u201d Mrs Hakimian said.<\/p>\n

On a Baha\u2019i holy day last month, Mrs Hakimian\u2019s sister-in-law closed her small shop where she sold hosiery. The authorities have since sealed it, leaving the family with no way to earn money.<\/p>\n

Another Australian Baha\u2019i, Adelaide dentist Roshanak Amrein, who grew up in Iran, said at least eight of her friends in her home town of Rafsanjan have had their shops sealed up by government agents. \u201cMany Baha\u2019i shops have also previously been the target of arsonists after official media hate campaigns,\u201d Dr Amrein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranian authorities should realise the eyes of the world are on these heartless and illegal tactics which aim to economically strangle the Baha\u2019i community in Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n

Australian Baha\u2019i Community spokesperson Natalie Mobini said Mr Sedghi, Mrs Hakimian and Dr Amrein are just three of many Baha\u2019is in Australia who have become alarmed at these latest attacks on family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful to the Australian Federal Parliament and the current and former Australian foreign ministers for calling for an end to the persecution of Baha\u2019is in Iran,” Dr Mobini said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately the Iranian authorities continue to flout the repeated calls of the international community to stop their attacks on the Baha\u2019is, a law-abiding and non-political community and the biggest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran.”<\/p>\n

For further information, visit Baha’i World News Service<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian Baha’is are speaking out against a new wave of official attacks in Iran that has seen the closure of businesses run by their friends and family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nAustralian Baha\u2019is speak out after forced business closures in Iran - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/australian-bahais-speak-out-after-forced-business-closures-in-iran\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australian Baha\u2019is speak out after forced business closures in Iran - 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