Iran targets its Baha’i community with arrests and home demolitions | World News,The Indian Express

Bani Dugal, the United Nations representative of the Baha’i International Community, which advocates on behalf of the group worldwide, said that Iran had arrested 52 Baha’is in July, raiding dozens of homes, closing businesses and demolishing properties.

Written by Farnaz Fassihi

Iran has begun a sweeping crackdown on its Baha’i community, a long-persecuted religious minority, arresting dozens of people and destroying property belonging to members of the group, according to accounts this week from the government, residents and rights groups.

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry said in a statement Monday that an unspecified number of people from the Baha’i community had been arrested, accusing them of being spies with links to Israel and of propagating the Baha’i faith by “infiltrating various educational sectors across the country, including kindergartens.”

Bani Dugal, the United Nations representative of the Baha’i International Community, which advocates on behalf of the group worldwide, said that Iran had arrested 52 Baha’is in July, raiding dozens of homes, closing businesses and demolishing properties. She said that the reasons behind the timing of the actions were still unclear.

“We don’t know why,” Dugal said. “They are rolling out crackdowns, and we are concerned that this is a new chapter in the persecution of Baha’is because the nature of the current attacks have been very systematic and cruel and violent.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/iran-targets-bahai-community-8074627/

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