IMHRO condemns the execution of a Baha’i man

Iranian Minorities’ Human Rights Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.38

24/01/09

According to the Radio France Persian service, Hushang .K was executed for having a relationship with a woman[i]. They did not provide any more detail about the case.

In Iran having a relationship with the opposite sex is forbidden and can end in the death penalty, it is called Zena (adultery) in the penal code.

IMHRO condemns the execution of Hushang .K by the Iranian government, it is clear that he was executed for just being a Baha’i.

IMHRO researcher Reza Washahi said these types of excuse for arresting and sentencing death penalty are always used against the minorities in Iran and there is a fear that the number of such cases could increase. A few years ago a brave lawyer, who had annoyed the government, was charged with possessing bottles of wine in his house and was arrested on that basis, but real story was something else.

IMHRO reminds the Iranian government that they are a signatory party of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). All these covenants clearly support the freedom of social life and also freedom of religion.

Background

Iran is the birth place of the Baha’i religion, but the Baha’i are persecuted in Iran and their holy sites are attacked and destroyed. Many Baha’i have had to leave Iran from fear of persecution.

6 Baha’i leaders were arrested in May 2008.

The Baha’i religion is not recognised by the Iranian government and they accuse the west of inventing the Baha’i religion in Iran.