Execution of Iranian Bahá'í
Execution of Iranian Bahá'í August 14, 1998
Contact: Louis J. Lois 887-5692, Sahba Jalali 344-2020, 376-5441
Treasure Valley Baha'is Deplore Summary Execution
Killing Raises Fears of Intensification of Religious Persecution
Meridian, ID-- Members of the Meridian Baha'i community learned recently of the summary execution by Iranian authorities of a Baha'i, Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, on July 21st in Mashhad, Iran.
Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, 52, a medical supplies salesman and father of four was arrested September 20, 1997, accused of converting a young woman from Islam to the Baha'i Faith. There is no evidence that Mr. Rowhani was accorded any legal process or that he had access to a lawyer. No sentence had been announced. The woman concerned denied that she had been converted. She explained that her mother was a Baha'i and that she herself had been raised as a Baha'i. She was not arrested.
On the night before his death, Baha'is in Mashhad learned from the Iranian Intelligence Office that Mr. Rowhani was to be executed the following day. The statement was not taken seriously because these same authorities had often made similar threats in order to cause anguish. Mr. Rowhani's family learned that he had actually been executed when they were called to collect his body.
Mr. Rowhani is the first Baha'i to be executed since March 1992. Fifteen Baha'is are currently being held in Iranian prisons on charges related to their religious beliefs. four of the prisoners are on death row on charges of apostasy and of "Zionist Baha'i activities."
"We were very sad when we heard the news of Mr. Rowhani's execution," said Dr. Sahba Jalali, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Meridian. "We had all hoped things were improving, but now it seems as though several more Baha'is will be killed simply because of their religious convictions," he said.
"Our greatest fear is what the summary execution of Mr. Rowhani may mean for the other Baha'i prisoners in Iran," the Baha'is of Meridian wrote today in a letter to U.S. Senators Craig and Kempthorne and to U.S. Congresswoman Chenoweth. "It is on their behalf that we seek your help in protesting this action. We had hoped that Iranian President Khatami's assertions about freedom, justice and the rule of law would also apply to the largest religious minority in his nation."
The letter continues, "There are over 300,000 Baha'is in Iran and they are considered 'unprotected infidels.' Baha'i property and other legal rights have been disregarded. Their homes, businesses and farms have been confiscated. Their cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centers and other community assets have been seized or destroyed. They have been denied access to education, employment and pensions, The Iranian Baha'is face a slow, planned extermination. As a matter of fact, in 1993 the UN Special Representative to Iran published a secret Iranian government document that set guidelines for the suppression of the Iranian Baha'i community."
"Anything that you can do to help our fellow believers in Iran will be greatly appreciated by the Treasure Valley Baha'i communities and by the six million Baha'is throughout the world," the letter concludes.
Dr. Jalali adds, "We are inviting our friends and those who cherish freedom of religion to join us in prayers for Mr. Rowhani and his family at 7:30 P.M. on Saturday, August 22nd at the Baha'i Information Center, 611 Albion, Boise."
The White House and the U.S. Department of State, in official statements on July 23, have both condemned the execution.