Islamic regime’s confidential plans to gather intelligence on the Baha’i community

Iran Press News: Negaah Wedsite reports: Amnesty International has recently revealed important and confidential documents. This document is an official directive from the Islamic regime authorities to the intelligence and security agencies to officially gather intelligence on the Bahá’i community of Iran and their activities. Gathering this kind of intelligence is usually a precursor to plans and schemes to ethnic cleansing.

On March 20th of this year Ms. Asma Jahangir, the freedom of religion and belief rapporteur of the UN commission on human rights announced that in October 2005 a secret directive was issued from the [Islamic regime’s] armed forces chief of staff commander to the ministry of intelligence, commander of police forces, commander of the army, commander of the revolutionary guard and other institutions of the regime. According to the directive, the above-mentioned regime agencies must identify all Baha’is and survey their activities under and report their findings to the authorities in charge of this plan. According to Ms. Jahangir this confidential directive was ordered by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei himself.

Ms. Jahangir writes that she fears that the surveillance of the people of the Baha’i faith, is simply because these are individuals of different religious beliefs; she indicates that this kind of monitoring and secret probe is an interference and therefore illegal and considered unacceptable to the rights of religious groups. Ms. Jahangir also expressed concern that gathering intelligence through this type of “observation”, is additionally in violation of international standards and tantamount to the increase of pressure, harassment and discrimination against members of the Bahá' í community. Since she accepted her post as the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of religion and belief at the commission on human rights in July 2004, she has exposed many controversial cases about the Islamic regime’s treatment of Bahá’is.

In addition to the secret directive from command headquarters, Kayhan newspaper* has begun publishing lies and provocations against the Baha’is that has become worrisome to those familiar with Iran’s political and religious environment. For those who follow the developments inside Iran, it is obvious that Keyhan’s increasing promolgations against the followers of Bahá’í faith must be evaluated within the context of the secret directive of the armed forces command staff to the intelligence and security agencies of the Islamic Republic. The aim is to exterminate all who have beliefs that differ from that of the Islamic regime.

* Kayhan newspaper is the mouthpiece newspaper belonging to Supreme leader, Mullah Khamenei.