30 April 1993
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
ANNOUNCE NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS UNIVERSAL HOUSE of JUSTICE ALI NAKHJIAVÁNÍ, GLENFORD MITCHELL, ADIB TAHERZADEH, IAN SEMPLE, PETER KHAN, HUSHMAND FATHEAZAM, HOOPER DUNBAR, FARZAM ARBAB, DOUGLAS MARTIN.
Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
10 December 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
We take pleasure in announcing the decision to establish an Office for the Advancement of Women, which, as an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, will promote the principles of the Faith through its interaction with international entities concerned with matters affecting the rights, status and wellbeing of women. It will also advise National Spiritual Assemblies regarding programs and projects in which the involvement of the community can encourage efforts towards the realization of the equality of men and women.
The establishment of this Office now is largely a consequence of two gratifying developments, namely: the great extent to which the work of our United Nations Office concerning women’s issues has expanded in recent years; and the rising stature for the Bahá’í community which this work has achieved in international circles. We are delighted that, for instance, the Bahá’í International Community has been serving since 1988 as the convener of Advocates for African Food Security, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental bodies formed in 1986 to raise awareness of women as producers of most of the domestic food in Africa; that our United Nations representative who specializes in women’s issues is a member of the Steering Committee which is planning the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum to be held in Beijing in 1995 at the time of the Fourth World Conference on Women; and that she chairs the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York, a position of great prestige in the UN/NGO community. Furthermore, the relations of the Bahá’í International Community with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have fostered a mutual confidence that has encouraged UNIFEM to collaborate with the Bahá’í International Community in the launching in three countries of projects aimed at promoting change in attitudes between men and women. All three projects involve the Bahá’í community at international, national and local levels.
11 November 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Beloved Friends,
Conscious of the increasing burden of advancing years and the effect of this on the services they can render, Mr. Hugh E. Chance and Dr. David S. Ruhe have, after prayerful consideration of the best interests of the Cause of God, requested permission to relinquish their membership on the Universal House of Justice, in accordance with Article V.2.(c) of its Constitution.
The House of Justice has regretfully accepted the resignation of these beloved members, who have rendered highly valued services in the Holy Land, since 1963 in Mr. Chances case, and since 1968 in that of Dr. Ruhe. They will thus be able to continue their services to the Cause of God free from the inexorable pressure of work at the World Center. In view, however, of the imminence of the next international election, we have requested them to remain in office until that time, and to this they have readily agreed.
With loving Baha’i greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
30 September 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
We are instructed to convey to you the following disturbing news which was just received from the friends in Iran.
During the past few weeks, Iranian Islamic revolutionary institutions in Yazd, Tehran, and Isfahan have confiscated a considerable number of private homes and other property belonging to Bahá’ís. The Bahá’ís concerned are neither prominent believers nor were they engaged in Bahá’í administrative activities.
The friends in Iran explained that, in Yazd, these confiscations are based on a religious edict issued to the Judiciary by the late Áyatu’lláh Sadúqí, former Imam of Yazd, on the strength of which the members of the Imam Khomeini Foundation are seizing the homes of Bahá’ís and are harassing the occupants. The late Áyatu’lláh, in turn, had taken this action on the instigation of a certain Mr. Kashmírí, who had played an active role in the oppression of the Bahá’ís in Yazd and was keenly interested in their properties. The details are as follows.
Yazd
In Yazd, 11 families are presently affected by such confiscations. Mr. Dáryúsh Dahmúbidí s family, residing in Taft, was already forcefully evicted and their house with all its furnishings was taken over by the Imam Khomeini Foundation.
30 September 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
The Holy Year is approaching its midway point and the time is ripe for all National Spiritual Assemblies to consult with the Counselors to formulate national goals for the Three Year Plan which will be launched next Ridván.
The experience you gained in formulating and then carrying out the goals of the Six Year Plan can now enable you to refine the process in relation to the Three Year Plan. The main theme for the Bahá’í community during the Three Year Plan will be to pursue three closely related developments which can be summarized as enhancing the vitality of the faith of individual believers, greatly developing the human resources of the Cause, and fostering the proper functioning of its local and national institutions.
We are asking the Counselors to make a special point of consulting with each National Spiritual Assembly on how this challenge can best be met through the instrumentality of goals based on the seven major objectives set forth in 1986, which still provide a valid framework for your planning, and to ensure that no essential element of your community’s development is overlooked.
Each National Spiritual Assembly is to formulate specific goals towards the attainment of the objectives in light of the present conditions and opportunities in each country—goals that match the urgent needs and that can be achieved in the short space of three years. No doubt each country will require its specific emphasis among these objectives, and your consultations with the Counselors will be invaluable in assisting you to focus the endeavors of the friends in each of your communities.
10 September 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
Further to our communication dated 7 September 1992 concerning the two condemned Bahá'í prisoners in Iran, Messrs. Bihnám Mítháqí and Kayván Khalajábádí, the Bahá'ís in Iran have reported that the relatives of these two prisoners have submitted their complaints against the death sentences in writing to the Iranian Supreme Court, the Public Prosecutor's Office and to the Office of General Investigation. . . .
The following details which have been provided by the believers in Iran may be shared only with your government contacts at present:
Personal information about the prisoners:
Mr. Bihnám Mítháqí was born in 1962, is married and has a
six-year-old daughter.
Mr. Kayván Khalajábádí was born in 1960 and is single.
Arrest and Sentencing:
Both men were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Committee of Rajá'í on 29 April 1989 in Gohardasht and were held at Gohardasht Prison for a period of time. Later they were transferred to Evin Prison.
Their first trial took place at Branch Number 1 of the Office of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Karaj and, according to Court Order Number 1/209/78 dated 19 June 1989, they were sentenced to eight years' correctional imprisonment on the charge of "Spying activities of the Espionage Sect of Bahá'ísm." The sentences were effective as of 19 June 1989. Both prisoners appealed their sentences under File Number 13815/68 V-1.
7 September 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha’i Friends,
The Universal House of Justice was pleased to receive replies from a number of National Spiritual Assemblies in response to our communication of 3 September 1992, reporting the actions they have taken in regard to two Baha’i prisoners in Iran, Messrs. Bihnám Mítháqí and Kayván Khalajábádí. Although it is not possible at present to answer all the questions raised concerning these two friends, we have been asked to share with you the following background information gleaned from the records thus for available.
Messrs. Mítháqí and Khalajábádí were members of a group of three well-known Baha’is of Karaj who were assisting the Baha’is in that community. At the time of their arrest they were also helping Baha’i children in their studies. Mr. Mítháqí is 30 years of age and married. Mr. Khalajábádí is of similar age, but his marital status is not known.
Following their arrest on 29 April 1989, they were taken together to the Gohardasht Prison in Karaj for interrogation. Although their cases are similar in many ways, they do differ in some details and it is assumed, therefore, that they are being dealt with separately by the authorities. Both prisoners had been seen by Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in Evin Prison on his last visit to Iran in December 1991, and he later reported that they appeared to be in bad health. Further information about each of these cases is set forth below.
3 September 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha’i Friends,
The Universal House of Justice has instructed us to inform
you of the following disturbing news just received from the Baha’i friends in
Iran. . . .
Messrs. Bihnám Mítháqí and Kayván Khalajábádí, two active Iranian Baha’is who were arrested three years ago and are still being held at the Gohardasht Prison in Karaj near Tehran, have recently been called to the prison authorities where they were orally informed that an Islamic Revolutionary Court has issued a verdict condemning them to death.
The friends in Iran had earlier reported that, as an unprecedented gesture, the Iranian authorities had instructed these two Baha’i prisoners to choose Muslim lawyers to defend them. Presumably, this was an exercise designed to impress Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, who was due to visit Iran at that time. Such lawyers were eventually engaged by the Baha’is, but, having taken some initial steps regarding the two defendants, they found themselves unable to continue and resigned. Therefore, the trial which resulted in the death sentences for the two Baha’is took place without any lawyers defending them. Messrs. Mítháqí and Khalajábádí have appealed against these verdicts to a higher court in Iran, but the outcome is uncertain. . . .
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
25 June 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha’i Friends,
The Universal House of Justice deeply regrets to inform you
that, following earlier reports received from members of the Ghedami family
residing in Canada and the United States, the friends in Iran have now
confirmed that Mr. Rúhu'lláh Ghedami, a staunch member of their community, has
become the victim of a brutal murder at the hands of two members of the Iranian
Disciplinary Forces.
The following details are reported by the friends in Iran:
Mr. Rúhu’lláh Ghedami was 65 years of age. He used to be employed by the Iranian Railway Company and was dismissed from work. He was a farmer in the village of Muzaffaríyyih near Islám-Shahr for about 20 years. His wife and five of his children are living outside of Iran.
Mr. Ghedami had a great love for the Faith and would often talk about it to non-Bahá’ís. Towards the end of 1370 (1991), he started associating with a member of the Disciplinary Forces of the Government of Iran and began talking to him about the Faith. These conversations continued for a while until he was officially asked, in that same year, to report to one of the police stations in the town of Rayy. He was then given a questionnaire with 40 items which were all answered by him. Mr. Ghedami later explained to one of his friends that all the questions related to Baha’i subjects.
24 June 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha’i Friends,
As you are already aware from previous communications, the Baha’i Holy Places and other properties and endowments belonging to the Baha’i community of Iran are still under government control. Many have been desecrated or demolished and the sites used for constructing roads or other buildings.
Among these confiscated properties was the once beautiful and well-kept Baha’i cemetery in Tehran. It has been desecrated and the headstones and marble coverings of the graves were removed and later sold in auctions. All identification marks on the graves were obliterated, and a school and playground are being built on this site.
The Baha’i community had owned a large piece of property to the south of Tehran which was intended for use as the future cemetery of the Tehran Bahá’í community. This was also confiscated and all petitions to regain it have been fruitless. Instead, a small, barren piece of land without any public service or utilities was assigned to the Baha’is of Tehran by the Iranian Government for use as a burial site for their dead. However, neither headstones nor any identification of the individual graves are permitted on that site. A Baha’i friend living in the United States, who visited Iran in October 1991, has described it as very depressing. The bodies of the dead have to be prepared for burial at home or water has to be fetched for that purpose from a Christian cemetery in the neighborhood...
It should be recalled that most of the Baha’i cemeteries in Iran have been desecrated or demolished and that thousands of Baha’is who wish to visit these cemeteries in order to pray for their departed relatives are either denied access, or they return with grieved hearts after witnessing the deplorable condition of the graves of their loved ones. Moreover, many of the Baha’i martyrs executed in prison have been buried in areas not even known to their relatives.
With loving Baha’i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
18 June 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
HEARTS PROFOUNDLY SADDENED LOSS GREATLY LOVED OUTSTANDING PROMOTER CAUSE GOD. MEMBER INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTER ISOBEL SABRI. HER STERLING INDEFATIGABLE PIONEERING AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES OVER SEVERAL DECADES FIRST BRITISH ISLES AND THEN AFRICA CROWNED BY UNFORGETTABLE HIGHLY VALUED CONTRIBUTIONS WORLD CENTER SINCE 1983. INTEGRITY HER EXEMPLARY LIFE POWERFULLY REINFORCED HER FEARLESS VALIANT UNFLAGGING EFFORTS CHAMPION TRUTHS AND DEFEND INTERESTS FAITH SHE DEARLY CHERISHED. PRAYING HOLY SHRINES CONTINUED PROGRESS HER LUMINOUS SOUL ABHÂ KINGDOM WHERE RICH REWARD ASSUREDLY AWAITS HER. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL SERVICES HER HONOR HOUSES OF WORSHIP AND COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT BAHÄ’I WORLD.
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
3 June 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha’i Friends,
A few months ago, the World Congress Media Task Force, which is charged with organizing media activities in connection with the World Congress, requested the World Center to prepare a compilation of extracts from the Writings on proclaiming the Faith through mass media. When the Task Force received and studied the compilation that was prepared, they indicated that they had found it helpful and suggested that a copy be sent to National Spiritual Assemblies, as it might be equally useful to them.
The Universal House of Justice has approved this suggestion, and it is hoped that the enclosed copy will perhaps prove to be of assistance to you, or to the national committees appointed by you, in promoting your proclamation work through the mass media.
With loving Baha’i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
8 April 1992
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
With sorrowful hearts we have received confirmation of the execution in Evin Prison in Tehran on 18 March 1992 of Mr. Bahman Samandarí, member of a distinguished Bahá’í family who had been active in the affairs of the Bahá’í community. No reason for his execution has been given by the judicial or prison authorities, nor have they disclosed the location of his grave.
This tragic surprise is the more shocking for the fact that the whole matter has been shrouded in secrecy. The execution was kept quiet for more than two weeks; no advance information was given to the family; no subsequent announcement about it was made; the news of it was broken to Mr. Samandarí’s widow only when she attempted to visit him on 5 April, the date given her by the authorities after they had denied her permission to see him despite her several previous attempts since his arrest on 17 March. The manner of informing her of his death was to hand her her husband’s will, which had been written on 18 March. No death certificate was issued, although inquiries by the Samandarí family at the office of the Tehran general cemetery brought the response that the name of Bahman Samandarí had been entered into its records.
No official charge or verdict was announced, assiduous inquiries by the family members producing only a vague indication that Mr. Samandarí’s execution had to do with his previous arrest four years ago when he and four other Bahá’ís were arrested for meeting in his home. At that time, 21 October 1987, charges were leveled against him because of his membership in the Bahá’í community. He and his fellow prisoners were released on 18 December 1987, after the title to Mr. Samandarí’s home had been turned over to the authorities along with a large sum of money as bail.
5 April 1992
To selected National Spiritual Assemblies
It is with deep distress that we inform you that news has reached us today of the execution of Mr. Bahman Samandari at Evin Prison in Tehran probably shortly before Naw-Rúz. He was among the four friends arrested for meeting in his home about four years ago but who were released from several months of imprisonment following a global campaign in protest. Details concerning the execution are being sought. . . .
Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)