Confiscation of Bahá’í Properties in Iran

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.

Formulating Goals for the Three Year Plan

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.

Details Concerning the Bahá’í Prisoners in Iran

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.

Further Information on Baha’i Prisoners in Iran

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.

Two Baha’is Sentenced to Death in Iran

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’)