H. Res. 220 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 21, 2016. 

Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 

1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013, 

Congress declared that it deplored the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha’i community 

and would hold the Government of Iran responsible for 

upholding the rights of all Iranian nationals, including 

members of the Baha’i Faith; 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated, ‘‘The Baha’i community, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, 

long has been subject to particularly severe religious freedom violations. The government views Baha’is, who number at least 300,000, as ‘heretics’ and consequently they 

face repression on the grounds of apostasy.’’; 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated that ‘‘[s]ince 1979, 

authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Baha’i 

leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from 

government and university jobs’’ and ‘‘[m]ore than 700 

Baha’is have been arbitrarily arrested since 2005’’; 

Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report stated that the Government of 

Iran ‘‘prohibits Baha’is from teaching and practicing 
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their faith and subjects them to many forms of discrimination not faced by members of other religious groups’’ 

and ‘‘since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, formally denies 

Baha’i students access to higher education’’; 

Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report stated, ‘‘The government requires 

Baha’is to register with the police,’’ and ‘‘The government raided Baha’i homes and businesses and confiscated 

large amounts of private and commercial property, as 

well as religious materials.’’; 

Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report stated, ‘‘Baha’is are regularly denied compensation for injury or criminal victimization 

and the right to inherit property.’’; 

Whereas, on August 27, 2014, the United Nations Special 

Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a report (A/69/356), which 

stated, ‘‘The human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran remains of concern. Numerous issues 

flagged by the General Assembly, the United Nations 

human rights mechanisms and the Secretary-General persist, and in some cases appear to have worsened, some 

recent overtures made by the Administration and the parliament notwithstanding.’’; 

Whereas, on December 18, 2014, the United Nations General 

Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/69/190), which 

‘‘[e]xpresse[d] deep concern’’ over ‘‘[c]ontinued discrimination, persecution and human rights violations against 

persons belonging to unrecognized religious minorities, 

particularly members of the Baha’i [F]aith . . . and the 

effective criminalization of membership in the Baha’i 

[F]aith,’’ and called upon the Government of Iran to 
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‘‘emancipate the Baha’i community . . . and to accord 

all Baha’is, including those imprisoned because of their 

beliefs, the due process of law and the rights that they 

are constitutionally guaranteed’’; 

Whereas, since May of 2008, the Government of Iran has imprisoned the seven members of the former ad hoc leadership group of the Baha’i community in Iran, known as 

the Yaran-i-Iran, or ‘‘friends of Iran’’—Mrs. Fariba 

Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, 

Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash 

Sabet, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm—and these individuals 

are serving 20-year prison terms, the longest sentences 

given to any current prisoner of conscience in Iran, on 

charges including ‘‘spying for Israel, insulting religious 

sanctities, propaganda against the regime and spreading 

corruption on earth’’; 

Whereas, beginning in May 2011, officials of the Government 

of Iran in 4 cities conducted sweeping raids on the homes 

of dozens of individuals associated with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) and arrested and detained several educators associated with BIHE, and 8 

BIHE educators are now serving 4- or 5-year prison 

terms; 

Whereas scores of Baha’i cemeteries have been attacked, and, 

in April 2014, Revolutionary Guards began excavating a 

Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz, which is the site of 950 

graves; 

Whereas the Baha’i International Community reported that 

there has been a recent surge in anti-Baha’i hate propaganda in Iranian state-sponsored media outlets, noting 

that, in 2010 and 2011, approximately 22 anti-Baha’i articles were appearing every month, and, in 2014, the 
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number of anti-Baha’i articles rose to approximately 401 

per month—18 times the previous level; 

Whereas there are currently 60 Baha’is in prison in Iran; 

Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International 

Covenants on Human Rights and is in violation of its obligations under the Covenants; and 

Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, 

and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–195) authorizes the President and the Secretary of State to impose sanctions on individuals ‘‘responsible for or 

complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or 

otherwise directing, the commission of serious human 

rights abuses against citizens of Iran or their family 

members on or after June 12, 2009’’: Now, therefore, be 

it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) condemns the Government of Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human 

Rights; 

(2) calls on the Government of Iran to immediately 

release the 7 imprisoned Baha’i leaders, the 8 imprisoned Baha’i educators, and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion; 

(3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, 

in cooperation with responsible nations, to immediately 

condemn the Government of Iran’s continued violation of 
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human rights and demand the immediate release of prisoners held solely on account of their religion; and 

(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to 

utilize available authorities, including the Comprehensive 

Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 

2010, to impose sanctions on officials of the Government 

of Iran and other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against the 

Baha’i community of Iran. 

Attest: 

Clerk.