H. Res. 134 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
January 1, 2013. 
Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 
2000, 2006, 2008, and 2009, Congress declared that it 
deplored the religious persecution by the Government of 
Iran of the Baha’i community and would hold the Gov-
ernment of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of 
all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha’i 
faith; 
Whereas the Department of State 2011 International Reli-
gious Freedom Report stated that the Government of 
Iran ‘‘prohibits Baha’is from teaching and practicing 
their faith and subjects them to many forms of discrimi-
nation that followers of other religions do not face’’ and 
that ‘‘Baha’is are barred from all leadership positions in 
the government and military’’; 
Whereas the Department of State 2011 International Reli-
gious Freedom Report stated, ‘‘Baha’is are banned from 
the social pension system. In addition, Baha’is are regu-
larly denied compensation for injury or criminal victim-
ization and the right to inherit property. Baha’i mar-
riages and divorces are not officially recognized, although 
the government allows a civil attestation of marriage to 
serve as a marriage certificate.’’;
•HRES 134 EH 
Whereas the Department of State July-December 2010 Inter-
national Religious Freedom Report stated, ‘‘Since the 
1979 Islamic Revolution, the government has killed more 
than 200 Bahai’s and regularly raids and confiscates 
their property . . . Unknown assailants vandalized ceme-
teries and holy places, and school authorities denigrated 
and abused Baha’i students in primary and secondary 
schools in at least 10 cities.’’; 
Whereas the Department of State July-December 2010 Inter-
national Religious Freedom Report stated, ‘‘Public and 
private universities continued to deny admittance to or 
expel Baha’i students.’’; 
Whereas on September 15, 2011, the United Nations Sec-
retary-General issued a special report on human rights in 
Iran (A/66/361), stating, ‘‘Restrictions on the overall en-
joyment of human rights by unrecognized religious mi-
norities, particularly the Baha’i community, remain of se-
rious concern.’’; 
Whereas on September 23, 2011, the ‘‘United Nations Spe-
cial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the 
Islamic Republic of Iran’’, issued a report (A/66/374), 
noting that ‘‘[a] number of individuals and organizations 
provided the Special Rapporteur with first-hand testi-
monies, the preponderance of which presents a pattern of 
systemic violations of . . . fundamental human rights’’ in 
Iran, and expressed concern regarding reports of ‘‘human 
and civil rights violations’’ against minority groups, in-
cluding ‘‘the Bahai community, which, despite being the 
largest non-Muslim religious minority, does not enjoy rec-
ognition as such by the Government’’ and whose mem-
bers ‘‘have historically suffered multifaceted discrimina-
tion’’;
•HRES 134 EH 
Whereas on November 21, 2011, the Third Committee of the 
United Nations General Assembly adopted a draft resolu-
tion (A/C.3/66/L.56) noting ‘‘[i]ncreased persecution and 
human rights violations against unrecognized religious 
minorities, particularly members of the Baha’i Faith, in-
cluding escalating attacks on Baha’is and their defenders, 
including in State-sponsored media, a significant increase 
in the number of Baha’is arrested and detained, includ-
ing the targeted attack on the Baha’i educational institu-
tion, the reinstatement of twenty-year sentences against 
seven Baha’i leaders following deeply flawed legal pro-
ceedings, and renewed measures to deny Baha’is employ-
ment in the public and private sectors.’’; 
Whereas on December 19, 2011, the United Nations General 
Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/66/175) calling 
upon the Government of Iran ‘‘[t]o eliminate discrimina-
tion against, and exclusion of . . . members of the Baha’i 
Faith, regarding access to higher education, and to elimi-
nate the criminalization of efforts to provide higher edu-
cation to Baha’i youth denied access to Iranian univer-
sities’’; 
Whereas in March and May of 2008, intelligence officials of 
the Government of Iran in Mashhad and Tehran arrested 
and 
imprisoned 
Mrs. 
Fariba 
Kamalabadi, 
Mr. 
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid 
Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, 
and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, the members of the ad hoc lead-
ership group for the Baha’i community in Iran; 
Whereas, in August 2010, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran 
sentenced the 7 Baha’i leaders to 20-year prison terms 
on charges of spying for Israel, insulting religious sanc-
tities, and propaganda against the regime;
•HRES 134 EH 
Whereas the lawyers for the 7 leaders were reportedly pro-
vided extremely limited access to the prisoners and their 
files; 
Whereas these 7 Baha’i leaders were targeted solely on the 
basis of their religion; 
Whereas beginning on May 22, 2011, officials of the Govern-
ment of Iran in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz raid-
ed the homes of individuals associated with the Baha’i 
Institute for Higher Education, searching over 30 homes, 
seizing educational materials, and arresting approxi-
mately 16 individuals; 
Whereas, in October 2011, Mr. Vahid Mahmoudi, Mr. 
Mahmoud Badavam, Ms. Noushin Khadem, Mr. Kamran 
Mortezaie, Mr. Farhad Sedghi, Mr. Riaz Sobhani, and 
Mr. Ramin Zibaie were each sentenced to 4 or 5-year 
prison terms for the crime of ‘‘membership in the deviant 
Baha’i sect, with the goal of taking action against the se-
curity of the country, in order to further the aims of the 
deviant sect and those of organizations outside the coun-
try,’’ and, in January 2012, Mr. Mahmoudi was released 
on probation; 
Whereas ordinary Iranian citizens who belong to the Baha’i 
Faith are disproportionately targeted, interrogated, and 
detained under the pretext of national security; 
Whereas the efforts of the Government of Iran to collect in-
formation on individual Baha’is are reportedly ongoing as 
evidenced by a letter, dated November 5, 2011 from the 
Director of the Department of Education in the county 
of Shahriar in the province of Tehran, instructing the di-
rectors of schools in his jurisdiction to ‘‘subtly and in a
•HRES 134 EH 
confidential manner’’ collect information on Baha’i stu-
dents; 
Whereas the Baha’i community continues to undergo intense 
economic and social pressure, including an ongoing cam-
paign in the town of Semnan where the government re-
portedly has harassed and detained Baha’is and closed 
17 Baha’i owned businesses in the last three years; 
Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International 
Covenants on Human Rights; and 
Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, 
and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–195) urges 
the President and the Secretary of State to impose sanc-
tions on ‘‘the officials of the Government of Iran and 
other individuals who are responsible for continuing and 
severe violations of human rights and religious freedom 
in Iran’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the Government of Iran for its state- 
sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its con-
tinued violation of the International Covenants on 
Human Rights; 
(2) calls on the Government of Iran to immediately 
release the seven leaders, the six imprisoned educators, 
and all other prisoners held solely on account of their re-
ligion; 
(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
•HRES 134 EH 
human rights and demand the immediate release of pris-
oners held solely on account of their religion; and 
(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to 
utilize measures, such as those available under the Com-
prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divest-
ment Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13553, to sanc-
tion officials of the Government of Iran and other indi-
viduals directly responsible for egregious human rights 
violations in Iran, including against the Baha’i commu-
nity. 
Attest: 
Clerk.