Parliamentarians, media and public personalities speak out about intensified persecution of Baha’is in Iran

Media outlets, parliamentarians, academics and public figures in Australia have added their voices to growing worldwide concerns about the intensifying persecution facing Iran’s Baha’i community. 

The widespread concern follows news about the two young Baha’i men in Iran, Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi, whose lives are in imminent danger.  

In January, Peyvand Naimi was arrested on false charges of instigating unrest during the January protests that swept the country. He was imprisoned in an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) detention centre known for its torture and mistreatment of detainees. 

More recently, he was forced to confess to endure mock executions, and has faced constant and severe torture, interrogation, and denial of food and water.  

Last month, 29-year-old Baha’i man Borna Naimi also endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and multiple blows to his sides, ribs, beneath the chest, and his back. Borna was transferred several times to places near his home where he was pressured with threats concerning his wife and young daughter, including threats that his child would be sent to a state orphanage if he did not cooperate. The extensive nature of the torture resulted in Borna being forced to sign a false confession in which he implicated himself and his cousin, Peyvand, in crimes neither of them committed.

Media across Australia and the world, as well as government leaders, celebrities and public personalities, have spoken out about the cases of both Peyvand and Borna. 

Dr Sophie Scamps, Member for Mackellar – the electorate which is home to the Sydney Baha’i House of Worship – released a statement on the persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran, stating that “Iranian authorities continue to undertake a deliberate strategy of persecution”. 

“Of great concern is the case of Peyvand Naimi, a young Baha’i man imprisoned in Kerman, who is reportedly being subjected to torture, forced confessions and is in imminent danger of execution,” her statement read. 

“I stand in solidarity with the Australian Baha’i Community in calling for urgent international attention to Mr Naimi’s case and that the persecution of Baha’is ends immediately.” 

Australian academic and former detainee in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, also spoke out about the case on social media while journalist Nassim Khadem recounted Peyvand and Borna’s cases in four separate news articles for the ABC. 

Around the world, parliamentarians from the USA, the UK, and Europe have called for an end to the mock executions, torture and interrogations. Celebrities including Rainn Wilson, Penn Badgley and Mark Ruffalo have called for Peyvand’s immediate release, and many online personalities have called for urgent international action. 

Human rights groups have repeatedly documented Iran’s use of torture, interrogations, and mock executions to extract false confessions. 

“The Islamic Republic does not have a single shred of evidence to support these accusations. If it did, it would not have to resort to torture to extract false confessions,” said Awa Momtazian, spokesperson for the Australian Baha’i Community. 
 
“Such actions not only place individual lives at risk, but also reinforce a longstanding pattern of persecution—one that aims to isolate, dehumanize, and ultimately silence an entire minority community.” 

Since the beginning of the Islamic Republic, in 1979, Iran’s government has consistently and systematically scapegoated the Baha’is during national crises through false allegations and coordinated disinformation and hate campaigns through the media. 

Over the past few weeks, coverage surrounding the intensified persecution of the Baha’is in Iran has appeared in Australian media outlets including the ABC, The Australian, SBS, The Guardian and Nine News.

Featured image of Peyvand Naimi