“Not Another Year!” – Help Release the 7 Baha’i Leaders Now

It is impossible for me to imagine what it would feel like to be wrongfully imprisoned for nine years. Nine years is such a long time. In that time period, all of my nephews and nieces have been born, friends and family members have passed away, and loved ones have achieved major milestones like completing their educations, winning artistic prizes, and changing careers. Nine years is a long time to miss out on a life that is rightfully yours. Nine years is a long time not to be able to hold a newly-born loved one in your arms, to offer a shoulder of strength during a time of grief, or to watch a child blow out their birthday cake candles.

It is with heavy hearts that on May 14, we mark the 9th anniversary of the wrongful arrest and imprisonment of the seven Baha’i leaders of Iran (known as the Yaran, which means “the Friends”). These seven Baha’is made up the entire membership of the now-disbanded ad hoc group tending to the spiritual and social needs of the Iranian Baha’i community (in the absence of formally elected Baha’i leadership which was banned in 1983), and they were arrested and have been imprisoned since 2008 for nothing more than being Baha’is. Currently, about 90 Baha’is are also imprisoned for their beliefs.

We all can lend a voice in helping to end this injustice and to bring attention to the plight of the Baha’is in Iran and those who suffer human rights violations. In observance of the ninth anniversary of the Baha’i leaders’ incarceration, the Baha’i International Community is launching a global campaign in which we can all participate. 

Taking the theme “Not Another Year” the campaign will emphasize the countless family events the seven Baha’i leaders have missed during their imprisonment.

The campaign is to encourage individuals, governments and organizations from all sectors of society around the world to call on the government of Iran to release the Yaran from imprisonment and to cease persecuting the Baha’is.

The seven Baha’i leaders are:

Fariba Kamalabadi

Jamaloddin Khanjani

Afif Naeimi

Saeid Rezaie

Mahvash Sabet

Behrouz Tavakkoli

Vahid Tizfahm

Use the hashtag #‎ReleaseBahai7Now‬ for the campaign, and “Like” the campaign Facebook page here.

Find out more about the campaign and how you can support it here on the Baha’i International Community website.

To learn more about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran and their current situation go here.

Posted by

Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.