Six Bahá’í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s

Efforts made by the Iranian government to oppress the Bahá’í Faith within its borders have taken a disturbing turn in recent days with the arrest of six members of an informal national group called the “Friends in Iran”. (A seventh member was arrested this past March.) This episode is reminiscent of the 1980s arrest and execution of the members of Iran’s formally elected national governing body, known as the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran. In 1980, all nine members of this council were abducted and vanished without a trace, and are feared dead. In 1981, eight members of the reconstituted National Assembly were arrested and executed. This, unfortunately, is yet another blatant attempt by the government of Iran to repress members of a religious community solely for the peaceful practice of their faith.

Check out these two articles for more details—one from Bahá’í World News Service, one from CNN.