They have been conducting searches at the residences of Baha’i citizens daily across the country.The escalation of persecution against Baha’is in the aftermath of the protests follows a familiar pattern of the Iranian regime targeting minority groups during times of broader social and political tension.Houshang Mahmoudi, Mona’s father, was also a lawyer and a member of the national assembly of Baha’is in Iran, in charge of overseeing the affairs of the Baha’i community.When the nine-member assembly was holding a meeting on Aug 21 1980, their hopes and plans for their beleaguered community were still alive, but soon forces of the newly-formed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) descended upon them.In a moment, the entire leadership of the Baha’i community in Iran vanished – kidnapped, never to be seen again.“It was a devastating feeling,” Mrs Mahmoudi says. “If they were arrested and were in prison, it would be a different feeling, but they just disappeared.”Mrs Mahmoudi believes her father and other members of the assembly were executed right away, without the knowledge of their families.Undeterred by the loss, they soon elected a new national assembly. Among those chosen to lead was Zhinus Mahmoudi, Mona’s mother.But the storm that had swept away the first assembly was far from over. On Dec 13 1981, history repeated itself with cruel precision.As Zhinus and her fellow assembly members gathered, the IRGC struck again. This time, there was no mystery, no disappearance into the unknown.“My mother was elected to the next national assembly,” Mrs Mahmoudi recounts. “Around a year and a half later, when they were meeting, the IRGC raided again and arrested all of them.”The assembly members were taken to the notorious Evin prison.For two weeks, Mona lived in a state of agonising suspense. But unlike the uncertainty that shrouded her father’s fate, she knew what was coming.All eight captured members, including Zhinus, were executed without trial.
Iranian academic tells of oppression endured by Baha’i community at hands of Islamic regime
By islamnewsday
