Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Hedayatollah Siyavoshi

About

Age: 31
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Baha'i
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: January 1, 1983
Location of Killing: Central Prison (Adelabad), Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Religious offense; Espionage

About this Case

Information about the execution of Mr. Hedayatollah Siavoshi (also spelled "Hidayatu'llah Siavushi"), son of Forud, was obtained from a ruling by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, confirmed by the Superior Judicial Court, published in Ettela’at Newspaper (January 8, 1983) and Khabar Jonub Newspaper (January 5, 1983), as well as well as information published on Archives of Baha’i Persecution in Iran.

Mr. Hedayatollah Siavoshi is also one of the 206 Iranian Baha’is listed in a 1993 report published by the Baha’i International Community. The report documents the persecution of the members of the Baha’i faith in the Islamic Republic of Iran and lists members killed since 1978. Additional information has been drawn from various issues of The Baha’i World. See for example: Vol. XIX, 1982-1986, Haifa 1994.

Mr. Hedaytollah Siavoshi was born in Yazd, Yazd Province on June 5th, 1952 to a Baha’i family (ABPI, Bio). He completed his elementary education in Yazd, prior to relocating to Shiraz with his family, where he obtained his high school diploma. After serving as an assistant to the Auxiliary Board, he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz in 1981.

The Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Background

The authorities of the Islamic Republic have subjected the members of the Baha'i religious community of Iran - the largest religious minority, with approximately 300 thousand members in 1979(2)- to systematic harassment and persecution, depriving them of their most fundamental human rights. The Baha'i religion is not recognized under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian authorities refer to it as a heresy. As a result, the Baha'is have been denied the rights associated with the status of a religious minority; they cannot profess and practice their faith, and are banned from public functions. Discrimination under the law and in practice has subjected them to abuse and violence.(3) 

Persecution of Baha’is in Iran is not specific to the time of the Islamic Republic but it was in this era that it was amplified and institutionalized. During the Revolution itself, supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini attacked Baha’i homes and businesses and in certain instances, even committed murder.

On the eve of his return from France to Iran, in response to a question regarding political and religious freedom of Baha’is under the rule of an Islamic government, Ayatollah Khomeini stated: “They are a political party; they are harmful and detrimental. They will not be acceptable.” The interviewer asked another question: “Will they be free to perform their religious rites?” The Ayatollah responded: “No.” Khomeini had previously “spoken of the Baha’i threat to the Shah’s regime, Islam, national unity, and national security” in various speeches. (Asoo website, October 6, 2015). 

Baha’i National Spiritual Assembly After the Islamic Revolution 

In the organizational structure of the Baha’i community, the institution of the National Spiritual Assembly is a body composed of nine individuals that are elected annually with the votes of adult Baha’is in each country. This institution tends to the affairs and issues of the Baha’i community on the national level. The National Spiritual Assembly has the responsibility of guiding, coordinating, and moving forward the activities of each country’s local spiritual assemblies, and establishing contact with Beit-al-Adl (“House of Justice”), the international council of the Baha’i faith, the highest decision-making authority in the world Baha’i community. 

The Bah’I’s Spiritual Assemblies were gradually suppressed. In Baha’I’s literature, the first assemply whose members were kidnapped is commonly known as the First National Assembly. In 1980 and 1981, the First, Second, and Third National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as local Baha’i spiritual assemblies in various cities, including Tehran, Yazd, Hamedan, and Tabriz, were severely persecuted and the majority of their members were executed. In “The Final Message of the Iran National Spiritual Assembly to the Friends of the Country”, the Third Baha’i National Spiritual Assembly, abiding by the principle of obeying the government, announced the closure of the Baha’i organizations, and at the same time, sent an open letter to two thousand well-known and high-ranking government figures asking an end to the arrest, detention, torture, execution, and injustice against Baha’is. (BBC Persian website, October 11, 2015). 

Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic have come up with [unreasonable and unacceptable] justifications for the persecution and the execution of the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies. In a speech on May 28, 1982, Ayatollah Khomeini said: “The Baha’is are not a religion, they’re a [political] party; it’s a party that was supported by Britain in the past, and now it’s being supported by America. They are spies.” (Sahifeye Noor, Volume 17, May 28, 1982).

The Baha’is deny the charge of relations with countries such as Israel, citing “the religious principle of ‘the requirement of staying out of politics’. They say that religious relations know no bounds, and that the Iranian Baha’i Spiritual Assembly has done nothing, and taken no action, against the Islamic Republic”. (Asoo website, August 9, 2015). 

It must be noted that the Beit-al-Adl was established in Haifa at a time where there was no such country as the state of Israel. The founders of the Baha’i faith, Baha’ollah in particular, had no choice but to leave Iran in the latter part of the 19thCentury under pressure and persecution, and to turn to Turkey and Iraq. 

Baha’ollah did not escape persecution under the Ottoman Empire either. He was imprisoned for a time in present day Turkey and was released in 1908. In 1909, Baha’ollah transferred the body of Ali Mohammad Baab – who had been executed in Iran in 1850 – to Beit-al-Adl. A short time before the start of the First World War, Baha’ollah settled as the leader of the Baha’is in Haifa, a city where Beit-al-Adl is located, and began to tend to the affairs and the issues of the Baha’i community. After World War I, when Palestine was under the British Mandate, the Baha’i community remained safe from persecution. (Boroumand Center research).

Arrest and Detention 

Mr. Siavoshi was first arrested on August 13, 1983 and held in Sepah Detention Center prior to being transferred to Adelabad Prison, Shiraz (ABPI, Bio). Reportedly, he was severely tortured in prison (ABPI, Bio). No further information is available on his arrest and detention.

Trial 

There is no information available about the trial of Mr. Siavoshi. 

Charges

The Public Relations Bureau of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz announced the charges against Mr. Siavoshi as “membership in the Central Committee of Baha’ism, and acting to spread his ideology, and opposition to Islam and authorities of the Islamic Republic, [for which] he spared no effort” (Khabar Jonub Newspaper January 5, 1983). 

Due to the unanimous international condemnation of the persecution of this quietist (apolitical) religious community, Iranian authorities do not always admit that the Baha'is are being punished for their religious beliefs. Therefore, judicial authorities have often wrongfully charged Baha'is with offenses such as "being involved in counter-revolutionary activities," "having supported the former regime," "being agents of Zionism," or "being involved with prostitution, adultery, and immorality." 

Evidence of Guilt 

According to an announcement published in Ettela’at Newspaper, following the ruling by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, Mr. Siavoshi “had participated in Baha’i conferences held outside the country multiple times, and was a member of Baha’i Lajneh for a long time, and has had 10 years of promotional activity in Bakhtaran.” Additionally, “he had put his home at the discretion of Baha’ism and it was used as an archive for documents and records and proliferation of proclamations” (Ettela’at Newspaper January 8, 1983). 

Defense 

There is no information available about a defense used by the accused. The representatives of the Baha'i community stress that their members are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. They refute the validity of charges such as counter-revolutionary political activities or spying leveled against them in Iranian courts. They point out that the fundamental principles of their religion require them to show loyalty and obedience to their government and refrain from any political involvement. They believe that the accusation of espionage for Israel is unfounded and based solely on the fact that the Baha'i World Center is in Israel. They point out that this center was established on Mount Carmel in the late 19th century, long before the establishment of the State of Israel. 

Judgment 

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, with a confirmation from the Supereme Judicial Court (Council), sentenced Mr. Hedayatollah Siavoshi to death (Ettela’at Newspaper January 8, 1983) and ordered the confiscation of all of his properties (Khabar Jonub Newspaper January 5, 1983). He was hanged on January 1st, 1983 and his body was buried in Shiraz Baha’i Cemetery in accordance to Baha’i law in the presence of  his family and 40 members of the Baha’i community.

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1- Auxiliary Board Members are a group of individuals appointed by the Continental Board of Counselors for a five year term who are responsible for strengthening Baha’is communities in whichever area they serve. They act as consultants to Local Spiritual Assembly members.
2- ‘Slow Death for Iran’s Baha’is’ by Richard N. Ostling, Time Magazine,20 February 1984. Also see ‘The Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran, 1844-1984, by Douglas Martin, Baha’i Studies,volume 12/13, 1984, p. 3. There is no information about the current number of Baha’is in Iran.
3- The Islamic Republic Penal Code grants no rights to Baha'is, and the courts have denied them the right to redress or to protection against assault, murder, and other forms of persecution and abuse. In so doing, the courts have treated Baha'is as unprotected citizens or "apostates," citing eminent religious authorities whose edicts are considered to be a source of law equal to acts of Parliament. The Founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, made execution a punishment for the crime of apostasy and decreed that a Muslim would not be punished for killing an apostate. 
4- “Lajneh” is a committee that functions locally and is managed by the Spiritual Assembly.

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