A global social media campaign, Seven Days in Remembrance of Seven Years for the Seven Baha’i Leaders, focuses on Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani on Saturday 16 May. Over 80 years of age, Mr. Khanjani is the oldest of the seven prisoners whose 20-year sentences are the longest terms of any current prisoners of conscience in Iran.
From a family that has seen several other members imprisoned because of their Baha’i beliefs, Khanjani has two Canadian relatives in Toronto and Montreal. Niece Nika Khanjani is a film-maker in Montreal and nephew Siavosh Khanjani is a businessman in Toronto.
In recent days, they have learned of more attacks on their family farm outside Tehran. Government officials, in a series of utterly senseless acts, after destroying the water reservoir that nourished a flourishing orchard of fruit trees and the family’s large livestock herd, have now destroyed Khanjani’s residence on the farm and are claiming title to the property.
Before developing the farm, Jamaloddin Khanjani had operated a brick-manufacturing business. It employed hundreds of workers but was closed by government officials to further their systematic attack on Baha’is, while at the same time only harming further the economy of the country.
In addition to such economic persecution, Baha’is are refused admittance into university, number some 100 in prison solely for their beliefs, and now suffer the consequences of more programs of hate propaganda broadcast on government media in an effort to arouse the population against the Baha’is. Government agencies have multiplied the number of such hate programs in order to then blame the general population of Iran for the treatment of Baha’is. However, in recent years Iranians of all backgrounds have begun demonstrating their own proper sense of justice and fair-mindedness, in spite of the government, by making what are often courageous gestures of support for the Baha’is.
The most recent instance of dishonesty of Iran’s government was demonstrated at sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in March when Iranian officials denied evidence presented by Dr. Ahmed Shaheen, Special Rapporteur on Iran’s human rights record, and refused to acknowledge requests by the international community to make efforts to improve a number of the most outrageous human rights abuses meted out to Baha’is and other Iranians.
Canadians may follow the campaign on Twitter or Facebook through the hashtag #7Bahais7yearsThe Official facebook page:www.facebook.com/events/1638889016341780/ will also be updated frequently as the campaign progresses.