Bill Text: CA SCR52 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Iranian persecution: Baha'i.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-08-27 - In Assembly. Held at Desk. [SCR52 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SCR52-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 52 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal
JULY 9, 2009
Relative to the Iranian persecution of the Baha'i.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 52, as introduced, Lowenthal. Iranian persecution: Baha'i.
This measure would condemn the government of Iran for its
state-sponsored persecution of Baha'is, call on the government of
Iran to immediately cease activities aimed at the repression of the
Iranian Baha'i community, and hold the government of Iran responsible
for upholding all the rights of its nationals, including members of
the Baha'i community.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, On March 20, 2006, the United Nations Special Rapporteur
on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, revealed the
existence of a confidential letter dated October 29, 2005, from the
chairman of the command headquarters of Iran's Armed Forces to the
Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard, and the police
force, stating the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, instructed the
command headquarters to identify members of the Baha'i faith in Iran
and monitor their activities; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations Special Rapporteur expressed "grave
concern and apprehension" about the implications of this letter for
the safety of the Baha'i community; and
WHEREAS, In May 2006, 54 Baha'is were arrested in Shiraz and held
for several days without trial in the largest roundup of Baha'is
since the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, In August 2006, the Iranian Ministry of the Interior
ordered provincial officials to "cautiously and carefully monitor and
manage" all Baha'i social activities; and
WHEREAS, In 2006, the Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry
of Science, Research, and Technology ordered 81 Iranian universities
to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i; and
WHEREAS, In November 2006, a letter issued by Payame Noor
University stated that it is Iranian policy to prevent Baha'is from
enrolling in universities and to expel Baha'is upon discovery; and
WHEREAS, In 2007, more than two-thirds of the Baha'is enrolled in
universities were expelled upon identification as a Baha'i; and
WHEREAS, In February of 2007, police in Tehran and surrounding
towns entered Baha'i homes and businesses to collect details on
family members; and
WHEREAS, In April of 2007, the Iranian Public Intelligence and
Security Force ordered 25 industries to deny business licenses to
Baha'is; and
WHEREAS, In 2006 and 2007, the Iranian Ministry of Information
pressured employers to fire Baha'i employees and instructed banks to
refuse to provide loans to Baha'i-owned businesses; and
WHEREAS, In July of 2007, a Baha'i cemetery was destroyed by
earthmoving equipment in Yazd, and in September 2007, a Baha'i
cemetery was bulldozed outside of Najafabad, erasing the memory of
those Iranian citizens; and
WHEREAS, The Government of Iran is party to the International
Covenants on Human Rights; and
WHEREAS, In December 2007, the Iranian Parliament published a
draft Islamic Penal Code, which violates Iran's commitment under the
International Covenants on Human Rights by requiring the death
penalty for "apostates," a term applied to Baha'is and any convert
from Islam; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature condemns the government of
Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of Baha'is, calls on the
government of Iran to immediately cease activities aimed at the
repression of the Iranian Baha'i community, and continues to hold the
government of Iran responsible for upholding all the rights of its
nationals, including members of the Baha'i community; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
