Thank you for taking the time to offer your support and help to draw public attention towards the ongoing persecution faced by the Baha'is in Iran, who have been systematically persecuted as a matter of government policy in that country for over 40 years. The latest tactics employed by Iranian authorities include a sharp effort to economically impoverish and strangulate the community as a viable entity in Iran.

The dispossession of the Baha'is in Ivel is a stark example of one such tactic. Further information about the confiscation of their lands and properties can be accessed via: https://bahai.org.au/index.php/ivel/

Australian and New Zealand famers are invited to read and sign on to the following open letter, which seeks to bring public attention through the collective voice expressed by signatories.
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Open letter to the Government of Iran concerning the confiscation of property owned by the Baha’is in Ivel

We, the undersigned, are members of farming communities in Australia and New Zealand.

We are highly disturbed by the ongoing persecution of the peaceful Baha’i community in Iran and the recent confiscation of the homes and properties of the Baha’is, particularly Baha’i farmers in the town of Ivel, in the Mazandaran province of Iran.

Farming is a difficult job in the best of times, particularly in working against pressures arising from natural disasters such as fires, droughts, floods and now the unpredictable conditions related to changing climates and COVID-19. Despite these challenges, farmers continue to work on the land and provide food security for their respective societies.

The role of any government is to assist its farming communities in these challenging times to stay on the land and continue to support their families, local communities and countries.

With full appreciation for the health and economic challenges facing the people of Iran, we stand in solidarity with our farming brothers and sisters in this country and call on the Iranian government and Judiciary to reverse the unjust rulings of Hasan Babaie and Mohammad Sadegh Savadkouhi and return the farming lands of the Baha’is of Ivel to their rightful owners.

Furthermore, we request an end to the systematic persecution of the Baha’is of Iran and call on the government of Iran to uphold the human rights of the Baha’is in Iran, particularly the universal right to freedom of belief and worship, so that no Baha’i is incarcerated because of their belief and practice or deprived of their economic entitlements.

Signed,