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56. On 24 November 2002, two suspected Islamic militants were said to have burst
into the Raghunath temple in Jammu and Kashmir, hurled grenades and fired
random shots; 12 people, including the attackers, had reportedly been killed.
57. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur informed the Indian Government that, on 12
March 2003, 15 unidentified persons had allegedly vandalized a church in Yavatmal
and set up a Hanuman idol there.
Islamic Republic of Iran
58. By letter dated 11 April 2003, the Special Rapporteur informed the
Government of Iran of a report that Manuchihr Khulusi had been reimprisoned on 27
March 2003 in Mashhad; on 7 December 2002, he had been sentenced to four years’
imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad on the grounds that his
membership in the Baha’i religion and his activities in connection with that religion
constituted a threat to the internal security of Iran.
59. The Special Rapporteur also reported a number of other incidents concerning
the Baha’i community:
– On 7 January 2003, a Revolutionary Court allegedly rejected an appeal by
Ahmad Yalda’i for the return of his home, which had been confiscated because
he held Baha’i classes there;
– As at January 2002, four Baha’is (Bihnam Mithaqi, Kayvan Khaljabadi, Musa
Talibi and Dhabihu’llah Mahrami) were apparently still being detained because
of their religious beliefs;
– It is reported that, although Parliament has adopted legislation providing for
equal compensation in “blood money” for non-Muslim victims of crimes,
members of the Baha’i community are still ineligible for such compensation;
– On 19 July 2002, revolutionary guards allegedly raided nine locations where
the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education was administering its qualifying
examinations and confiscated the examination papers of 25 students; a similar
incident occurred in Mashhad;
– In June 2002, 17-year-old boys and girls in a Baha’i class were allegedly
arrested by the police near the Chalus Freeway; they were released after
several hours of interrogation;
– On 9 June 2002, Resalat, a daily newspaper, published an article stating that
the Baha’i were not a religious minority but an intelligence service headed by
an American, Israeli or British agent.
60. The Special Rapporteur also informed the Government of Iran of a report that
Professor Hashem Aghajari had been arrested in August 2002 after delivering a
speech in which he argued against the need to blindly follow clerical teachings;
61. While noting some promised improvements in treatment of the Baha’i
minority, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that the measures taken by the
Iranian authorities to end the persecution of Baha’is, including by non-State entities,
and to guarantee them the same rights as any other Iranian citizen are still
inadequate. He again reminds the Iranian authorities of the need to ensure respect
for the relevant provisions of international law, including article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the
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