21.05.2008

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on Baha'i arrests

The European Union is deeply concerned by reports that Ministry of Intelligence officers arrested six members of the Baha'i faith in Tehran on 14 May, who are currently being held in Evin prison.

The EU reiterates its serious concern about the continuing systematic discrimination and harassment of the Iranian Baha'is on the grounds of their religion.

The EU calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold fully the right to adopt and practise a religion of choice, to end the persecution of the Baha'i community, and to release the detained individuals.

The Candidate Countries, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

EU2008