Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Nosratollah Vahdat

About

Age: 51
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Baha'i
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: June 17, 1984
Location of Killing: Central Prison (Vakilabad Prison), Mashhad, Khorasan\Khorasan-e Razavi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Religious offense

About this Case

Information regarding the execution of Colonel Nostratollah (also spelled "Nusratu'llah") Vahdat was obtained from Issue No. 19 of The Baha’i World (‘BW Issue 19’) as well as documents in the Archives of Baha’i Persecution in Iran (‘BPI’), including a final letter written by him.

Colonel Vahdat is among the 282 individuals listed in a United Nations Report on The Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Note by the Secretary General), published on 13 November 1985. The report lists these individuals as "Persons who were allegedly summarily and arbitrarily executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 1984-1985”. He is also one of the 206 Iranian Baha’is listed in a 1993 report published by the Baha’i International Community. The report documents the persecution of Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran and lists the members killed since 1978. 

Colonel Nostratollah Vahdat, son of Valiyu’llah, was born into a Baha’i family in Sangsar, Semnan in 1933 (BW Issue 19). His father and oldest brother both died when he was six years old. At the age of 14 he moved to Tehran to continue his studies and after graduating in 1956, he joined the military academy. In 1958 he was stationed in Kurdistan, then various other cities before being assigned to the city of Mashhad. At the peak of his career, he rose to the rank of Colonel. 

Colonel Vahdat married in 1961 and had four children. In 1979, he was briefly positioned in Kermanshah before being dismissed later that year because of his faith, as Baha’is were banned from serving in the military after the revolution, unless they were conscripted (BPI, Letter from the Head of the National Compulsory Service Organization). Mr. Vahdat reached out unsuccessfully to several high-ranking army officials and political authorities in the hope of being reinstated, to no avail (BW Issue 19).

After his dismissal, Colonel Vahdat returned to Mashhad and became a very active member of the local Baha’i community, for which he began to receive threats, the details of which are not known (BW Issue 19).

The Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Background

The authorities of the Islamic Republic have subjected the members of the Baha'i religious community of Iran - the largest religious minority, with approximately 300 thousand members in 1979(1)- to systematic harassment and persecution, depriving them of their most fundamental human rights. The Baha'i religion is not recognized under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian authorities refer to it as a heresy. As a result, the Baha'is have been denied the rights associated with the status of a religious minority; they cannot profess and practice their faith, and are banned from public functions. Discrimination under the law and in practice has subjected them to abuse and violence.(2)

Persecution of Baha’is in Iran is not specific to the time of the Islamic Republic but it was in this era that it was amplified and institutionalized. During the Revolution itself, supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini attacked Baha’i homes and businesses and in certain instances, even committed murder.

On the eve of his return from France to Iran, in response to a question regarding political and religious freedom of Baha’is under the rule of an Islamic government, Ayatollah Khomeini stated: “They are a political party; they are harmful and detrimental. They will not be acceptable.” The interviewer asked another question: “Will they be free to perform their religious rites?” The Ayatollah responded: “No.” Khomeini had previously “spoken of the Baha’i threat to the Shah’s regime, Islam, national unity, and national security” in various speeches. (Asoo website, October 6, 2015).

Arrest and Detention

Colonel Vahdat and his wife were first arrested on July 23rd, 1983. They were detained for 14 days before being given a suspended sentence of five years and being released (BPI). On October 10th 1983, revolutionary guards again came to the home of Colonel Vahdat to arrest him and his wife, but the couple were not home (BW Issue 19). One of their sons and their daughter were home however, and were arrested in their stead. They were imprisoned until Colonel Vahdat and his wife presented themselves to the court ten days later. Their son in law, Davar Nabflzadih, and Colonel Vahdat’s brother, Muhammad-’Ali’ Vahdat, were also arrested.  

According to the Archives of Baha’i Persecution in Iran, Colonel Vahdat was severely tortured during his detention. (BPI)

Trial

No information is available about Colonel Vahdat’s trial. 

Charges

No information is available about the charges against Colonel Vahdat.  

However, because of the unanimous international condemnation of the persecution of this quietist (apolitical) religious community, Iranian authorities do not always admit that the Baha'is are being punished for their religious beliefs. Therefore, Baha'is are often [wrongfully] charged with offenses such as "being involved in counter-revolutionary activities," "having supported the former regime," "being agents of Zionism," or "being involved with prostitution, adultery, and immorality."

Evidence of Guilt

No information is available on the evidence presented against the defendant. 

Defense

No information is available on the defence presented by Colonel Vahdat. 

The representatives of the Baha'i community stress that their members are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. They note that Baha'is' requests to access their files are usually denied, and access to attorneys is often denied. They refute the validity of charges such as counter-revolutionary political activities or spying leveled against them in Iranian courts. They point out that the fundamental principles of their religion require them to show loyalty and obedience to their government and refrain from any political involvement. They believe that the accusation of espionage for Israel is unfounded and based solely on the fact that the Baha'i World Centre is in Israel. They point out that this centre was established on Mount Carmel in the late 19th century, long before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Judgement

With the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mashad, ordered Colonel Vahdat to be executed by hanging on June 17th, 1984 (BPI, Last Letter). Prior to his execution, Colonel Vahdat was able to phone home and speak with his daughter. In his final letter, written on June 16th 1984 at 8:59, Colonel Vahdat said goodbye to his family, including his brother who was also in prison at the time for his Baha’i faith, and gave thanks to all his friends who “put themselves out for [him] in some way” (BPI, Last Letter). In this letter, he also acknowledged having received his sentence, however the four lines that follow this acknowledgement are censored with black ink. 

At the time of his death, Colonel Vahdats wife was still in prison and was therefore informed of his execution by their daughter (BW Issue 19). His daughter was sent a letter signed by the Mayor of Mashad, Akbar Saberifar, with instructions for the provincial police on the required arrangements to be made for Colonel Vahdats burial (BPI, Burial Letter). It stated that in accordance with the regulations”, his body was to be buried in a “remote location, with no markings or specific signage”.

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1- ‘Slow Death for Iran’s Baha’is’ by Richard N. Ostling, Time Magazine,20 February 1984. Also see ‘The Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran, 1844-1984, by Douglas Martin, Baha’i Studies,volume 12/13, 1984, p. 3. There is no information about the current number of Baha’is in Iran.
2- The Islamic Republic Penal Code grants no rights to Baha'is, and the courts have denied them the right to redress or to protection against assault, murder, and other forms of persecution and abuse. In so doing, the courts have treated Baha'is as unprotected citizens or "apostates," citing eminent religious authorities whose edicts are considered to be a source of law equal to acts of Parliament. The Founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, made execution a punishment for the crime of apostasy and decreed that a Muslim would not be punished for killing an apostate.

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