Rachel Bayani

Global leaders, cultural figures, and human rights advocates worldwide are calling for the release of tortured Bahá'í prisoners in Iran, Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi. Nobel laureates, parliamentarians, officials, and prominent global personalities have united behind the two young men as mounting international pressure builds on the Iranian government to free them. The cousins have been subjected to mock executions, electric shocks, solitary confinement, and other forms of torture aimed at forcing false confessions. bic.org/news/global-le… #BahaiRights #PeyvandNaimi #BornaNaimi #Iran

The UK is closely tracking the dire situation for religious minorities in Iran. This includes abhorrent reports that Baha’is have been subject to torture and mock execution. We will continue to pursue accountability.

🆘 Following my call to action to prevent executions in #Iran, I have been made aware of the case of Peyvand Naomi, a young Baha’i who is at imminent risk after two mock hangings. This comes after the recent execution of a Swedish citizen. This inhumane practice must end.

Canada calls upon Iran to immediately release Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi, as well as all those facing forced confessions, and arbitrary arrests and detentions.

Cousins Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi, from Iran’s persecuted Baha’i religious minority, may be at risk of the death penalty in relation to the January 2026 protests. Their detention is arbitrary and they must be released immediately. amnesty.org/en/documents/m…

Moin Yeganeh, a Bahá’í in Qatar, has been detained in the country ahead of his likely deportation. Moin has committed no crime. He is 55 years old and was born in Qatar. His family have lived in Qatar for three generations and his father was one of the country’s first dentists. He is being deported for no reason other than his faith. Bahá’ís have been discriminated against systematically in Qatar for several decades, and many have been deported or denied ongoing residency. Moin’s case—and several other recent incidents of cancellation of the residency of those Bahá’ís serving in administrative capacities within the institutions of the Bahá’í community—demonstrate an intensification of this pattern of discrimination. These long-term Bahá’í families from Qatar have no other home: and this appalling state of affairs is a violation of their human rights and their rights as Qatari residents. The Bahá’í International Community condemns Moin’s detention and imminent deportation. We call on the Government of Qatar to cease such actions against the Bahá’ís, to release Moin, and to cancel any deportation order against him. These new cases of denial of residency, following the recent wrongful imprisonment of Qatari Baha’i citizen Mr. Remi Rowhani, raises fresh concerns—and we urge the Qatari authorities to relent in this unjust effort to erase a vital and indelible part of Qatar’s rich and diverse society. #Qatar #Bahai #HumanRights

Justice is about relationships and it emerges when a community has the space, authority, and respect, to shape its own future. @J_Cedar, a Civil Society Representative in the Australian Delegation to #CSW70, shared this reflection during a Bahá’í International Community event at the recent UN Commission on the Status of Women. See our full news story for details on our CSW engagement this year: bic.org/news/moral-cal…

Danke @OeParl 🇦🇹 Abgeordneter @MinnichAndreas fürs Aufgreifen von #PeyvandNaimi & #BornaNaimi – einzig wegen ihres Glaubens gefoltert und Scheinhinrichtungen ausgesetzt, nun in akuter Lebensgefahr! Ein Beispiel der Sündenbock-Strategie gegen #Bahai im #Iran. #FoRB #HumanRights

Torture, coerced confessions and fear: A young father's ordeal reflects Iran's escalating crackdown on Baha'is Read @ANI Story | aninews.in/news/world/mid… #Iran #crackdown #Bahais #Falseaccusation #persecution

What would it look like to conceive of development as a path that each community charts for itself? What role do youth play in inviting others to walk this path alongside them, towards a shared vision of the future, that is contributed to by all? These were among the questions explored at the BIC’s side event during the #ECOSOCYouthForum last week, entitled “Youth As Protagonists of Social Transformation: Exploring the Role of Youth in New Pathways Towards Development”. Youth speakers from Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States shared stories from their own neighborhoods about what can emerge when a community taps into the capacity and talent of its youth. Their stories inspired a robust conversation among attendees about the profound contributions young people themselves can make to their community’s own path of development. #ECOSOCYouth #GlobalGoals

Thanks to @abcnews Radio and @sam_doverr for reporting on how the Iranian regime has cracked down on the #Bahai religious minority amidst the current chaos & the escalating violence against young Bahais who are being scapegoated because of their faith. abc.net.au/news/2026-04-1…

I stood in the House in response to the deeply troubling reports of executions and repression in Iran, including the killing of six political dissidents in recent weeks and the persecution of the Baha’i community.

Le Canada appelle l’Iran à libérer immédiatement Peyvand Naimi et Borna Naimi, ainsi que toutes les personnes soumises à des aveux forcés, ainsi qu’à des arrestations et à des détentions arbitraires.

Le Canada reste très préoccupé par la répression persistante et systématique exercée par l’Iran contre les défenseurs des droits de la personne, les minorités religieuses, les étudiants et les familles des manifestants et militants. Ces violations doivent cesser.

How can young people contribute to the creation of a more peaceful world? Young people can and do play a profound role in building their society’s capacity for peace by embodying what peace looks like in their own lives — demonstrating honesty, justice, and holding space for those of differing opinions to find common points of unity, even amidst real, lived differences. This was a central takeaway from an #ECOSOCYouthForum event which the Bahá’í International Community co-sponsored yesterday, organized by @UPEACE. The event, titled “Centering Youth Voices as Leaders for Peace”, fostered a rich youth-led discussion about peacebuilding education and featured BIC Representative @CeciliaSchirmei as the keynote speaker. #ECOSOCYouth #GlobalGoals

Thank you @SBSNews for featuring the recent intensification of the persecution of the #Bahais in #Iran. @jen_scherer and @niv_sadr report on Peyvand and Borna Naimi, whose lives are in imminent danger. #HumanRights @hrw @DGavshon sbs.com.au/news/video/thi…

Introducing the Bahá’í International Community’s delegation to the 2026 #ECOSOCYouthForum. This year, the delegation will explore the role of young people as protagonists of positive change in their community who can invite others into a collective process of learning about what it looks like for a community to chart and walk its own path of development. #ECOSOCYouth #GlobalGoals #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #SDGs

Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha'i in Iran and father of a three-year-old, has endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and other forms of torture since his arrest in Kerman on 1 March. His treatment, and that of another young Baha'i who faced similar treatment, Peyvand Naimi, are raising concerns regarding the intensification of the persecution against the Baha'is in Iran, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority. Read our full news story here: bic.org/news/second-ca… #BahaiRights #PeyvandNaimi #BornaNaimi #Iran

Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha'i in Iran and father of a three-year-old, has endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and other forms of torture since his arrest in Kerman on 1 March. His treatment, and that of another young Baha'i who faced similar treatment, Peyvand Naimi, are raising concerns regarding the intensification of the persecution against the Baha'is in Iran, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority. Read our full news story here: bic.org/news/second-ca… #BahaiRights #PeyvandNaimi #BornaNaimi #Iran