Johnnie Moore, a commissioner for the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said ongoing abuses of Baha’i rights will make it harder for Iran’s leaders to persuade the international community to ease economic pressure on the Islamic republic.
“When they continue this absolutely inexcusable behavior and ask the world to treat them like a normal country, they are sending a mixed message and will find it is not acceptable,” Moore said.
“As they appeal for an emergency IMF loan and sanctions relief, the Iranians could send an incredibly powerful signal that they are trustworthy by releasing all the Baha’i prisoners in their country,” he added.
Moore pointed out that the architect who designed the Iranian capital, Tehran’s iconic Azadi (Freedom) Tower in 1966 is Hossein Amanat, an Iranian Baha’i who fled the country during its 1979 Islamic Revolution and settled in Canada.
Read more at Baha’i Leader: Iran Keeping Up to 100 Baha’is in Prisons Under Virus Threat