{"id":490,"date":"2011-02-18T12:53:25","date_gmt":"2011-02-18T12:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projectconversion.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2011-02-18T12:53:25","modified_gmt":"2011-02-18T12:53:25","slug":"bahai-persecution-day-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/projectconversion\/2011\/02\/bahai-persecution-day-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Baha’i Persecution: Day 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
Here is the last account by the four individuals referenced to me by the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is\u00a0of the United States. His name is Iraj\u00a0Kamalabadi, brother of Fariba\u00a0Kamalabadi, an imprisoned Baha’i leader.<\/p>\n
Personal Statement: \n<\/span>I was born in 1958 and was raised\u00a0in a Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed family in northern Iran. After obtaining my high school diploma in 1976, I moved to the United States in January 1977 to pursue higher education. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts in 1982. After graduation, I began my professional career as a civil\/transportation engineer, working with a number of consulting firms in various capacities, both in the United States and abroad. I currently work with URS Corporation as a transportation department manager in Southern California.<\/h4>\n
Relationship with my sister, Fariba\u00a0Kamalabadi: \n<\/span>I am the elder brother of Ms. Fariba\u00a0Kamalabadi, one of the seven Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed leaders who was summarily arrested in the spring of 2008. These seven Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed leaders are currently being\u00a0held in Gohardasht prison in Iran, solely for their religious beliefs.<\/h4>\n
The Kamalabadi\u00a0family\u2019s experience with religious persecution dates back to the late 1980s when our father, Dr. Vali Kamalabadi, was arrested and imprisoned, following his dismissal from work without any pension or retirement; simply for being an active member of his local Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed community. While in prison, he was severely tortured and brainwashed with electric shocks, which caused him to suffer a series of strokes after being released from prison and eventually resulted in his death in 1992.<\/h4>\n
My sister Fariba, who is a developmental psychologist and a mother of three, was arrested\u00a0twice previously because of her active involvement in the Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed community and her voluntary service to society at large. As a Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed, she holds a very strong conviction and desire to be of service to her country and fellow citizens \u2014 a common belief shared by all Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00eds in the world.<\/h4>\n
No evidence was presented at my sister\u2019s trial to support the accusations leveled against her, or any of the Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed leaders who are currently serving 10-year sentences in Iran. This injustice has prompted me to speak publicly to journalists and at various human rights events to raise awareness about my sister\u2019s case, and that of all the Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00eds in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
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