[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 10358] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]BAHA'I LEADERS ARRESTED IN TEHRAN ______ HON. FRANK R. WOLF of virginia in the house of representatives Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I continue to be extremely concerned about the treatment of Baha'is in Iran. Recent reports indicate that on May 14, Iranian intelligence agents forcibly raided the homes and subsequently arrested six of seven prominent members of the Baha'i leadership in Tehran. The seventh member of the leadership group was arrested 2 months ago in Mashhad. They have reportedly been taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Many former prisoners have given horrifying accounts of the abuse, torture, and rape that takes place inside the prison walls. The Baha'is are Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority and have faced continuous persecution since the government banned all formal Baha'i activity in 1983. Under President Ahmadinejad, harassment, attacks and arrests of Baha'is have become increasingly common. In the early 1980s, 17 Baha'i leaders were arrested and either executed, abducted and disappeared in a systematic campaign to eliminate Baha'i influence in Iran. I pray that this is not the fate of the six arrested this past week. Iran continues to break its promises to the international community. I call on the international community to follow the lead of the U.S. State Department and strongly condemn the unwarranted arrests and detention of the Baha'i leadership. ____________________