Chivukula Resolution on Baha’i Faith in Iran Wins Assembly Passage

A state Assembly resolution sponsored by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, D-Somerset, that urges Iran to release imprisoned members of the country’s Baha’i faith and treat them with respect was unanimously adopted Sept. 9 by the state Legislature’s lower house.

The resolution, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, R-Westfield, notes that since the Iranian Revolution of  1979, “more than 200 members of the Baha’i faith have been killed in Iran, with hundreds more imprisoned, and thousands deprived of jobs, education, and the freedom to worship.”

Seven “prominent” members of the country’s Baha’i community have been imprisoned, the resolution notes.

“The harshness and unfairness of these actions reflect the Iranian government’s resolve to oppress completely the country’s Baha’i community of approximately 300,000 men, women and children, which faces a systematic, “cradle to grave” persecution that is among the most serious examples of state-sponsored religious persecution in the world today,” the resolution says.

The resolution will be voted on in a session called to enact recommendations made by Gov. Chris Christie on bills designed to “help ease access to New Jersey’s medical marijuana program for children suffering from debilitating illnesses, and consideration of anticipated recommendations to be made by the Governor on legislation … to help track abandoned and seized firearms and legislation … known as the NJ Economic Opportunity Act of 2013,” according to a press release on the session.

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