Bon Carr, Australiens Außenminister, hält die Verfolgung der Bahá’í in Iran für „eine der extremsten Erscheinungen religiöser Intoleranz und Verfolgung in der Welt“. Dies sagte er kürzlich im australischen Senat während einer Parlametarischen Anfrage des Senators Mark Bishop. In einer Meldung der australischen Bahá’í-Gemeinde wird der Minister wie folgt zitiert:
On 23 October 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief described the treatment of the 300,000 Baha’is as among the most extreme manifestation of religious intolerance and persecution in the world. Both in Australia and in Iran we have called for the protection and promotion of rights to freedom of assembly and expression, respect for gender equality, the repeal of the death penalty and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities to be upheld.
Die Stellungnahme des Ministers erfolgte am gleichen Tag, an dem sich Vargha Taefi, der Sohn von Fariba Kamalabadi, eine der sehr zu 20 Jahren Haft verurteilten ehemaligen Bahá’í-Führungsmitglieder in Iran, mit australischen Parlamentariern traf. Er sagte aus diesem Anlass:
Although my mother is not alone in the battle for free expression in Iran, she has become a brave symbol for those seeking religious freedom and the right to say who they are and for what they stand. My mother is an educational psychologist and is a warm, compassionate, spiritual and intelligent person. She and her colleagues have been denied a fair trial and due judicial procedure. They faced baseless charges of espionage for Israel, insulting Islamic sanctities, crimes against national security, and spreading corruption on earth — each charge alone can result in a death sentence. No evidence was provided to back up any of their charges. They are completely and transparently innocent. Baha’is do not get involved in partisan politics and it is an article of their faith that they obey the law of the land.