Chronology: Date 2010-0

date	event	tags	firsts
2010 In the Year)	The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) provided data from the World Christian Database (2010) regarding the distribution of the Bahá'í population throughout the world. Nations (population 200,000+) with the highest percentage of their population Bahá'ís: 1) Belize, 7,742 adherents indicating 2.5% of the population. 2) Bolivia, 215,359 adherents indicating 2.2% of the population. 3) Zambia, 231,112 adherents indicating 1.8% of the population. Nations (population 200,000+) with the highest number of Bahá'ís: 1) India, 1,897,651 believers (0.2% of the population). 2) United States, 512,864 believers (0.2% of the population). 3) Kenya, 422,782 believers (0.1% of the population). For the full dataset go to the ARDA website. [ARDA] A chart showing world religions by adherents for 1910 and 2010 was published in The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography, by John Wiley & Sons, 2013 pages 10, 59-62	Statistics
2010 12 Jan – 14 Jun	The trial of Iran's seven Bahá'í leaders, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm began in Tehran. The seven were charged with "espionage", "propaganda activities against the Islamic order", "the establishment of an illegal administration", "cooperation with Israel", "sending secret documents outside the country", "acting against the security of the country", and "corruption on earth". [BWNS748, BWNS778] The profiles of the accused: Profiles. The trial was closed to the public. A film crew and known interrogators were permitted entry. [Video "The Story of the Bahá'í Seven" 13 May 2016 BIC]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human Rights; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 1 Feb	On February 1st, 2010, Iran's Channel 3 began to air a series named "Saalhaaye Mashrooteh," which could roughly be translated as "The Years Leading to the Persian Constitutional Revolution [of 1905-1911]." The series begins with the significant historical events that lead up to the Constitutional Revolution, beginning with the ascension of the Qajar ruler Nasiri'd-Din Shah to the throne in 1848. In the process, two of the Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith, the Báb (1819-1850) and Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), are also inserted in the series not to offer authentic history but to bolster age-old anti-Bahá'í conspiracy theories regarding the genesis and development of the Bábi and Bahá'í religions. This short essay will address some of the historical inaccuracies present in the series, so readers can assess whether this is an attempt at portraying accurate history or simply another premeditated attack on the Bahá'í Faith. See the paper entitled Iranian Television Series Defames the Bahá'í Faith by Adib Masumian.	Adib Masumian; Persecution, Iran; Iran
2010 7 Feb	Seven imprisoned Bahá'í leaders appeared in court for a second session of their trial. The session was once again closed and family members were not permitted in the courtroom. The hearing lasted just over one hour but did not go beyond procedural issues. No date was given for any future sessions. [BWNS756]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human Rights; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 20 Mar	The Universal House of Justice announced the retirement of Mr. Peter Khan (member since 1987) and Mr. Hooper Dunbar (member since 1988). [BWNS763] Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall were elected to the Universal House of Justice to replace retiring members. [BWNS762 ]	Peter Khan; Hooper Dunbar; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre
2010 12 Apr	The seven imprisoned Iranian Bahá'í leaders arrived at the court for their third appearance and their families were not allowed to enter, signalling a closed hearing. Inside the courtroom, however, the prisoners saw numerous officials and interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence – along with a film crew which had already set up cameras. Concerned over the presence of non-judicial personnel in a supposedly closed hearing, the Bahá'ís – with the agreement of their attorneys – declined to be party to the proceedings. The judge adjourned the session and did not announce a date for continuing the trial. [BWNS767]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human Rights; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 22 Apr	Earth Day Network launched https://www.earthday.org/billion-acts-green-reduce-ecological-footprint/"> A Billion Acts of Green and The Canopy Project. Earth Day 2010 engaged 75,000 global partners in 192 countries. [Earth Day website]	Earth Day
2010 27 Apr	The passing of Dr Nossrat Peseschkian (b. 18 June, 1933 in Iran d. 27 April, 2010 in Wiesbaden, Germany). He came to Germany in 1954 for his studies in medicine at the universities of Freiburg, Frankfurt am Main and Mainz. After his medical specialization and his dissertation, he had his postgraduate training in psychotherapy in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the United States. Prof. Peseschkian was the founder and leading figure in the growth and development of Positive Psychotherapy for almost 40 years. As an international lecturer, he had traveled to 67 countries worldwide. A global network of over 100 local, regional and national centres of Positive Psychotherapy has been established in 33 countries to date. Among his works is the book "Oriental Stories as Tools in Psychotherapy: The Merchant and the Parrot", which included short stories from Persia and other countries that can be used in psychotherapy. [Wikipedia] See Iranwire.	Nossrat Peseschkian; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Psychology; Stories; Family; Cultural diversity; Parrots (metaphor); Iran; Wiesbaden; Germany
2010 30 Apr	The visit of the President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to the World Centre. [BWNS774]	- Presidents; Prominent visitors; Mary McAleese; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre; Ireland; Haifa, Israel
2010 May	The publication of Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism," for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. The statement can be read at BIC10-0503. [BWNS770]	Sustainable Development; Prosperity; Consumerism; Materialism; Bahá'í International Community; - BIC statements; - Statements; * Publications; United Nations; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); New York, USA; USA
2010 10 May	New information was obtained regarding the conditions in which the seven Bahá'í prisoners were being held-two small rancid-smelling cells. They had not been given beds or bedding. There was no natural light in their cells so when the light was turned off during the day they are held in darkness. [Video "The Story of the Bahá'í Seven" 13 May 2016 BIC]	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Human Rights; Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 12 Jun	The seven Bahá'í leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran made their fourth court appearance. [BIC Report]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human Rights; Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 Jun (late)	Homes belonging to some 50 Bahá'í families in the remote village of Ivel in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region. The demolitions were the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Bahá'ís. Most of the Baha'i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched. in 1983, a few years after the Iranian revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighboring villages were put on buses and expelled. Persistent government attacks on Baha'is in all the mass media – along with inaction by local officials to protect them – have continued to incite hatred against the Bahá'ís in the region and throughout Iran. [BWNS780; BWNS782; Iran Press Watch 6202]	Persecution, Iran; Ivel; Mazandaran, Iran; Iran
2010 2 Jul	The UN General Assembly voted unanimously to create UN Women, (General Assembly resolution 64/289) a new entity merging the four UN offices focusing on gender equality: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. Following the passage of the resolution, the Bahá'í International Community, as one of the core NGOs leading the campaign for the new gender entity, received congratulatory notes from NGOs and women around the world expressing their appreciation and support for its role in the four-year campaign. [BIC History; UN Women] See as well A short history of the Commission on the Status of Women (PDF).	United Nations; Bahá'í International Community; UN Women; Commission on the Status of Women; - BIC statements; New York City, NY; USA
2010 24 Jul	The imprisonment of seven Bahá'í leaders in Iran was extended for a further two months after the lawyers made a request for bail. At this point they had been held for more than two years under a series of successive orders for their 'temporary' detention, which by law, must not exceed two months. The trial of the seven consisted of six brief court appearances and began on 12 January after they had been imprisoned without charge for 20 months. During this period they were allowed barely one hour's access to their legal counsel. The trial concluded on 14 June. [BIC Report]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human Rights; Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 8 Aug	The sentence of 20 years in prison was announced for members of the "Yaran-i-Iran" or "Friends of Iran" in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moqayesseh (or Moghiseh). The charges were several: "espionage", "collaborating with enemy states", "insulting the sacred", "propaganda against the state" and "forming an illegal group". The prominent civil and human rights lawyer who defended them was Mr Abdolfattah Soltani. He would later serve a 13-year sentence in the Evin Prison for engaging in his profession. Another member of their legal defense team was the attorney Hadi Esmailzadeh who died in 2016 while serving a 4-year prison term for defending human rights cases. After the sentencing the seven Bahá'í leaders were sent to Raja'i prison in the city of Karaj (Gohardasht) , about 50 kilometers west of Tehran. [BWNS789] Raja'i prison in Mashhad has frequently been criticized by human rights advocates for its unsanitary environment, lack of medical services, crowded prison cells and unfair treatment of inmates by guards. [Wikipedia; Iran Press Watch 6315]. Soon after their arrival four of the Yaran were transferred to room 17 in Section 6 of this notorious prison. Section 6 is infamous in human rights circles. It has often been the scene of bloody fighting among prisoners and it is considered extremely dangerous. It is where certain political prisoners have been sent to vanish. At first the Mafia-like gangs incarcerated in the same facility began to refer to the Yaran as "infidels". The authorities also tried to pressure other prisoners to insult and belittle the newly-arrived Bahá'ís, but it appeared that most other prisoners refused to comply with this suggestion. In fact, it was reported that most other prisoners were showing considerable respect to the Bahá'ís and tried to be hospitable. [Iran Press Watch 667] For a profile of Judge Mohammad Moghiseh see Iran Press Watch 17764 .	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Court cases; Evin Prison; Gohardasht prison; Abdolfattah Soltani; Hadi Esmailzadeh; Moghiseh; Human Rights; Prisons; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Mashhad, Iran; Iran
2010 4 Sep	A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was detained by the authorities on charges of "acting against national security," "assembly and collusion to disrupt security," and "cooperation with the Defenders for Human Rights Center." Ms Sotoudeh has represented Iranian opposition activists and politicians, as well a prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. She was taken to Tehran's Evin prison was being held in solitary confinement. She launched a hunger strike at the end of September to protest being denied visits and phone calls from her family. Her family convinced her to end the hunger strike on the 23rd of October. This was one of two hunger strikes she staged during her first term in prison. The other was to protest against the conditions in Evin. [Web Citation] In January 2011, Iranian authorities sentenced Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison, in addition to barring her from practicing law and from leaving the country for 20 years. Later that year, an appeals court reduced her sentence to six years and her practice ban to ten years in August of 2014. [Wikipedia] Sotoudeh was released on 18 September 2013 along with ten other political prisoners, days before an address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the United Nations. The Iranian authorities have given no reason for her release and no indication of whether it is unconditional. [Amnesty International]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Human rights; Nasrin Sotoudeh; Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 15 Sep	In the face of the chorus of condemnation from governments and human rights organizations around the world for the 20-year sentence for the seven Bahá'í leaders, the Appeals court reduced the sentences from 20 to 10 years by removing charges such as "Espionage and Collaboration with Israel". This information was verbally released to Ms. Sabet's lawyer. [BWNS793, BIC Report] See Violations of Legal Procedures details on how the treatment of the Yaran (and other Bahá'ís) has violated their legal and constitutional rights. See Voices of Support for a sampling of expressions of support from international figures and institutions as well as BWNS810. Amnesty International called for immediate support by asking for messages to be sent to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. [Amnesty International appeal]	Yaran; Court cases; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
2010 Sep	Following the reduction of his sentence, Vahid Tizfahm was transferred to Rajai-Shahr prison, where he remained until his release. Rajai-Shahr is located in the Alborz Province, and was at the time a maximum-security prison, a place for the "dangerous" individuals. According to Iran's Department of Prisons, Security and Corrections' Regulations, and based on the principle of Segregation of Crimes, Tizfahm's transfer to Rajai-Shahr was not legal. [Iran Press Watch 29 March, 2018]	Yaran; Vahid Tizfahm; Rajai Shahr prison; Prisons; Persecution, Iran; Karaj; Iran
Try also a shorter date like or 2010 or 201 try also the Chronology Canada — 2010-0 or 2010 or 201

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