Chronology: Date 2017-10

date	event	tags	firsts	refs
2017 near the end of Oct	Fariba Kamalabadi, a member of the former leadership group of the Bahá'ís called the "Yaran", concluded her ten-year prison sentence. She was the second individual from among the former Yaran to be released. She, along with five others, were arrested on the 14th of May, 2008. Mrs. Kamalabadi had graduated from high school with honours but was barred from attending university because of her Faith. In her mid-30s, she embarked on an eight-year period of informal study and ultimately received an advanced degree in developmental psychology from the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education (BIHE), an alternative institution established by the Bahá'í community of Iran to provide higher education for its young people. She worked as a developmental psychologist before her arrest and imprisonment. She was married with three children. Along with the deprivations of imprisonment itself (she had spent 2 1/2 years of the 10-year sentence in solitary confinement), Mrs. Kamalabadi was also deprived of irreplaceable family moments, including the birth of her first grandchild and the weddings of her daughters. She was 55 years old upon her release. [BWNS1217] See Huffington Post for an article entitled "Iran's Bahá'í Problem" by Payam Akhavan about the visit of Ms. Faezeh Hashemi, the well-known daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who made a visit to her home while she was on leave from prison. Ms Hashemi, herself a former MP, was heavily criticized after she met with Ms Kamalabadi while the latter was on leave from prision. See the article in The Guardian for details.	Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human Rights; Persecution, Education; Court cases; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
2017 22 Oct	Yemeni security forces raided a Bahá'í gathering in Sana'a opening fire on the small group of people assembled to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh. The attack occurred in the family home of prominent tribal leader Walid Ayyash, who had been abducted in April and whose whereabouts were unknown. The attackers were reportedly in four cars and an armored vehicle which they used to break down the front door of the house. They arrested Mr. Ayyash's brother, Akram Ayyash. This event proved unequivocally the extent of Iran's role in the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Yemen, especially in Sana'a, which was under the control of Iranian-backed militias. Similar attacks occurred in Iran during the period of celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'úlláh. [BWNS1215]	Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Walid Ayyash; Sanaa; Yemen; Iran
2017 22 Oct	The bicentenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh was commemorated around the world. A multi-lingual web page was implemented to track the celebrations. [BWNS1212]	Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of; Twin Holy days; Holy days; Bahá'u'lláh, Life of; Centenaries; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Bahá'í World Centre
2017 20 - 22 Oct	Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh From the time of the setting of the sun on October 21st in Kiribati, an island republic in the Central Pacific just west of the International Date Line, until sunset in Hawaii on the 22nd of October, 72 hours later, celebrations were held in thousands of localities throughout the world commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh. Coverage on the bicentenary website began soon after 8:00 GMT on 20 October and concluded at 4:00 GMT on 23 October documenting some of the thousands of celebrations. [BWNS1201, BWNS1203, BWNS1205, BWNS1206, BWNS1207, BWNS1208, BWNS1209, BWNS1210, BWNS1211, BWNS1221, BWNS1213, BWNS1214, BWNS1216, BWNS1218] A number of countries issue commemorative stamps to mark the occasion of the bicentenary of Bahá'u'lláh's birth.	Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of; Twin Holy days; Holy days; Centenaries; Websites; Internet; - Publications; Stamps; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Worldwide
2017 18 - 22 Oct	The Iranian Bahá'í community was targeted during the bicentenary period. Between 18 and 21 October, some 19 individuals were arrested in Kermanshah, Tehran, and Birjand, and the homes 25 Baha'is were raided. Twenty-six Bahá'í-owned shops around the country were sealed off by authorities because the owners observed the Holy Day on 21 October. These closures occurred in Shiraz, Marvdasht, Gorgan, and Gonbad. [BWNS1215]	Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Iran; Kermanshah; Tehran, Iran; Birjand; Shiraz, Iran; Marvdasht; Gorgan; Gonbad
2017 18 Oct	The release of the film Light to the World. The 51 minute film recounted the story of Bahá'u'lláh's remarkable life and the impact of His teachings on communities around the world. [BWNS1208]	Light to the World (film); Film; Documentaries; Documentaries, BWC; Bahá'u'lláh, Life of; * Institute process; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Centenaries; Bahá'í World Centre
Try also a shorter date like 2017-1 or 2017 try also the Chronology Canada — 2017-10 or 2017-1 or 2017

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