Anisa Fanayan, a Bahai citizen, arrested while leaving the hospital

Reports received by Voice of America indicate that Anisa Fanayan, a Bahai citizen residing in Semnan, was arrested by security forces on Tuesday, March 21, while leaving the hospital with her daughter. According to reports, Ms. Fanayan, who has received an 8-year prison sentence, was arrested in the street by the security forces of the Islamic Republic to serve this sentence. This Bahai citizen had gone to the hospital to follow up on her health condition. Further details about her physical condition and place of detention are still unclear. Ms. Fanayan had previously been sentenced to 7 years for 'forming a group with the aim of disrupting national security' and 1 year for 'propaganda against the regime' after a trial held on Wednesday, December 14. She was arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic in her home in Semnan last August and was sentenced to 16 years in prison and other penalties in March. Anisa Fanayan had also been imprisoned for one year in 2012 while her husband was serving a 3-year prison sentence, during which their children, aged 3 and 7, were with relatives. Bahai citizens have faced widespread deprivation since the 1979 revolution, including dismissal from government jobs, confiscation of property, closure of businesses, denial of education, and destruction of cemeteries. According to last year's annual report by the 'International Religious Freedom Commission,' the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization by the Iranian government against Bahai citizens have intensified. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also expressed concern over the increased pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Bahais. The Bahai community reported on November 21, under the title 'Outsiders: Multifaceted Violence Against Bahais in the Islamic Republic of Iran,' that Shia clerics in Iran have labeled Bahais as 'impure' since the formation of the Bahai faith, justifying their discrimination and oppression, leading to crimes against humanity in terms of religious persecution. Reports indicate that in some cities, the money, currency, and gold of Bahais, as well as their identification documents and property deeds, have been confiscated, and in some homes, their property documents have been seized by security agents. Anisa Fanayan, a Bahai citizen in Semnan province, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison. The Bahai community welcomed the condemnation of the human rights record of the Islamic Republic. The Revolutionary Court in Isfahan summoned 10 Bahai women in Isfahan. Anisa Samian told Voice of America: 'The Islamic Republic accused me of promoting Bahaism through piano teaching.'