Arrest and Search of 20 Baha'i Citizens' Homes in Hamedan

According to human rights sources, simultaneous with the arrest of 9 Baha'i citizens residing in Hamedan, the homes of 11 others were also searched by government agents. HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, reported that 9 Baha'i citizens named Naeem Aghdasi, Neda Mohabi, Zahra Rezai, Jinous Shadabi, Atefeh Zahedi, Masoud Azarnoush, Zarrin Ahadzadeh, Farideh Ayubi, and Nora Ayubi were arrested on Tuesday, November 7. The report states that at the same time, government agents searched the homes of 11 other Baha'i citizens in Hamedan and confiscated some personal belongings, documents, gold, and religious books with "insult and verbal violence." HRANA recently reported on the search of the homes of four Baha'i citizens in Hamedan, Mehran Khandal, Pouran Habibi (Khandal), Jinous Shadabi, and Akhtar Kothari (Naeemi), and the confiscation of some of their personal belongings and documents. No news has been published regarding the reason for the arrests, the location of the detainees, or the search of the homes of other Baha'i citizens. Several Baha'i citizens have also been tried in recent days in the cities of Sari and Mashhad. The Baha'i International Community recently stated in a statement that the issuance of prison sentences against Baha'i citizens is an increasing pattern of persecution against Baha'is in Iran and called on the international community to hold the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also expressed concern in a statement about the intensifying pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Baha'is. According to the report from this commission, currently, at least about 200 people are in the prisons of the Islamic Republic for religious or ideological reasons. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the Baha'i faith, and Baha'i citizens in Iran have systematically faced execution, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the 1979 revolution. The Mazandaran Court of Appeals sentenced 14 Baha'i citizens to imprisonment and fines. The increase in persecution of Baha'is in Iran; 26 Baha'is were sentenced to 126 years in prison. Two Baha'i citizens were sentenced to prison in the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mashhad. The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz sentenced three Baha'i citizens to imprisonment and supplementary punishment.