Arrest of 90-Year-Old Bahá'í Citizen; Jamaleddin Khanjani and His Daughter Transferred to Evin Prison

Jamaleddin Khanjani and his daughter Maria Khanjani, Bahá'í citizens, were arrested on Sunday morning, August 13, after security forces searched their home and were transferred to Evin Prison. The Human Rights Activists in Iran, HRA, reported the arrest of Jamaleddin and Maria Khanjani, citing an informed source, and noted that there is no information available regarding the reasons for their arrest or the charges against them. Jamaleddin Khanjani was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2008 on charges of 'propaganda against the regime, espionage, and conspiracy against national security,' but was released in 2017. Mr. Khanjani is 90 years old and was previously one of the leaders of the Bahá'í community in Iran, known as the 'Friends of Iran' group, which was dissolved by the Islamic Republic in 1984. Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the Bahá'í World Community, emphasized in a recent interview with Voice of America that the charges against Bahá'í citizens in Iran are 'baseless.' On August 13, human rights lawyer Saeed Dehghan reported that a case had been filed under 'direct orders from the Ministry of Intelligence,' and a ruling was issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Court based on claims of 'discovering documents' in Jamaleddin Khanjani's home related to what was described as an 'illegal Bahá'í organization.' While the initial court never charged them with espionage, the Tehran appellate court declared their 'espionage for foreign entities' as 'proven.' According to the report, the first branch of the Semnan Revolutionary Court issued a ruling to confiscate many private properties of Bahá'í citizens in favor of the 'Executive Headquarters,' even though 'not a single ownership document was discovered from Mr. Khanjani's home.' Last week, 10 Bahá'í citizens were also transferred to Evin and Kachoui prisons in Alborz province. According to the annual report of 'International Religious Freedom' prepared by the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom for 2022, the Iranian government's repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization against Bahá'í community members have intensified. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has emphasized the government's 'enduring commitment' to defending the right to religious freedom, stating that the United States stands with religious freedom activists and people whose religious rights are violated. Since the 1979 revolution, Bahá'í citizens have systematically faced widespread social and political discrimination as well as illegal actions including arbitrary arrests, executions, enforced disappearances, forced burials, and desecration of their graves. According to the Open Iran database, at least 225 Bahá'ís have been killed directly or indirectly by the Islamic Republic since its establishment.