Arrest of Five Baha'i Citizens in Isfahan

Simin Fahandaj, spokesperson for the Baha'i International Community in Geneva, confirmed in an interview with Radio Farda the arrest of five Baha'i citizens in Isfahan. Earlier, Baha'i News Agency reported that security agents visited the homes of four Baha'i citizens residing in Isfahan, named Ehsan Ishtiaq, Enayat Naeimi, Farzad Homayouni, and Soroush Pezeshki, on the morning of Monday, April 7, 1396 (March 27, 2017), and arrested them after searching their homes. Ms. Fahandaj stated that Sohrab Naqipour was also arrested in Isfahan. The expulsion of Baha'i students and the closure of Baha'i shops have continued in Iran in recent months. Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, stated in her first report last year that 'the situation of both official and unofficial religious minorities in Iran remains extremely concerning.' Ms. Jahangir added: 'Baha'is continue to be systematically and purposefully discriminated against and are deprived of the right to live.' The Baha'i International Community had previously sent an open letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on September 7, asking him to end the 'economic repression of Baha'is' in Iran. This organization criticized the 'economic apartheid' against Baha'is in Iran and accused Iranian officials of 'deliberate policies' and 'organized discrimination' against Baha'is. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Baha'i faith, and senior government officials have repeatedly spoken against it. In this regard, according to the Baha'i International Community, since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration, over 860 Baha'i believers have been arrested and 275 of them have ultimately been convicted and imprisoned over nearly 11 years. The Baha'i International Community states that Iran is home to nearly 300,000 of its believers.