Arrest of Nahid Behroozi, Bahá'í citizen in Fardis; Haydar Mohammadi: Interrogators said 'As long as you are in Iran, you are our guest'

News sources reported that Nahid Behroozi, a Bahá'í citizen in Fardis, was arrested, and Sara Jahani, a civil rights activist, was taken to Lakan Prison in Rasht after her arrest in Lahijan. Additionally, Haydar Mohammadi, a political prisoner, revealed in an audio file that officials told him, 'As long as you are in Iran, you are our guest.' According to reports from HRANA, the media organ of human rights activists in Iran, agents of the Intelligence Department of Fardis arrested Nahid Behroozi (Farooheri) on Tuesday, August 8, and confiscated several of her personal belongings in addition to searching her home. A source close to the family of this Bahá'í citizen told HRANA that the authorities confiscated her personal items, including her laptop and computer. As of this report, there is no information regarding the reasons for Nahid Behroozi's arrest or the charges against her. Bahá'í citizens have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. According to last year's annual report by the International Religious Freedom Commission, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization of Bahá'í citizens by the Iranian government have intensified. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also expressed concern over the increasing pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Bahá'ís. Furthermore, according to some reports published on social media, officials of the Intelligence Department of Lahijan arrested Sara Jahani, a women's rights activist, 'before the deadline for completing her medical file.' She was transferred to Lakan Prison. Sara Jahani, a civil activist and pharmacist, was transferred to prison while she had a few days' grace period for completing her legal medical file. However, news and human rights sources reported that she was 'arrested this morning (Tuesday) by agents of the Intelligence Department in Lahijan and transferred to Lakan Prison without going to the Rasht Execution Branch for serving her sentence.' Sara Jahani is one of 11 civil and women's rights activists in Gilan province who have been sentenced to a total of over 60 years in prison in a joint case by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. Additionally, Haydar Mohammadi, a political prisoner held in Shahrekord prison, revealed in an audio file published by the X account of the legal advisors of Dadban that judicial officials had promised to release him at the earliest opportunity after his hunger strike, but they 'broke their promise' and now said, 'As long as you are Iranian, you are our guest.' In this audio file released on Tuesday, August 8, he states that 'all proceedings regarding my case have been conducted remotely' and 'my sentences have been issued in absentia.' He adds that he had gone on a hunger strike in protest against this process, stating, 'After sewing my lips and going on hunger strike, judicial officials promised to release me at the earliest opportunity, but they broke their promise.' This political prisoner, who is a farmer, reveals in the audio file that after his arrest, his farm dried up and his crops were lost, and after his hunger strike, 'three interrogators entered the prison' and 'said, why don't you leave Iran? As long as you are our guest in Iran, it will be the same. It is better to go somewhere where you won't have these problems.' In response to this situation, Haydar Mohammadi emphasizes, 'Dear homeland, foreign homeland, helpless homeland!' Haydar Mohammadi, who was arrested on June 9, has been on hunger strike since July 25 in protest against his prison sentence and 'unfair trial' in court, without having the right to defend himself or access to a lawyer. Previously, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had reported that over the past few decades, the Islamic Republic systematically targets Bahá'ís, Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and non-religious individuals for harassment, arrest, long-term imprisonment, exile, or prohibition from participating in political and social activities.