Arrest of Six Baha'i Citizens in Golestan, Kashan, and Shiraz

Reports from Iran indicate that at least six Baha'i citizens have been arrested in the cities of Golestan, Kashan, and Shiraz over the past two days. Emrollah Manoochehri and Ziaollah Alhiyan, two Baha'i residents of Kashan, were arrested on Tuesday, July 12, after being summoned by security agents and transferred to an unknown location. These two Baha'i citizens had previously been summoned and interrogated by agents of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence, and their homes had been searched. Simultaneously, Varaqah Mahdinejad and Shiva Akhlaqi, two Baha'i citizens residing in Shiraz, were also arrested by security agents. The Baha'i World Community in Geneva confirmed the news of the arrest of these Baha'i citizens, stating that they were detained on unspecified charges. Pariyosh Shajai and Rufia Pakzadan, two Baha'i citizens living in Golestan, were also transferred to Golestan prison on Tuesday, July 12, to serve their one-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being summoned by the judiciary. These Baha'i citizens were arrested five years ago during a mass arrest of 24 Baha'is living in Golestan, with charges of 'propaganda against the regime' and 'membership in an illegal Baha'i organization.' In February 2016, they were sentenced to a total of 193 years in prison in a first-instance court. According to Amir Salar Davoodi, the lawyer representing several of these Baha'i citizens, their sentences were later reduced to 15 to 23 months in an appeals court. The Baha'i World Community in Geneva reported that about three weeks ago, nine other Baha'i citizens from Golestan were also sent to prison through summons or arrest. Four of these individuals, named Mojdeh Zahoori, Farahnaz Tabianian, Maryam Dehghani, and Hooshmand Dehghani, were arrested at their homes, while Sheida Ghadoosi, Mitra Noori, Parisa Shahidi, Pooneh Sanaei, and Nazi Tahghighi were transferred to prison after being summoned to the Golestan Intelligence Office to serve their sentences. Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, criticized the 'widespread discrimination against Baha'is,' including their exclusion from university education, job restrictions, and the closure of Baha'i businesses, in her first report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last December. Jahangir's report stated that at least 90 Baha'i citizens are imprisoned in Iran for ideological reasons. In this context, several Baha'i students from various universities in Iran have been 'expelled,' and there have been obstructions to the continuation of studies for several Baha'i citizens and Gonabadi Dervishes. The Baha'i World Community reported that two suspects in the murder of a Baha'i citizen have been released, and 11 Baha'i citizens have been summoned and arrested in Golestan and Shahinshahr.