At Least 15 Baha'is Arrested in Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad

On the morning of Sunday, November 24, at least 15 Baha'is in Iran were arrested by security forces in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad. Padideh Sabati, spokesperson for the Baha'i community, confirmed the arrests in an interview with Radio Farda, but stated that there is no information available regarding the reasons for these arrests or the agency responsible for them. Other news sources have reported the number of detainees as 16 or 17. According to reports, six individuals were arrested in Tehran, six in Isfahan, and four in Mashhad. Among those arrested are Sahba Farnoush, Negar Bagheri, Yavar Haqiqat, Navid Aghdasi, Helia Mushtaq, Keyvan and Parvin Nikayin, Yeganeh Agahi, Arshia Rouhani, Sanaz Esghaqi, Nika Pakzadan, Farzaneh Daneshgari, and Naghmeh Zobihiyan. Ms. Sabati also mentioned that some Baha'i-owned shops in the cities of Qaemshahr, Kerman, and Rafsanjan have been sealed, although the reasons for this action remain unclear. So far, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not commented on this matter. In late Bahman of last year, more than 10 members of the Baha'i religious community were also arrested in Tehran and Isfahan by the security forces of the Islamic Republic. Reports indicated that most of the detainees were young people, with five arrested in Tehran and the rest in Isfahan. In this context, Canadian Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson called on the Iranian government on May 25 to release seven leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran. Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaleddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeed Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakoli, Vahid Tizfahm, and Mahvash Sabet were members of a group called 'Yaran' that was arrested in 2008. The Yaran group was responsible for managing the Baha'i community in Iran. In recent years, UN special rapporteurs on human rights, the European Union, the United States, and several international human rights organizations have criticized the ongoing discrimination and violation of the rights of Baha'is in Iran.