Bahá'í Community Expresses Concern Over 'New Wave of Arrests of Bahá'ís in Iran'

The Bahá'í Community expressed concern on Friday, May 25, regarding a 'new wave of arrests and raids on the homes of Bahá'ís in various cities in Iran.' According to a statement from the Bahá'í Community, the arrest of several Bahá'ís in Isfahan, Alborz, and Razavi Khorasan provinces 'indicates a coordinated strategy among the government officials' of the Islamic Republic. The report states that many of these arrests 'were accompanied by raids by agents on the homes of Bahá'ís and the seizure of their religious books and writings.' Recently, Mehrdad Heyrani and Khodadad Miri, two Bahá'í citizens residing in Tehran and Kermanshah, were arrested by security agents. There has been no news about the status of these individuals or the reasons for their arrests. Kaviz Nozdehi is another Bahá'í citizen who was arrested by security agents in Mashhad recently, and there is no information available regarding his status or the reasons for his arrest. The Bahá'í Community, based in Geneva, has called for the immediate release of the detainees and an end to four decades of discrimination against Bahá'í citizens. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated on April 23 at a Council on Foreign Relations meeting in New York, 'Being Bahá'í is not a crime in Iran... and no one is imprisoned in Iran for being Bahá'í or for not believing in God.' These remarks faced widespread backlash, with many Twitter users reacting with the hashtag 'Zarif the Liar.' In recent years, Bahá'í citizens in Iran have faced not only arrests and prison sentences but also job restrictions, shop closures, and denial of education. In the latest cases, the Assessment Organization informed Arash Razavian, a physics student at Guilan University, and Kiana Sanayi, an architecture student at the non-profit Mirdamad University in Gorgan, that they are barred from continuing their studies due to their beliefs. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic primarily accuses detained Bahá'ís of 'propaganda against the regime,' 'espionage,' and 'collusion and conspiracy against national security'; however, Bahá'ís have consistently denied these accusations, and human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the process of 'systematic repression of Bahá'ís in Iran.' Among them, Human Rights Watch, the Freedom House organization, UN Special Rapporteurs, and annual reports from the U.S. State Department have frequently accused the security and judicial forces of the Islamic Republic of 'widespread harassment and systematic repression of Bahá'í citizens in Iran.' Several lawyers and human rights defenders also wrote a letter months ago to the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Iranian Judiciary, urging him to acknowledge the 'harassment and repression of Bahá'ís' and take action to 'improve the current situation.' Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary-General, referred to Bahá'ís as 'the most persecuted religious minority in Iran' in a report published in 2016 regarding the human rights situation in Iran.