Eight Baha'i Citizens Arrested in Iran Last Week

Several news websites reported the arrest of eight Baha'i citizens in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Shiraz on Tuesday, April 29. According to reports, seven of these individuals were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence. The website 'Baha'i News' reported that Mahnaz Jantasar (Pourmoradian), Maral Rasti, Farhad Amri, Arash Rasekhi, Mehral Afshar, Omid Afaqei, and Nasim Qanavatiyan were arrested on Tuesday in the cities of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm. The International Human Rights Campaign in Iran also reported, citing 'an informed source,' that these seven Baha'i citizens were arrested without prior summons and by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. According to this website, these individuals are being held in the detention center of the Intelligence Department in Bandar Abbas 'without being informed of the charges and without access to a lawyer.' The website 'Baha'i News' also reported that Adib Haq-Pazuh, a Baha'i citizen residing in Shiraz, was arrested at his workplace on the same day. According to the report, the agents also took 'customer checks, cash, and daily account books' belonging to Mr. Haq-Pazuh. This Baha'i citizen had previously been arrested twice in 2010 and 2014 by security forces. In recent years, many reports have been published regarding the prohibition of university education, group arrests, shop closures, and the destruction of Baha'i cemeteries. Meanwhile, reports indicate that security agents arrested four Baha'i citizens residing in Isfahan, named Ehsan Ishtiaq, Enayat Naeimi, Farzad Homayouni, and Soroush Pezeshki, on the morning of Monday, April 7. Simin Fahandaj, spokesperson for the Baha'i World Community in Geneva, confirmed the arrest of these Baha'i citizens in Isfahan in an interview with Radio Farda. In this context, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, stated in her first report last December that 'the situation of official and unofficial religious minorities in Iran remains extremely concerning.' 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 World Community, since the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, more than 860 Baha'is have been arrested and 275 of them have ultimately been convicted and imprisoned over nearly 11 years.