Exclusive: Yekta Fahendj's Family Concerned About Her Health Amid Ongoing Detention

Yekta Fahendj's sister, in an exclusive message to Voice of America, states that despite the arrival of Nowruz and 'despite the family's tireless efforts' for the release of this Baha'i prisoner of conscience, she remains in detention. Mona Fahendj, Yekta Fahendj's sister, said in a video message to the Persian section of Voice of America: 'This year, despite the family's relentless efforts for temporary release, Yekta is spending her fourth Nowruz in prison.' According to her, in this round of detention, the 'pressures' on Yekta Fahendj have been 'much greater' than in previous detentions, 'so that in the course of 9 weeks' she has only had very limited contact with her family twice. The sister of this imprisoned Baha'i citizen emphasized the poor health conditions in Adelabad prison, adding: 'For this reason, prisoners regularly fall ill, and Yekta is no exception.' Mona Fahendj added: 'We are extremely worried about Yekta's physical and mental health, and I hope it becomes clear that Baha'is, wherever they are, only want to serve their homeland, and this should not lead to them being unjustly oppressed.' Yekta Fahendj Saadi, a Baha'i citizen imprisoned in Shiraz, was arrested on December 18 and transferred to Adelabad prison in Fars province on February 19. Since then, she has been in limbo and in temporary detention. Baha'is are among the largest non-Muslim religious minorities in Iran and have been systematically persecuted since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. According to the annual report of 'International Religious Freedom' for 2022, published by the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization of the Islamic Republic against Baha'i community members in Iran have intensified.