Increase in Persecution of Baha'is in Iran; 26 Baha'is Sentenced to 126 Years in Prison

On Friday, November 5, the Baha'i International Community announced that in recent days, 26 Baha'is in Iran, including 16 women, have been sentenced to a total of 126 years in prison. The community described these sentences as an increasing pattern of persecution against Baha'is in Iran and reported that 10 Baha'i women were also arrested earlier this week in Isfahan, and three other Baha'is were detained in Yazd in recent weeks. In a statement quoting Simin Fahandej, the representative of the Baha'i community at the United Nations, it was stated that the international community must hold the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations. Ms. Fahandej said that the 10 women arrested this week have committed no crime, and dozens of others sentenced to years in prison are also innocent. She emphasized that their only desire is to serve their country. However, instead of welcoming their participation, they are thrown behind bars. Simin Fahandej also stated, 'The international community must hold the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations' and reiterated that the 10 women arrested this week have committed no crime, and many who have been sentenced to years in prison are also innocent. The representative of the Baha'i community at the UN added, 'Their only desire is to serve their country. But instead of welcoming their participation, they are thrown behind bars. The Iranian government is depriving its entire society of some of its most capable individuals.' Additionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shiraz sentenced three Baha'i citizens, Hassan Salehi, Saeed Abadi, and Vahid Dana, to imprisonment and supplementary penalties. According to reports received by Voice of America, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shiraz on October 16 sentenced these three Baha'i citizens to a total of 6 years, 1 month, and 17 days in prison 'under electronic monitoring' for membership in a 'illegal and anti-regime group' with the intent of 'disturbing national security,' along with a monetary fine and social deprivation. Furthermore, a fine of '371 million rials and deprivation of social rights for 15 years with the execution of the harsher punishment' is part of this court's ruling. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had previously expressed concern about the escalating pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Baha'is, stating that at least about 200 individuals are imprisoned in the Islamic Republic for religious or ideological reasons. Baha'is in Iran have systematically faced execution, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Two Baha'i citizens were sentenced to prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad. The homes of five Baha'i citizens in Qaemshahr were searched. The pressure from the Islamic Republic on Baha'is continues; Iman Rashidi was arrested in the presence of his '18-month-old child.' Farhad Sabetan told Voice of America: 'The closure of Baha'i businesses is a sign of the government's economic suffocation.'